Action from England Counties Under 20s v Georgia

Williams, a former head coach of the Belgium national side, succeeds Bob Hood as head coach of the England Counties Under 20s team with Arnold, the Fylde and Lancashire lock, taking over as assistant coach.

Williams played for Aberavon and Wales Students and has extensive coaching experience with Chinnor, Oxfordshire, England Universities Sevens and Antwerp.

He is now head coach of Amersham & Chiltern and has previous experience with England Counties Under 20s as he was assistant coach to Hood two years ago.

Arnold is a former England Counties international who has played for Lancashire in eight County Championship finals.

His playing career includes stints with Sedgley Park, Sale Sharks, Orrell, Nottingham, Moseley and Caldy and representative honours for the Barbarians and North Under 21s.

Williams and Arnold will take charge of England Counties Under 20s on their tour to Hungary in June where they will play matches against the Hungarian Barbarians and a Hungary Under 23 XV.

Peter Vernon, England Counties Under 20s team manager, said: “Richie and Paul bring a vast experience of coaching to this aspirational programme which dovetails with the RFU’s Unity Project with  17 European nations.

“Our visit to Hungary is the first by a national representative team from England and besides the two fixtures will include an outreach programme building on what was achieved when this side visited Georgia in 2013 and hosted the Georgians in Cambridge last season.

“The success of this team goes back to 2011 when they first played Scotland and recognises the amount of work that has been put in by the original coaching and management team in providing an opportunity for players competing for their counties in the National Under 20 comeptitions.”

The England Counties Under 20 squad to tour Hungary will be selected after the Divisional Festival at Welbeck College in Leicestershire from April 3 to 5.