By Duncan Wood
January 22 2003

Phil Christophers, Andrew Sheridan and Julian White have all been named by Clive Woodward in England's training squads. For Sheri and Julian, it's a welcome return to the international fold after absences for different reasons.

It's good news for the all 3 of the Bristol Shoguns selected by England for training at Pennyhill Park on January 27th and 28th.

Phil Christophers is rewarded for his continued good form this season, not to mention his performance against South Africa, with a promotion from the Academy setup into the full squad.

However, he will of course have to recover from the heavy knock that he took against Leinster in the Heinken Cup if he is to take a full part in proceedings.

Julian White returns to the squad for the first time since he returned from the suspension that ruled him out of the Autumn internationals. He hasn't missed a game for Bristol since and has been a cornerstone of an impressive Shoguns pack ever since.

And it's great news for Andrew Sheridan of course who returns to an England squad, this time in the Academy, this time as a prop rather than as a second row as in the past.

Brian Ashton National Academy Manager said "I’m delighted that Andrew’s performances at prop for Bristol Shoguns have been recognised. He has a huge amount of potential and if he maintains his progress he will be considered for further international recognition."

On the official site, www.bristolshoguns.co.uk, Sheria had this to say:

"Brian Ashton phoned me this morning and it was great news. I've been very happy with the move to prop and I just want to improve and be consistent in the position."

It's great news for the big fella and a remarkable turnaround in a short space of time. Only a few weeks ago, he was recovering from a rib injury suffered in the first Montferrand game.

Now, he's enjoying a decent run in the first team alongside Julian and Paul Johnstone in the front row.

Good luck to all 3 of them!