Opoku-Fordjour eyeing up Under-20 World Cup target

A tumultuous start to the season has not hampered rugby star Asher Opoku-Fordjour's World Cup ambitions. The demise of Wasps at the start of last season saw the Coventry-born star forced to up sticks for Sale Sharks in Greater Manchester. Ad But the 18-year-old has not let the disruption affect him, making his way into Alan Dickens' England squad for the Under-20 Six Nations, and has lofty ambitions after his first taste of under-20 action.

RugbyTikTok Women's Six Nations: Italy in Focus42 MINUTES AGO «We have got the [Under-20] World Cup coming this season so hopefully I get selected for that squad,» said Opoku-Fordjour, who started his career at Kenilworth RFC and is funded by a partnership between SportsAid and Canterbury. «That's the big aim for this season. »I didn't get selected for the Under-20s but I got selected two weeks later which was a pleasant surprise and I am enjoying it.

«It feels good competing at this level. It shows where I can go, what I need to work on and areas I need to improve on.» The international scene is just one of many new environments Opoku-Fordjour has adapted to, leaving his family home for Manchester and going out on loan to Sedgley Park Tigers. But it is something the youngster is more than used to, with Opoku-Fordjour firmly familiar with new surroundings.

«I was with Wasps, and they went under, and that was pretty hard leaving all the people I have been with and I have grown up with in rugby,» he added. «From there I moved to Sale and it has been good. The boys welcomed me really well; I am training well and playing well.