From county to country (From Gazette & Herald)

From county to country

A teenager from Whitwell-on-the-Hill has been selected to play for the England Under-18s rugby squad.

Tom Denton, 18, has been playing since he was seven.

Proud mum Jo said: "There was a massive selection process: firstly for East Yorkshire, then to Yorkshire, then the North of England and then the England squad. The England squad selections are for the over 16s.

"He's going to Italy for the Home Nations tournament."

Tom began playing at Malton & Norton Rugby Club under Chris Weir. It was recommended that he went to Leeds Tykes' academy, and his parents chose to send him to Lady Lumley's School because of its sports college status.

Jo said: "He's had so many people support him. Rob Brierley at RFU saw him through and had faith in him, and Stuart Lancaster at Leeds Tykes. He said to him, 'You'll play for England one day'."

The opportunities ahead of him are amazing. Tom has already played on the hallowed turf of Twickenham in the Daily Mail Cup final for St Peter's School in York.

Although he plans to go to Leeds University to study business management, a future as a professional rugby player is clearly not out of his reach.

Jo said: "It's still hard to believe - there are so many good players out there. For the county levels, literally hundreds of players turned up."

Updated: 15:05 Wednesday, April 05, 2006