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 Six Nations squad, external.
"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 Geoff Parling, external 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.