Scarborough teenager Mitchell stars for England U20s in European Championships
Scarborough’s Mitchell England has impressed for the U20s England Lions touch rugby team at the European Youth Championships at Warwick University, despite only turning 16 in June.
Proud mum Val England said: “He had the time of his life, and gave it everything he had when it came to the games. He scored his first international try against Wales, and his team put in some fantastic performances, beating Portugal and Ireland.
“He'll be representing the North East of England U17s again at the Nationals in Nottingham.”
Mitchell's rugby journey began at the age of five, playing union at Scarborough which is where he still plays now.
Val added: “He's looking forward to his first year of colts rugby this coming season after making an early debut for their last game of the season in April. He plays at scrum-half.
“His touch rugby journey began at the age of 14, playing touch rugby off season to keep his fitness levels up and rugby skills sharp, and he enjoyed it so much he continued to play it socially on a Wednesday night at SRUFC.
"Then due to rugby & touch rugby training sessions being cancelled for a few weeks due to wet weather, Mitch decided to go to a touch rugby session being held at Driffield Rugby Club one evening, following that session he was invited to join the Trysports Touch Rugby Centre of Excellence which is part of the England Touch Rugby High Performance Pathway in January 2025.
“His Dad and I often reflect on how it all started one cold rainy training session in Driffield, something to keep him engaged in sports in the rugby off season has suddenly grown into this amazing opportunity.
“Since then he has represented the North East of England U17s at last year’s Nationals competition, and due to his continued attendance at the Trysports Centre of Excellence was then invited to train with the England high performance squads in July 2026.
“Following an initial training weekend, he was then invited to join the Men’s U20s Lions team for the European Championships.
“England are a very dominant force in European Touch Rugby and places in the squads is very competitive, the Lions team are development teams to allow more of the high performance players an opportunity to compete at an international level while keeping the overall standard in the competitions high."