RICHARD Capstick has spoken of his excitement after he was one of three Exeter Chiefs players to have been named in the England A squad for their upcoming clash with Ireland.

Capstick, along Greg Fisilau and Josh Hodge, will form part of a 25-man squad that will prepared for the fixture at Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol on Sunday, February 23 (1pm).

It will mark the 25-year-old’s first involvement at this level, whereas both Fisilau and Hodge have both featured previously.

“I’m excited to just go in, have a crack, and just see what comes of it all,” said Capstick. “Hopefully, I’ll play well, if selected, and if not just make a good impression.”

In the past, Capstick featured for both England Under-18s and 20s, so acknowledges he has an idea of what to expect from going into an international camp.

“It’s obviously a step up and it’s good that Haydn Thomas will be there as well, doing the defence coach role, so at least there will be some familiar faces.”

As well as the three Chiefs, the squad – which will come under the guidance of Bath’s Lee Blackett – boasts four previously capped players at senior men’s level, including Leicester Tigers duo Ollie Hassell-Collins and Jack van Poortvliet, plus Curtis Langdon and Tom Pearson of Northampton Saints.

Head coach Blackett will be accompanied by Haydn Thomas (Exeter Chiefs, defence coach), Louis Deacon (Red Roses, forwards coach) and Matt Ferguson (Northampton Saints, scrum coach) as part of his staff for the match.

The coaching team was chosen by the RFU in consultation with Premiership Rugby, with the selection of the match day 23 determined by senior men’s head coach, Steve Borthwick, and RFU executive director of performance rugby, Conor O’Shea.

The squad will assemble at the Bristol Bears High Performance Centre next Tuesday (February 18) to begin preparations for the fixture later that week, where they may be joined by selected players presently training with the senior squad.

Blackett said: “It’s an honour to be a part of this team once again, even more so having now been trusted to lead it. I’m privileged to be surrounded by a fantastic coaching and support staff from the RFU and Premiership Rugby clubs, and we’re all keen to work with this exciting group of players.

“The players we have at our disposal is a real indication of the breadth of talent within the Premiership currently. A healthy proportion of the team have experience with the Men’s A team and are motivated to seize the opportunity whilst representing their country.

“With Haydn and I previously involved in the setup last November, we want to continue to develop a collaborative and supportive environment alongside Louis [Deacon] and Matt [Ferguson].”

England A Forwards: Alfie Barbeary (Bath Rugby), Phil Brantingham (Saracens), Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs), Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs), Luke Green (Northampton Saints), Tarek Haffar (Northampton Saints), Jack Kenningham (Harlequins), George Kloska (Bristol Bears), Curtis Langdon (Northampton Saints, 2 caps), Tom Lockett (Northampton Saints), Gabriel Oghre (Bristol Bears), Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints, 1 cap), Hugh Tizard (Saracens),

Backs: Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby), Will Butt (Bath Rugby), Joe Carpenter (Sale Sharks), Tobias Elliott (Saracens), Ollie Hassell-Collins (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps), George Hendy (Northampton Saints), Josh Hodge (Exeter Chiefs), Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby), Will Porter (Harlequins), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers, 16 caps), Joseph Woodward (Leicester Tigers)