Academy youngster chasing glory with England U20s

Saracens Academy player Jack Nay believes his experience at the club holds him in good stead as he looks to help England to the World U20 Championship title for the second successive season.

England face South Africa in the semi-finals on Tuesday, after topping Pool A with wins against Samoa, Wales and Australia.

The forward missed out on the matchday 23 this time, but will be drawing on all of his club experience to help his side when the time comes.

“Being at Sarries, you learn from players around you. Players like Maro Itoje, George Kruis and Schalk Burger as well” said Nay.

“To be around them to get experience from them about certain things – they’ve played in bigger games in World Cup tournaments.

“They’re really nice guys. I’ve been talking to them quite a lot and getting as much experience from them as I can.”

The 19-year old, who featured in England’s last-gasp win against Australia, knows each player has their own part to play in order to progress to the final.

“We have a plan to follow. We know what our role is in the system and being absolutely 100 per cent sure on it as well,“ he added.

“If everyone knows their roles, we just have to worry about the rugby. It’s a case of being aware all the time and staying switched on for the whole game.

“Their back three are really fast. We need to keep looking up and being switched on. We don’t want to give them opportunities against us so we can stay in the game as much as we can.”

A win against South Africa will see England progress to yet another final in the competition, with the prospect of winning a fourth title in five years.

“For us as a group of players, it would be amazing, brilliant, but we just need to focus on the big challenge ahead and then focus on what comes next,” said Nay.