Harry Randall, a former Hartpury College student, will have his first Six Nations start for England this Sunday when they play Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. He’ll join fellow alum Ellis Genge, also confirmed in the English starting squad.
Two former Hartpury students feature for Italy – Stephen Varney is set to start while Seb Negri has been named on the bench. Elsewhere, three other former Hartpury students are in action for Wales as they take on Scotland at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.
The twice-capped Harry Randall replaces experienced scrum-half Ben Youngs as England change six players for the game. Randall has produced several sparkling performances for his club, Bristol Bears, in recent seasons. He previously played for England at Under-20 level. During his time at Hartpury, he won both AASE and BUCS Super Rugby winners’ medals. He was also Man of the Match in the inaugural Super Rugby final at Twickenham in 2017, where his two second half tries contributed to a fine win over a powerful Exeter University line-up.
Upon leaving Hartpury he signed an academy contract at Gloucester Rugby before Pat Lam had the foresight to recognise his developing talent and whisk him down the M5 to Ashton Gate. During his time with Gloucester, he spent a successful season playing for Hartpury in the Greene King IPA Championship, having previously seen some games during our march to the National 1 title in 2016-17.
Talking to the media about Randall on Thursday, England Head Coach Eddie Jones said: “He is a livewire halfback. Very good in broken play, with a solid passing game.”
Jones has called on his side to “light up” Rome and is placing his faith in a young squad to do so.
Ellis Genge was captain of Hartpury College before joining Bristol in 2013 at the age of 18. He helped lead the Hartpury team to victory in the AASE league before representing England at youth level from U17 to U20. He made his international debut for England in 2016.
Welsh-born Italian Stephen Varney (former Hartpury College and University student) made his international debut for Italy, from the bench, in the Autumn Nations Cup against Scotland in 2020 after being named in the Italy Under 20 squad for the 2020 Six Nations Under 20s Championship. Starting on the bench this time, Hartpury University BA (Hons) Sports Business Management graduate Seb Negri represented his country in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, 2020 and 2021 Six Nations.
For Wales, Ross Moriarty, Louis Rees-Zammit and Alex Cuthbert have all been named by Head Coach Wayne Pivac as they look to bounce back from a tough start to the 2022 Six Nations. Moriarty and Rees-Zammit are former Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Sport (Performance and Excellence) in Rugby students, while Cuthbert studied A-levels at Hartpury.
Russell Marchant, Vice-Chancellor, Principal & CEO of Hartpury University and Hartpury College, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to see Harry get the call-up he deserves this weekend and can’t wait to see him start for his home country alongside Ellis Genge.
“All seven former students in action this weekend are outstanding ambassadors of our Hartpury rugby pathway that is now well-established and proven to produce international rugby players of the highest calibre.”
A total of 11 former Hartpury students and Men’s Rugby Academy alumni were named in team selections by England, Wales, Scotland, and Italy at the start of the Championship.
The rugby pathway at Hartpury – a RFU University Partner – means that alongside their studies, students can play for Hartpury College, then Hartpury University and its Championship club Hartpury University RFC.
Rugby students at Hartpury – one of the world’s leading sports education institutions – have access to a range of world-class facilities including biomechanics and human performance laboratories, rehabilitation suite, medical and physiotherapy rooms, anti-gravity treadmill, and a brand-new £250,000 performance gym. Hartpury has recently invested over £10m in its sports facilities, enabling students to learn using some of the most advanced technologies in the UK.
England’s game against Italy will be available to watch live on ITV this Sunday 13 February (15:00 kick-off). Scotland will play Wales on Saturday (14:15 kick-off), available to watch on the BBC, and Ireland meet France on Saturday (16:45 kick-off), available to watch on ITV.
