England Under-19s v France at Doncaster Knights' Castle Park a proud moment for former Leeds player Andy Titterrell

For the Rugby Football Union are giving Doncaster Knights another pat on the back for their facilities and infrastructure by bringing their England Under-19s to Castle Park for a fixture against their counterparts from France.

More than 2,000 tickets have already been sold for a game that will showcase the best of what England’s pathway has to offer.

Some of the players who helped England win the recent Under-20s Six Nations Championship, like lock Olamide Sodeke, will be stepping down for this bridge fixture, representing the Red Rose alongside younger prospects such as back Ben Cohen and Angus Hall who will be eager to grasp their opportunity.

And there will be a familiar face on the sidelines as well, with the team led by Andy Titterrell, the former Leeds Carnegie and England hooker.

“I had some fantastic times at Leeds and it’s nice to be coming up north again, get the lads out of the M25 and breathing some proper air,” smiles Titterrell when reflecting on his past and his present with The Yorkshire Post this week.

“I had some very good times at Leeds considering the strain the club was under on the pitch, going through a relegation season. That move came along at the right time for me personally, it got me back enjoying rugby again after a difficult spell at Gloucester.

“I never felt any pressure to go out and perform. I only came for three months and it was pretty much shackles off, just like what we want the boys to do now in the pathway – get them playing without any pressure and not worrying about making a mistake.”

Titterrell, who won the Premiership and all five of his England caps in his time at Sale, was in the twilight of his career when he came to Leeds. Further spells at Edinburgh and London Welsh followed before retirement eventually came and he was suddenly, and concerningly, out of work.

“I retired in the January, February time and from then until June it felt like an eternity, not having a role or a club to work at,” he recalls.

But Titterrell was quick to put the wheels in motion on the second phase of his career. By that summer of 2014 he had taken a position in the coaching staff at Wasps. A decade later he is assistant to England Under-20s head coach Mark Mapletoft and taking charge of the Under-19s for today’s game with France and away in Italy next week.

“I love working in the pathway,” says Titterrell. “It’s very different to senior coaching because you get to invest a bit more time with younger players, see them come through and try and guide them to a position where when they leave the pathway they’re better players, aware of what may come at them at a senior level, the relentlessness of the profession.”

There is an alignment between the age groups. Titterrell works under Mapletoft in the Under-20s and is given the freedom to lead the Under-19s himself. Another former Leeds Carnegie player, Jonathan Pendlebury, runs the Under-18s.

“We try and keep that as aligned as we can so that when players come up from the 18s, if they’re progressing onto the 19s and 20s then a lot of our attack and defence principles are the same,” explains Titterrell. “We just try and make that transition for the players as seamless as we can.”

On his own development as a head coach over the next fortnight, Titterrell adds: “For me personally it’s fantastic. Tofty (Mapletoft) gave me more responsibility to push me forward in terms of leading programmes, leading meetings, taking more training sessions. I really wanted that.”

Asked to identify some players for the Doncaster crowd to look out for, the head coach in Titterrell is initially reticent – as head coaches are these days to single out individuals. Then he remembers the bigger picture of selling the product.

“We’ve got a great group of lads. From a backs perspective, the two No 10s Josh Bellamy and Ben Cohen will be exciting to watch. Angus Hall, a centre, too.

“Olamide Sodeke, a second row, he played in the Under-20s Six Nations for us. Two props I’m keen to have a look at are Alfie Longstaff and Tye Raymont (Yorkshire Rugby Academy graduate), both from Sale Sharks and both are Leeds lads.

“It’s a good opportunity to see how these lads can progress and kick on. And it’s brilliant to be coming up north again.”