CHARLIE SHARPLES has been called up by England under-20s for the IRB World Junior Championships this summer.

The former Dursley youth player will travel to Japan in June with the rest of the 26-man squad.

Sharples missed much of the England under-20s Six Nations campaign because he was called back by Gloucester to play for them in the Guinness Premiership. He has since gone on to make eight appearances this season and was an unused replacement in the EDF Energy Cup final defeat against Cardiff last week.

England head coach and former Cherry and Whites favourite, Mark Mapletoft, said: "Everyone in the squad for this tournament has made an impact in the Premiership this season or on dual-registration with National League clubs and that made selecting a squad of 26 a very tough task. There were close calls and there will be some very disappointed players out there.

"That said, it’s a pleasure to welcome back the likes of Courtney Lawes, Graham Kitchener, Ben Youngs and Charlie Sharples, who all only appeared once or twice for us in the Six Nations before getting a lot of exposure for their clubs, and to have Dave Lewis returning after injury.

He added: "This is an exciting squad to be involved with and we have the talent, experience and ambition in the group to mount a really strong challenge for the world title in Japan this summer."