THREE Shebbear College students have been selected for The Lambs English Independent Schools U16 National Rugby Squad 2017.

Alessandro Aliberti, Sione Funaki and Charlie Short have joined a group of 28 to play a number of fixtures against opponents including the U16 academy team of European champions, Saracens. In their first fixture the boys achieved a 22-15 win against the Boys’ Club of Wales U16s.

Shebbear’s cohort of three was the largest selected from any independent school in England in a trial pool that included pupils from such rugby powerhouses as Millfield and Whitgift.

Headmaster Simon Weale said ‘I am delighted for the boys and also for their families and coaches who must be very proud. Shebbear has always had a passion for rugby and we have strong links with the local clubs in the area. This is reinforced by the fact that Charlie and Sione play for Launceston RFC and Alessandro for Bideford RFC.

‘We are ambitious in everything we do at Shebbear and we want all of our students to play high quality competitive sport. This attitude also allows us to attract international students of the calibre of Sione, who is a cousin of Billy and Mako Vunipola.

‘Our director of rugby, former RFU Coach Jamie Sanders, is hoping to assemble a strong senior squad for next season and these boys will be a cornerstone of it, but there is still room for any committed rugby players who want to join our sixth form’.