Charlie Matthews signs for Quins

Posted on Sep 14, 2011 in English Rugby, Harlequins, Premiership

Harlequins have announced the re-signing of Charlie Matthews.

Second rower Charlie Matthews is a current member of the Quins academy. At only 20 he has represented England U18 and U20, where he has competed in the last two World Cups, reaching the final this summer.

Having just graduated from Loughborough University, Charlie has been balancing his studies with playing for the University and Harlequins in the A League.

The opening game of the season against London Irish saw Charlie complete another major milestone, when he made his Premiership debut, coming off the bench at the London Double Header.

A good athlete since joining Harlequins at U16, the 6ft 8in lock has added physicality to his game and, helped by the likes of ex-academy and first team starting lock George Robson, he has developed into a strong line-out operator.

Academy Manager, Tony Diprose, says:

“Charlie has worked really hard over the last few seasons and he is now gaining the rewards. He had an excellent Junior World Cup in the summer and  an impressive recent Premiership debut. I look forward to him making many more appearances in the Quins shirt.”

Charlie Matthews also commented:

“I really enjoyed my time at Loughborough but it wasn’t easy jumping between A League, University rugby and England U20s, along with having to fit in my University work. I feel now that I can fully focus on Harlequins and hopefully establish myself in Conor O’Shea’s first team squad.

“I have wanted to be a full time rugby player for as long as I can remember and there is no better place to be than here at Quins. The club is going in the right direction and plays exciting rugby, all the way through from 1 to 15.

RFU Podcast: Jonny assesses England’s progress

Posted on Mar 10, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Jonny Wilkinson assesses England’s progress over the last year on the eve of the Calcutta Cup contest with Scotland.

The World Cup winner compares the environment in the 2011 camp with the class of 2003, speaks about his relationship with Martin Johnson, gives his take on becoming the world’s leading points scorer once more and sums up his approach to the remainder of his career.

"The 2011 version feels eight years ahead because rugby moves on," said Wilkinson.

"Guys get quicker and more powerful, game plans change, rules change and you’ve got to move with the times. You can’t try and replicate things, but what you can do is take the principles and the best bits and create a better version and we’re doing that now."

Also on this week’s Podcast:

Martin Johnson: The England boss is delighted to have Courtney Lawes and Tom Croft fit and back in the camp pushing for places

Toby Flood: Recent scorelines don’t reflect the progress Scotland have made in the last year, warns the England fly half

Andy Robinson: Ireland’s cricket World Cup win over England shows that nothing is a foregone conclusion in sport, says Scotland’s head coach

Joe Ansbro: The Northampton Saints centre lines up against England on Sunday and knows his side will have to take every chance that comes their way

Kelly Brown: We’ll go on the attack at Twickenham to make Scotland proud, says the Saracens back row forward

Jo McGilchrist: The England Women’s lock looks forward to taking the stage at Twickenham on Sunday with confidence high after three successive wins

Charlie Matthews: England’s unbeaten Under 20 side are in action at Newbury on Friday night with the Harlequins lock expecting another intense contest

• The gates to Twickenham Stadium open for free public access to England Women v Scotland Women (5.15pm) following the men’s Calcutta Cup clash. The match is live behind the BBC red button (excluding Freeview) and on the BBC Sport website.
• England U20 v Scotland U20 at Newbury (8pm) is live on Sky Sports 3 (red button). Tickets at Monks Lane cost £12 (£10 concessions) with free entry for accompanied Under 10s.

For the full interviews, check out today’s RFU Podcast. Here you can listen to the weekly podcast or subscribe to itunes and have it delivered straight to your inbox each week.

The RFU Podcast takes you inside English rugby from the grassroots to the elite.

England Under-19 Regional Academies beat Australia Schools

Posted on Dec 10, 2009 in Rugby News

England’s Under 19 Regional Academy opened a four-match touring programme by the Australian Schools by scoring four tries to two to claim a 27-12 victory at Lymm RFC this afternoon.

Coach John Fletcher was always confident that his side had the talent to test the visitors and they fulfilled all his expectations in holding the whip-hand from the moment full-back Jonathan Joseph (London Irish) crossed for the opening try and fly-half Jake Sharp (Saracens) converted.

Sharp claimed the second after 19 minutes and converted his own score for a 14-0 lead and while Australian centre Matthew Garland cut the deficit with a 29th minute try to raise the visitors’ morale and make the interval scoreline 14-5.

However, a third try from wingman Earl Collins (Worcester Warriors) on 40 minutes opened up the lead once again, although once again the tourists refused to concede the struggle and rallied with a try by flanker Jack de Guingand that scrum-half and captain Matthew Lucas converted to bring his side within a score at 19-12.

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