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The England supremo has branded Bates’ England Saxons squad “a very talented bunch.”
“Certainly when we pick the two 32-man Elite Player Squads (EPS) on July 1, it will be very, very competitive,” he added.
Bates believes that a new deal between club and country will give the Saxons players all the motivation they need.
“Under the new agreement the pathway to the seniors is pretty well mapped out. Because we can only make limited changes to the squads, there will be more continuity between the squads. If someone at the top drops out, the next player down will step up.
“And I’ll be telling the players that their opportunities to progress will be hugely improved if we win the tournament.”
But Bates and fellow coaches Toby Booth and Simon Hardy will have to contend with limited preparations for their first game against the USA.
“Our biggest challenge will be getting the players on the same wavelength in such a short space of time.”
The squad meets up on Sunday, June 1, before flying to Ottawa the following day. They will have just five days to prepare for the opening match the following Saturday.
After pool matches against the US (Ottawa, June 7) and Ireland A (Toronto, June 14), the Saxons will be hoping to secure a place in Chicago’s final the following Saturday, where they will face either Scotland A, Argentina XV or Canada.
Forwards:
Steffon Armitage (London Irish)
Richard Blaze (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Brown (Gloucester Rugby)**
George Chuter (Leicester Tigers)**
Alex Clarke (Bristol Rugby)
Jordan Crane (Leicester Tigers)
Jack Forster (Gloucester Rugby)
Tom Guest (Harlequins)
Chris Jones (Sale Sharks)**
Nick Lloyd (Saracens)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Will Skinner (Harlequins) [Capt]
George Skivington (London Wasps)
Andy Titterrell (Gloucester Rugby)**
Rob Webber (London Wasps)
Dave Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)
Backs:
Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby)**
Anthony Allen (Gloucester Rugby)**
Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby)
Lee Dickson (Newcastle Falcons)
Ben Foden (Sale Sharks)
Paul Hodgson (London Irish)**
Adrian Jarvis (Harlequins)
Ryan Lamb (Gloucester Rugby)
Ugo Monye (Harlequins)
Ollie Smith (Leicester Tigers)**
Tom Varndell (Leicester Tigers)**
Dominic Waldouck (London Wasps)
** denotes capped player