OW wins first England U20 cap

Tate Williams B'25 added to Worth’s proud history of rugby when he won his first England U20 cap in Friday’s U20 Six Nations match against Ireland at Bath.

Tate came on as a 53rd-minute replacement in a 31-21 defeat, having previously featured in a warm-up match for the tournament against a club side. It was not the result the team wanted but it was a proud moment for Tate, his family and anyone who knows him.

Whilst at Worth Tate played for England in the U18 Six Nations Festival in France. Last November he made his 1st XV debut for Harlequins in a PREM Rugby Cup tie with Northampton.

Rugby has been an integral part of Worth since the establishment of the senior school in 1959 and Tate is certainly not the first to win international honours. In fact, he is not the only former Worth 1st XV player involved in the current U20 Six Nations as one-time team-mate Felix Bateman-Champain C'25 is in the Scotland squad for the tournament, although he is yet to feature in their opening three games.

Another OW, Nick Walshe B'92, won two caps for the full England team during a tour to Australia in 2006, having previously appeared several times for the England A team. He was later head coach of the England U20 team, taking them to successive victories in the 2013 and 2014 IRB Junior World Championship.

Meanwhile, Tom Mitchell F'07 captained England Students and Great Britain Students in the 15-a-side game, before switching to rugby sevens and he went on to captain Great Britain to a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 before skippering the side against at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Others from Worth who have played international rugby include Crispin Dawson StB'93 (England U18) and Pete Robertson B'93 (Scotland A).

Congratulations to Tate. We are incredibly proud of your ongoing success.