The RFU Championship XV is an invitational rugby union team composed of English qualified players from the second-tier competition, the RFU Championship. The team was originally formed for a one-off match against a strong Māori All Blacks team as part of the 2012 end-of-year rugby union tests. However, on 10 September 2014, it was announced that the team will be re-formed for an uncapped match against Canada for the 2014 end-of-year rugby union internationals.[1]
The 2014 fixture will see Martin Haag, head coach of Nottingham, take over from Mike Rayer, Bedford Blues head coach,[2] who led the XV side to a 52–21 loss in the Māori All Blacks fixture. On that occasion, the match was played on 17 November 2012 at Castle Park, as part of the 2012 Māori All Blacks tour of United Kingdom, where the Māori side won two from three matches; 24–32 loss to Leicester Tigers, 52–21 win over RFU Championship XV and finally a 32–19 win over the XV's next opponent Canada.
On 10 October, Martin Haag announced the first 21 players that would represent the team against Canada on 2 November.[3]
On 16 October, James Phillips was added to the squad.[4]
On 27 October, Haag added a further 2 players to the team, in Jonny Arr and Max Maidment.[5]
1 It was later announced that Jonny Arr had replaced Ryan Glynn, who withdrew from the squad due to injury.[6]
2 On 31 October, Kieran Hallett was added to the squad to replace Dan Mugford, who was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury.[7]
The final team to face Canada was announced on the 31 October.[8]
| Player | Position | Date of Birth (Age) | Club | Union | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Clare | Hooker | (22) | Bedford Blues | England | |
| Tom Cruse | Hooker | 30 March 1989 (25) | Rotherham Titans | England | |
| Lee Imiolek | Prop | 21 September 1990 (24) | Yorkshire Carnegie | England | |
| Ryan Bower | Prop | 25 February 1991 (23) | Worcester Warriors | England | |
| Michael Holford | Prop | 11 August 1982 (32) | Nottingham | England | |
| Max Maidment | Prop | 1 August 1991 (23) | London Scottish | England | |
| Darren Barry | Lock | 2 February 1990 (24) | Cornish Pirates | England | |
| James Percival (c) | Lock | 9 November 1983 (30) | Worcester Warriors | England | |
| James Phillips | Lock | 27 September 1987 (27) | London Scottish | England | |
| Nick Fenton-Wells | Flanker | 11 August 1986 (28) | Bedford Blues | South Africa | |
| Marco Mama | Flanker | 27 March 1991 (23) | Bristol | Zimbabwe | |
| Mark Bright | Number eight | 29 September 1978 (36) | London Scottish | England | |
| Ryan Burrows | Number eight | 25 April 1988 (26) | Yorkshire Carnegie | England | |
| Jonny Arr | Scrum-half | 29 November 1988 (25) | Worcester Warriors | England | |
| Ryan Glynn 1 | Scrum-half | 27 September 1991 (23) | Jersey | England | |
| Tom Kessell | Scrum-half | 21 January 1990 (24) | Cornish Pirates | England | |
| Kieran Hallett | Fly-half | 2 June 1985 (29) | Cornish Pirates | Ireland | |
| Dan Mugford 2 | Fly-half | 9 October 1991 | Nottingham | England | |
| Lawrence Rayner | Fly-half | 13 July 1992 (22) | Plymouth Albion | England | |
| Greg King | Centre | 24 April 1988 (26) | Moseley | England | |
| Will Owen | Centre | 30 March 1995 (19) | Moseley | Wales | |
| Dougie Flockhart | Wing | 25 November 1984 (30) | Doncaster Knights | Scotland | |
| Michael Keating | Wing | 30 July 1989 (25) | Rotherham Titans | Ireland | |
| Miles Mantella | Wing | 7 October 1991 (23) | London Scottish | England | |
| Jack Tovey | Fullback | 16 December 1990 (21) | Bristol | Ireland |
| 2012 Squad | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Position | Date of Birth (Age) | Club | Union | |
| Dan Baines | Hooker | 4 August 1989 (26) | Rotherham Titans | England | |
| Jon Vickers | Hooker | 23 December 1988 (23) | Plymouth Albion | England | |
| Oliver Tomaszczyk | Prop | 24 November 1986 (25) | Newcastle Falcons | England | |
| Mark Irish | Prop | 25 August 1981 (31) | London Scottish | England | |
| Tom Davies | Prop | 17 April 1987 (25) | Doncaster Knights | Wales | |
| Alan Paver | Prop | 27 November 1977 (34) | Cornish Pirates | England | |
| Calum Green | Lock | 15 July 1990 (22) | Leeds Carnegie | England | |
| Nathan Hannay | Lock | 5 December 1984 (28) | Jersey | England | |
| Nic Rouse | Lock | 10 February 1981 (31) | Nottingham | England | |
| Jacob Rowan | Flanker | 14 January 1990 (22) | Leeds Carnegie | England | |
| Phil Burgess | Flanker | 1 July 1988 (24) | Cornish Pirates | England | |
| Ben Pienaar | Number eight | 10 September 1986 (26) | Moseley | England | |
| Richard Mayhew | Number eight | 24 June 1985 (27) | Newcastle Falcons |  New Zealand | |
| Luke Baldwin | Scrum-half | 15 September 1990 (22) | Bedford Blues | England | |
| Gavin Cattle (c) | Scrum-half | 5 April 1980 (32) | Cornish Pirates | Wales | |
| Tristan Roberts | Fly-half | 23 March 1987 (25) | Bristol | England | |
| Jake Sharp | Fly-half | 7 May 1991 (21) | Bedford Blues | England | |
| Charlie Hayter | Centre | 10 December 1988 (23) | Moseley | England | |
| Tim Streather | Centre | 14 June 1988 (24) | Nottingham | England | |
| Josh Bassett | Wing | 17 March 1992 (20) | Bedford Blues | England | |
| Jack Tovey | Wing | 16 December 1990 (21) | Bristol | Ireland | |
| Rhys Crane | Wing | 14 October 1985 (27) | Nottingham | England | |
| Dante Mama | Fullback | 22 January 1990 (22) | Doncaster Knights | Zimbabwe | |