Sam Bryan, a student at Felsted School who started his rugby campaign at Chelmsford RFC, has received his first England call up to join the u18s squad on their international tour.

After completing his minis rugby years at Chelmsford, Bryan moved into the youth section and within a couple of seasons he had made it onto the Saracens Development Pathway. An exciting opportunity for the young scrum half, Bryan has been playing at Saracens Academy ever since the u15s – a programme which can boast the likes of Owen Farrell, Jamie George, and Alex Goode amongst their alumni ranks, to name but a few.

Bryan has been lucky enough to train and develop under Mike Hynard, the same Academy Manager credited by Jamie George for his success and who is widely heralded as the reason for the success of the Saracens Academy.

Whatever the reason, we are incredibly proud to see such a talented player be recognised for his talent and diligence and we are all the more proud to consider him a Blue Boy for life.

Bryan will join the u18s squad as they travel to South Africa to face Argentina (9th August), France (13th August), and South Africa Schools (17th August). This tour will mark the start of an England Rugby career for many of these player and this has to be an incredibly exciting opportunity for Bryan.

“Sam is a diligent player who works hard to improve his game,” Academy Manager Mike Hynard said.

“He has good positional technical skills and is developing his game management. This opportunity for him to tour with England U18s and play some high quality U18 international matches will provide some great learnings for Sam.

“We are looking forward to see how this impacts on his development and progression next season.”

Head coach Jim Mallinder said: “The U18 South Africa tour gives our players a unique experience of playing an international tournament, away from home, at the start of their pathway journey.

“To play two fixtures against southern hemisphere opposition, as well as a game against France, will be valuable for them as they look to transition through the pathway and I want them to make the most of the experience.

“I want them to understand what it takes to be part of an England team, but to feel comfortable exploring their game and developing their skills in this environment.

“The games come thick and fast so they will also get an insight into the importance of their behaviour off the pitch, focusing on recovery and analysis as well preparation for the next match.

“The tour is about more than just the matches though and I hope they also get to experience the unique culture in South Africa, form friendships with players they will progress through the pathway with and make some memories along the way.”

We are incredibly proud of the player Sam has become and we hope he is a real inspiration to his former teammates and to those youth players coming through the club now.