Joe Vajner was halfway to Newcastle on a train last March to meet up with the England U18s squad to play Scotland when he received a text to say the match had been called off.
It was another kick in the teeth for the young captain of London Irish U18 who was denied the chance to lift the Academy League trophy as an outright winner when the Exiles drew 22-22 with Leicester Tigers, and had to share the title under league rules. That acted as a shot in the arm for the hooker who was invited into the England development programme by head coach Jonathan Pendlebury. But with the message that ...