Catterick has featured for the Falcons Academy already this season, scoring three points in the recent match against Scotland Under-17s in Edinburgh.

He joins a long list of current international fly halves to be on the books at Kingston Park, with Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood in the senior squad along with the Under-18s pair of Rob Miller and Rory Clegg.

He will be captained in the England team by a fellow Falcons and Barnard Castle player, with No.8 Alex Gray skippering the side.

The match is the first in this year’s Five Nations tournament. Competition against Wales, France and Italy is familiar enough and has been part of the international framework at this level for a number of years. But this is the first time the teams have been brought together in a tournament environment.

Coach Gareth Rees said: “Our preparations have gone really well. The team has come together nicely, with each of our warm-up games presenting a different set of problems. They have come through each of them with credit.

“Having such a condensed programme is a new experience for all of us, but we’ve got a well-balanced side and I’m confident in our systems and our players.

“We’ll be happy to bring in any of our players. The trick is to get the balance right. Different teams will present different problems and that’s the test we face.

“Opening our programme against Wales will be quite a challenge given that it’s the first international experience for the team.”

After opening their programme at Dudley Kingswinford, England are back in action against on Easter Sunday at Stourbridge (1pm) when they meet France, the closing game in their programme coming at Castlecroft, Wolverhampton on Wednesday week (April 11, 2.15).