Shropshire A-Level student Graham Kitchener made his Guinness Premiership debut for Worcester in their 49-12 defeat to Wasps.Second row Kitchener, who is at Adams Grammar School in Newport, was a second half substitute for the Warriors at Adams Park in Wycombe.
The 18-year-old is hoping his big breakthrough will give him the opportunity to push on next season and establish himself as a member of the first XV squad.
“I was told on Wednesday that I was in and they said I’d get the last five or 10 minutes, but I actually got a bit more than that in the end,” he said.
“I was a bit awestruck seeing these players that I’ve been watching on TV running around me. It was just amazing.
“I didn’t feel out of place and people who watched said I did well. It was a weakened team on Saturday though, because they were resting a few players.
“I wouldn’t have thought I’ll be playing again this season but next season is my target now. I’d like to be in and around the team and get a few starts by the end.”
Director of rugby Mike Ruddock is hoping players such as Kitchener, who has been suffering from a knee injury this season, will learn from the experience.
“The difference showed in the second half, we brought on Graham Kitchener who has got to go back after the game to do some school revision, Simon Shaw came on for them. That showed the difference.
“The young players will have learnt a lot from that and I have so too. It hurts to lose and we are not happy. But our focus is on the bigger picture, bringing these young players through and getting our big names back for next week against Bath.”
Kitchener, who has represented England under 20s this season, came up against stars such as Lawrence Dallaglio, Joe Worsley and Danny Cipriani.
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