Fly-half: Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) – In the years that have followed, Slade has not only established himself as a regular in the Chiefs first team squad, but his on-field form have seen him win numerous honours, including the LV= Cup and Aviva Premiership title, as well as picking up the RPA’s Young Player of the Year award in 2015.
That same year he was part of the England squad for the Rugby World Cup, winning his first cap in a warm-up fixture against France, before scoring a try in the group stage clash against Uruguay in Manchester.
Disaster struck Slade a few months later when he suffered a broken leg in a Premiership clash away to Wasps, but a remarkable recovery saw him return before the end of the season and he helped the Chiefs to reach a first-ever Premiership final.
Although still capable of filling in at fly-half, Slade has established himself as a world class centre for both the Chiefs and England, the latter of whom he has featured for at Test level in the Autumn Series, Six Nations and, more recently, Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Scrum-half: Callum Braley (Benetton) – He skippered the successful defence of England U20s Junior World Championship the following year before leaving Bristol behind for Gloucester.
In 2019, Braley gained his first senior international caps for Italy off the bench against Ireland and Russia in World Cup warm-up matches, and has since won four caps. The scrum-half will leave the Cherry & Whites for Pro14 side Benetton at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Prop: Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs) – Keen to help develop his game, the Chiefs dual-registered Cowan-Dickie with then Championship club Plymouth Albion, where he switched to hooker.
In the years that have followed, Cowan-Dickie has continued to turn in stellar performances, helping the Chiefs to not only lift the LV= Cup in 2014, but to also reach back-to-back Premiership finals in 2016 and 2017, the latter of which they won against Wasps.
On the international scene, the talented hooker helped England to win the Grand Slam in 2016 before playing a key role at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Hooker: Nathan Morris (Blackheath) – He spent three years with Wasps followed by another three at London Welsh where he made 58 appearances, 18 of which were in the Premiership, before joining Old Elthamians in 2016.
After four years with them, Morris signed with Blackheath in January 2020.
Prop: Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears) – The tighthead prop, who joined Bristol Bears from Harlequins in June 2020, has 35 caps for England and represented his country at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Sinckler also featured in all three tests on the Lions’ tour to New Zealand in 2017 and is one of World Rugby’s current leading stars.