Worcester trio are added to squad
» GLOUCESTER have added three former Worcester players to their ranks with one eye on the future.
Head coach George Skivington has added 20-year-old centre Seb Atkinson, 23-year-old left winger Alex Hearle and 19-year-old hooker Finn Theobald-thomas to his squad.
Atkinson and Theobald-thomas were in the Worcester Academy before the club were put into administration and are in the England Under-20s set-up.
Atkinson made his debut in the Premiership Rugby Cup win over Gloucester in December 2021 and his Premiership debut as a replacement at Sale in February 2022.
He made his first Premiership start against Harlequins two weeks later and marked the occasion with his maiden try.
Many of Hearle’s career landmarks have come against Exeter, making his Premiership debut at Sandy Park in August 2020 and scoring a hat-trick in the league win over the Chiefs in 2020/21 while still in the academy
Hearle signed his first senior contract with Warriors in May 2020 and penned a new two-year deal in May 2022.
Theobald-thomas is considered one for the future having made his Warriors debut as a replacement in the victory over Bristol Bears in the Premiership Rugby Cup at Sixways in November 2021.
The forward was called into the England Under-20s squad for the 2022 Six Nations and made his debut in the defeat by Italy in Treviso before scoring against Wales the following week.
Skivington confirmed he may look to the incredibly flooded transfer market following confirmation that England international Mark Atkinson is out for the season.
The centre suffered a significant knee injury in the 74th minute of the Cherry and Whites victory over Bath at the Rec.
Brown said: “We’re hugely disappointed to lose someone of Mark’s quality.
“He’s a key part of our squad and will remain an important voice for us behind the scenes.”
Skivington added: “Every team has an injury dispensation budget available to them and you can bring someone in.
“We have got to discuss as a coaching group whether we have got enough cover and who is ready to go and who isn’t.
“We have got some good young talent but that needs to be balanced with numbers in the building so we will have a look at it.”
Skivington has Chris Harris, Billy Twelvetrees, Giorgi Kveseladze, Jack Reeves, Tom Seabrook and Lewis Hillmancooper at his disposal, but with Harris and Kveseladze set to be away on international duty with Scotland and Georgia respectively the Cherry and Whites look short of top end options.