WORCESTER Warriors prop Matt Mullan will start on the bench for England Under 19s when they take on Wales at the Twickenham Stoop tonight.

The former Bromsgrove School student was capped by England in the U18 Festival in Wales last April and has broken into the Warriors first team this season.

National Academy and England U19s coach Nigel Redman said: "Winning will be of huge importance in this U19s Six Nations but the vital difference that our modern player development can make is in providing accomplished England players of the future.

"I am sure that these players will gain a great deal from being involved. We will be watching the squad with the IRB U19 World Championship in Dubai this April in mind."

Mullan is one of five Warriors players to be involved in internationals tonight.

Forwards Richard Blaze and Craig Everett go head-to-head when England play Wales in the Under 21 Six Nations opener at Sixways, while scrum-half Nick Runciman is on the bench for the hosts.

The match gets under way at 8pm and more than 6,000 tickets have been sold. Entry is £10 for adults and £5 for juniors.

Fly-half Shane Drahm will make his England 'A' debut in their match in Italy.

The Australian-born fly-half has been given plenty of encouragement by head coach Jon Wells.

"This is a big opportunity for these guys, especially the ones who have come through the system very quickly, like Shaun Perry, Shane Drahm and Tom Varndell, who have made names for themselves this year," said Wells.

"This is the chance for them to play outside the club scene and see if they can step up."

Drahm forms a brand-new half-back partnership with Perry, who excelled when the two came up against each other at Bristol last Friday night.

Meanwhile, Robert Cook, from the University of Worcester, is one of the replacements in the England Universities team which takes on Wales Universities at the Imperial Medics ground in Teddington today (2pm).