Bristol Bears hooker set for England call-up ahead of New Zealand summer tour

Bristol Bears uncapped prodigy Gabriel Oghre is poised for an England call-up on Sunday, according to the latest reports, as head coach Steve Borthwick begins his preparations for the summer tour of New Zealand and Japan.

Oghre, who joined the Bears in the summer via stints at Leicester Tigers and Bordeaux Begles following the collapse of his former club Wasps, was tipped for international honors by England vice-captain Ellis Genge earlier this season and The Telegraph reports he is now ready to be named in a squad of around 20 players from the six clubs not involved in the Gallagher Premiership play-offs which will convene at Pennyhill Park on Monday.

READ MORE: England eye Bristol Bears’ season signing after cleaning up at club’s 2023/24 end-of-season awards

Oghre was a regular for the Bears in 2023/24 as the club turned their season around with a stunning run of results in January to climb the table and put themselves in contention to reach the semi-finals on the final day of the season. beating Harlequins 53-28 to give themselves the best possible chance only to be denied by results elsewhere, Sale securing a trip to Bath on Saturday after a shock away win at Saracens.

While 25-year-old Oghre’s dynamic, ball-carrying style of play caught Borthwick’s eye, intriguingly, he is still Bristol’s second-choice prop with Harry Thacker’s man of choice Pat Lam, overlooked criminal, when fully fit. Thacker finished the season as Bristol’s top try scorer and also recorded the best lineout success rate in the Gallagher Premiership with a 95% success rate, finding a team-mate in 96 of 101 throws his. Oghre is no slouch in this area though, being the fourth best darter in the league with a 92.2 percent success rate.

Bristol scrum-half Harry Randall and full-back Max Malins are also set for recall, according to the publication, with Genge missing out after picking up a significant calf injury at The Stoop on the final day of the season.

Malins was part of Borthwick’s side that finished third at the Rugby World Cup in France earlier this season, but a dip in form and a knee injury saw him miss the Six Nations, however, he has found his best form for the resurgent Bears. the tip of their spear in attack. Randall, nicknamed the “zip, zip man” was repeatedly the catalyst for Bristol’s attack from all offensive areas and shone in England A’s 91-5 win over Portugal in February to put them in contention for the summer tournament.