Shropshire’s Graham Kitchener is off to the land of the rising sun after being included in the England squad for the IRB Under-20 World Championship in Japan in June.

Former North Midlands under-18 lock Kitchener has played for England in this season’s Under-20 Six Nations and lines up for Worcester Warriors tonight in the Guinness Premiership against Gloucester at Kingsholm.

“This is an exciting squad to be involved with and we have the talent, experience and ambition to mount a really strong challenge for the world title in Japan this summer,” said England Under-20s head coach Mark Mapletoft.

Kitchener, who hails from Baschurch, is a product of Shrewsbury’s junior programme and was a student at Adams Grammar School in Newport.

He has made an impact in the Premiership this season and survived a tough selection process.

“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,” added Mapletoft.

England, the second seeds in the tournament, will open their Pool B campaign against Japan on June 5 and then play Scotland on June 9 and Samoa on June 13, all in Tokyo.