Cockerill take pride in Leicester's home-gown England talent
- Published
Cockerill's side face Ulster in the Heineken Cup this week
Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill says having five home-grown players in the England squad is a great tribute to the club's youth set-up.
Tom Croft, Dan Cole, Louis Deacon, Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs have all been named in the .
"It is particularly gratifying to see that five of the six Tigers players in the senior squad have come up all the way through the ranks," Cockerill said.
"This club always retains a strong home-grown core."
Cockerill added: "It says a lot for the strength of our set-up that so many of those players can develop here and go all the way to international status."
Fly-half Toby Flood was also included in the 32-man elite squad, with named as injury cover
And Tigers quartet Thomas Waldrom, Anthony Allen, Billy Twelvetrees and Micky Young have all been selected in the England Saxons squad.