Three Midlands players will today be announced in a 26-strong England Counties squad for their tour to Argentina and Uruguay next month.
Pertemps Bees prop Matt Long, Stourbridge fly-half Duncan Hughes and Moseley No 10 Ollie Thomas will be part of the group who play three matches in June under head coach, former Coventry prop, Jim Robinson.
Long, consistent for Bees this season and with Gloucestershire in the County Championship Cup, wins a first call-up by England's second-tier representative side.
He said: "After you've played rugby as long as I have you tend to think that honours like this pass you by but I'm delighted to have got the call.
"It's a great honour to represent your country at whatever level you are picked and it will be a great opportunity to play rugby in a part of the world I have not been to.
"I've played in Australia and South Africa but, as Argentina showed against the British Lions on Monday night, we can expect to face tough opposition and it will be a hard twoweek tour."
The 32-year-old, who moved to Solihull from Moseley last season, played for England Students while studying at Northumbria University, his last appearance being in the 1996 Students World Cup in South Africa.
A native of Gloucestershire, Long played for his home county at every level from 16- Group Schools to Under-21s. His senior debut came this month against Cornwall.
Hughes, also aged 32, made his debut for the Counties side in February's win over France at Newbury. Although considered to be the man in possession of the stand-off berth, he was taking nothing for granted.
He said: "I have been at the mercy of the vagaries of selectors all through my rugby career and, while I would not say it was a bolt from the blue, I had my fingers crossed. Going to a country you might not otherwise visit were it not for a rugby tour is going to be a great experience."
Thomas also won his first call-up in February. The young Moseley standoff, top scorer in National Two, said: "It is huge for me. When I was a young player I did not get into any representative sides because I was too small. But recently, in the last few years, things have started to happen for me maybe because I have got a bit bigger and more mature."
The squad play an Argentina Provinces XV on June 12, Rosario three days later and the Uruguay national side in Montevideo on June 18.
