Alex Moon (W 12-15), Cameron Redpath (S 16-18) & Josh Hodge (P 12-18) Named In England Six Nations Squad
Congratulations to Alex Moon (W 12-15), Cameron Redpath (S 16-18) and Josh Hodge (P 12-18) who were all named in the England squad for the upcoming Six Nations Championship, which commenced on 1st February and will conclude on 14th March. Alex was named in the initial squad, 19-year-old Josh Hodge was named as an apprentice in the squad prior to England’s opening match against France. Cameron was later drafted into the England squad prior to the recent game against Ireland.
Abbie Scott (R 09-11) and Phil Dowson (P 93-00) were the most recent Old Sedberghians to play for England. In addition, recently retired Mike McCarthy (SH 93-00) earned 19 appearances for Ireland having made his debut in 2011 Six Nations Championship. Welsh prop and Grand Slam winner Tom Francis (W 05-08) has earned 47 caps for Wales but is missing the current tournament due to a shoulder injury which he suffered against South Africa in last October’s World Cup Semi Final.
Alex Moon
Standing at over two metres tall, former England U18 and U20 lock Alex Moon has had an upbringing surrounded by rugby – his father Jon helped coach at Ipswich RFC while his uncle Steve played for rugby league side Bradford Bulls.
Alex, 23, joined Saints in 2015 as part of the academy set up and helped the club with the Premiership Rugby A League title in 2017 and 2018.
It was under Saints Director of Rugby Chris Boyd where he got his chance in the Saints first team as he made his first start for the club last season as he made 18 appearances and scored his first ever try in the Black, Green and Gold.
Cameron Redpath
20-year-old Cameron Redpath (Bath) was one of three late additions to the England Training Squad following their opening defeat to France. Cameron is the son of former Scotland international Bryan Redpath, and was signed with the Sale Sharks for three years while also being one of five junior academy players offered a five-year academy contract back in 2017. He has played two seasons for England U20s and linked up with Eddie Jones’ England camp last week for their three days of training in Kensington, central London, and is widely regarded as a likely future international.
With the ability to play 10, centre and fullback, Cameron earlier this week signed a three-year contract with Bath Rugby with immediate effect for the rest of the season and beyond. It is hoped he may be available to play in Bath Rugby’s highly-anticipated local derby fixture against South West rivals Bristol Bears on Sunday 1 March 2020.
Josh Hodge
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Josh Hodge (Newcastle Falcons) was one of two players called up as apprentices for training with the squad, meaning he would train with the squad but wouldn’t be considered for any of the matches.
Left-footed, goal-kicking full back Josh was the top points scorer at the World Rugby Under 20 Championship last summer as he slotted all of his 24 attempts at the sticks and scores two tries.
A talented all-round sportsman, the 19-year-old joined Sedbergh on a sports scholarship for running and rugby, was part of the Preston North End academy from age seven and represented Great Britain at Under 21 level at the age of 15 in clay pigeon shooting.
Hodge’s natural speed and elusive footwork are a key part of his game and is part of the Newcastle side that top the Championship this season with a perfect record so far with nine wins from nine.
Eddie Jones commented, “Did you see the try he scored yesterday? It was like out of one of those e-games. He beat 15 defenders, then he ran around the touch judge, still scored. I saw him play in Argentina last year with the Under 20s and I was really impressed by him. Tall, fast, kicks goal from 60 meters. An interesting prospect, so we want to have a look at him a bit closer.”
