Young Gun: Harry Randall – England U20s scrum-half

Harry Randall is used to punching above his weight but next month he will take it to a new level at the Junior World Cup.
The Gloucester scrum-half, who was turning out for England U18s back in March, was included in Martin Haag’s England U20s squad for the upcoming World Cup in Manchester.
Standing 5ft 6in and tipping the scale at just 69kg (10st 12lbs), Randall, 18, has never been the biggest on a rugby pitch but he is looking forward to the challenge.
“It is a bit daunting to play two years above my age because of the step up in physicality, but being a scrum-half I’ve always enjoyed punching above my weight,” he told The Rugby Paper.
“I’ll just get stuck in and get on with what I’ve got to do. Max Green is the only other scrum-half in the squad so I should be involved quite a lot and I can’t wait.
“I was never expecting to be selected for the World Cup with the U20s. I was just concentrating on playing well for the U18s last month against France and Wales.
“I ended up being picked for the U19s game against France where Martin Haag took charge. I scored a try and I must have impressed him because soon after he gave me a call to say he was going to take me to the World Cup.”
Born in England from English parents, Randall and his family moved to Wales when he was four and he played for the Scarlets and Wales U16s while at Llandovery College.
But he decided to move back to England last summer and he hasn’t looked back. He won the AASE League with Hartpury College before reaching the Premiership Academy final with Gloucester.
He said: “I had a great time in Wales and especially at Llandovery where they helped me develop a lot. But I’m English so I don’t feel like a traitor for moving back to England.
“This season has gone great so far. We ended up winning the AASE League with Hartpury and then most of the boys took that form into the academy league with Gloucester.
“We did really well in the pool stages as a team to get to the final but unfortunately we didn’t turn up in the final against London Irish.
“I’ve been working a lot on my kicking game with Tim Taylor to make sure I have a variety of kicks in my skillset
“I’ve got another year left at College so hopefully I can get involved in the AASE League again and maybe even play for the senior side in National League One or even with Gloucester in the LV=Cup or A-League.”