Seb Atkinson credits England call-up to the 'freedom' given at Gloucester

Seb Atkinson believes the ‘freedom’ he has been given by Gloucester’s coaches this season has been key to his first senior England call-up.

Atkinson has had a brilliant season for the Cherry & Whites and was one of 14 uncapped players in a recent training squad assembled by Steve Borthwick ahead of this summer’s tour of Argentina and USA.

The centre’s stock has been rising for a while, having made his senior debut for Worcester in 2021, and he hopes to crown it with an international debut this summer.

"You never expect a call-up, but I'm really proud," he said. “Credit to the team and the coaching staff at Gloucester for what they've done this year.

"They've given us the freedom and the exposure for me to play the way that I feel I play best, so cheers to them and hopefully I can keep moving forwards.

"We had some dark times last year where people were frustrated, we weren't performing the way that we felt that we could, but credit to the coaches.

"They gave us the opportunity to express ourselves and play freely. With the squad that we've got we've really taken that into our own hands this year and played some enjoyable rugby."

The Bromsgrove native has taken the freedom and run with it, ranking top in carries, tackles, passes, and post-contact metres and second in total metres, line break assists, and try assists among Premiership centres this campaign.

He also broke Beauden Barrett's 'bronco' test world record earlier this season, clocking in at four minutes and eight seconds.

"I guess I can verify it," the centre said. "We did one during the Six Nations training block. I wasn't expecting that time at all."Our training had been pushing us to a level where I was able to achieve that, but I still surprised myself by a good 20 seconds or so."

The coming tour to the Americas, which is preceded by a clash with a France XV on June 21, could be Atkinson's springboard into a long and impressive international career if he transfers his domestic performance into an England shirt.

Steve Borthwick knows how important these tours can be and has identified Argentina as an opportunity for players to put their hand up.

"The example you'd use would be 2017,” he said.

“Players emerged in that series against Argentina and really staked their claim two years out from the World Cup and became really important, influential players for England at the 2019 World Cup.

"I have no doubt there will be players who emerge and stake their claim this summer, and say 'I want to be part of that team in 2027'. I'm looking forward to that. The enthusiasm, the energy and the excitement they bring is really, really impressive."

England XV face France XV atAllianz Stadium,Twickenham, on Saturday 21 June at 3:15pm. Tickets from £25, please visit www.englandrugby.com/xvtickets