A good year to be a Harlequins Academy player

As we approach the 2016/17 Aviva Premiership season and take stock of each team’s fortunes, it is quickly becoming apparent that it looks to be a very good year to be a senior member of the Harlequins academy.

The new eight-year agreement between the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Premiership Rugby (PRL) gives Eddie Jones more access to his Elite Player Squad (EPS) than ever before and that will create opportunities in the senior squad for recent graduates and current members of the club’s oft-praised academy.

Quins have had eight of their players named in Jones’ provisional 45-man EPS - more than any other Premiership club - and assuming they all maintain their places in the group when Jones names his final squad on the 30^th September, director of rugby John Kingston will have to make do without a number of his key players for large portions of the season.

The new agreement ensures that EPS players will be able to attend two-day camps in the build up to the autumn internationals and Six Nations and that they will not be released back to their clubs in the preparation week before the series and championship begin. This will result in clubs missing their EPS contingents for two Premiership games in the build-up to those international fixtures, in addition to the usual Anglo-Welsh Cup fixtures that take place in the weeks prior to and at the beginning of those test windows.

With the largest EPS contribution in the Premiership, extra games without test players and a relatively reserved attitude to recruitment from the club this offseason, Quins’ younger players should be facing up to the prospect of plenty of senior rugby this season.

Up front, Joe Marler and Kyle Sinckler are both in the provisional EPS and if Sinckler stays involved when the squad is reduced to 36 ahead of the two test windows, this could create an opportunity for Josh Ibuanokpe at tighthead. The former England U18 player has been learning the finer arts of scrummaging since transitioning from number eight and with Graham Rowntree now on board at the club, his development has a chance to take a significant leap forward.

Quins will also be hamstrung in the back row, with not only Chris Robshaw and Jack Clifford featuring in the EPS, but also Nick Easter hanging up his boots and becoming the club’s defence coach. This should create growing space for James Chisholm, as the former World Rugby Junior Player of the Year looks to build on his experience with the England Saxons in South Africa this summer.

Another player ready to fill the void created by Robshaw and Clifford is young flanker Archie White. He made his senior debut last season in the Challenge Cup as an 18-year-old and was one of England’s more impressive players in the U20 Six Nations. Unfortunately, injury curtailed his season but he is a strong candidate to feature during the autumn internationals, especially in the Anglo-Welsh Cup and Challenge Cup. He should be back with the England U20s early next year for the Six Nations but if Quins’ needs are pressing in the back row, don’t be surprised to see him retained by the club.

It’s possibly a year too early for number eight Dino Lamb-Cona, but keep an eye on Quins’ Anglo-Welsh Cup team selections, as this England U18 star has already featured in the A League and this would be the next logical step for his development.

Moving into the half-backs and Danny Care has made the provisional EPS, opening the door for scrum-half Calum Waters. Waters was the spark at nine that helped England U20s to global success this year and was also entrusted with captaincy duties for the recent Singha Premiership 7s tournament. He will compete with veteran Karl Dickson and new arrival Charlie Mulchrone in the pecking order and should feature this season, most likely off the bench.

Joe Marchant is Quins’ sole call-up in the midfield and given his relative inexperience, is a strong candidate to be part of the cull which sees the England squad reduced from 45 to 36 ahead of the test windows. He has the ability to force his way into Quins’ starting XV and should he do that and impress early in the season, Jones may well decide to retain him, but with both Jonathan Joseph and Elliot Daly also in the EPS, as well as Henry Slade and Ben Te’o, it seems unlikely.

Should Jones keep him around, however, Quins have a fantastic talent in Gabriel Ibitoye ready to step in for Anglo-Welsh Cup, Challenge Cup and possibly even Premiership duties. Ibitoye is currently captaining the England U18 squad in South Africa and has excelled in the sevens arena, at both the Rosslyn Park 7s and the Singha 7s. His leadership and defensive positioning are particularly impressive for a player so young, whilst he still offers the pace and attacking flair that has become commonplace in English age-grade rugby of late.

Finally, we come to the back three. Mike Brown and Marland Yarde have both been named in the EPS, whilst Tim Visser will be flirting with Scotland selection, creating a number of potential voids in the unit. Junior World Championship-winning full-back Aaron Morris has been brought in from Saracens to help deal with Brown’s absence, but there is no shortage of prospects to fill both wing berths if required.

Sam Aspland-Robinson enjoyed a fine year with England U20s last season and would be favourite to feature on the wing this season alongside senior squad members Charlie Walker and Ross Chisholm. His footwork and pace caused defences plenty of problems in the World Rugby U20 Championship and his ability to also play full-back certainly won’t hinder his chances of senior rugby.

Two other options are Scotland’s Robbie Nairn and Lithuania’s Jonas Mikalcius. Both wings are big, physical presences who can break tackles with ease. Neither player lacks for pace and just like Ibitoye, they have both shown up positively in the sevens arena of late.

Quins’ emerging talent will definitely be worth keeping an eye on this season as the club continues to contribute heavily to England’s success in the test arena.