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Skinner to captain the Saxons

Tuesday 13th May 2008

Saxons leader: Will Skinner will captain the Saxons at the 2008 Churchill Cup

Harlequins flanker Will Skinner will captain England Saxons at the Churchill Cup in Canada and USA in June.

Skinner, who was a member of the victorious Saxons side from last year, is joined by several other Harlequins team-mates. Fellow back row men Chris Robshaw and Tom Guest have also been rewarded for their fine form this season.

Two further Harlequins players make the squad, wing Ugo Monye and fly-half Adrian Jarvis - both who have been instrumental in Harlequins' season.

Sale Sharks scrum-half Ben Foden is also included, although it is not clear yet as to what position he will play. Sale have deployed him primarily as a full-back, prompting him to leave the club, whilst his favoured position is at scrum-half.

Matt Banahan is one of three specialist wings in the squad, alongside Monye and Tom Varndell. Banahan has been a revelation this season and is currently the Guinness Premiership's top try scorer.

Whilst their is a youthful look to the backs England have gone for a more experienced selection in the forwards.

Seasoned England internationals such as George Chuter, Andy Titterrell and Alex Brown will add some much needed experience to the squad.

England Saxons Head Coach Steve Bates explained the reasoning behind appointing Skinner as captain.

"I felt we needed someone with experience as captain and Will's been doing a great job with Quins and he knows the Saxons set up," Bates said.

"He's a very positive guy and is very well respected within the squad, so he seemed like the obvious choice to lead the squad."

England Saxons:

Backs: Nick Abendanon (Bath), Anthony Allen (Gloucester), Matt Banahan (Bath), Lee Dickson (Newcastle), Ben Foden (Sale Sharks), Paul Hodgson (London Irish), Adrian Jarvis (Harlequins), Ryan Lamb (Gloucester), Ugo Monye (Harlequins), Ollie Smith (Leicester), Tom Varndell (Leicester), Dave Waldouck (Wasps).

Forwards: Steffon Armitage (London Irish), Richard Blaze (Leicester), Alex Brown (Gloucester), George Chuter (Leicester), Alex Clarke (Bristol), Jordan Crane (Leicester), James Forster (Gloucester), Tom Guest (Harlequins), Chris Jones (Sale Sharks), Nick Lloyd (Saracens), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Will Skinner (Harlequins) (c), George Skivington (Wasps), Andy Titterrell (Gloucester), Rob Webber (Wasps), David Wilson (Newcastle).