THERE are no less than five Worcester Rugby Club girls in the England Academy side that takes on Ireland in Dublin tomorrow.

The three players named in the under 19 team are winger Amber Penrith, 17-year-old fly-half Alice Richardson and flanker Lois Moulding. Becky Essex and Claire Allan are both on the replacements bench.

Academy coach Gary Street has chosen a side that is a mixture of youth and experience as the squad build up to the Six Nations Championship.

The match is at St Mary's Rugby Club in Templeville Road and kicks off at 2.30pm.

Meanwhile, there are four North Midlands players in two of the three England 18-Group squads who are preparing for a programme of spring internationals.

Prop Matt Mullan (Bromsgrove School and Worcester RFC) and centre Paul Bailey-Green (Abbotsholme School and Moseley RFC) have been included in the siquad for the Home Unions Festival which will be staged in South Wales from March 25 to April 1. Mullan was capped by England at 16-Group Schools level two years ago.

Fly-half James Metcalfe (King Edward's School, Birmingham and Leicester Tigers RFC), who was also a 16-Group cap two years ago, and flanker Sam McDonald (RGS Worcester and Worcester RFC) have been included in the squad preparing for the AER Festival in Lille from March 17 to 26.

Metcalfe was brought into the England squad for training earlier this week after he was initially omitted from England's core squad of 80. He is the son of former Moseley full-back Ian Metcalfe and the grandson of ex-England full-back Fenwick Allison.

A third England 18-Group squad will play internationals against Ireland, France and Wales between March 26 and April 9.