WARRIORS have secured talented homegrown lock Andrew Kitchener and blindside flanker Ted Hill on two-year contract extensions.
Kitchener is a product of the Three Pears Warriors Academy and made his senior debut in the European Challenge Cup against Enisei-STM in Moscow in 2016.
He signed his first professional contract last year and has signed an extension to keep him at Sixways until the end of the 2021/22 season.
“Coming through the Academy here I have a strong attachment to the club so signing the extension was an obvious decision. I wanted to stay,” said Kitchener.
“We’ve still got a lot of the season to go but signing now is a statement I want to stay and also that the club are keen to keep me and keep investing in me. So it’s good for both parties.
“It’s also a bit of security for me. It’s a short career so knowing where I am going to be for the next two years is good. If we stick together it’s going to be an exciting time and exciting to part of that.”
Kitchener graduated from Birmingham University with a first-class BSc degree in Economics during the summer.
He is the younger brother of fellow lock Graham who rejoined Warriors from Leicester Tigers during the off-season.
The brothers packed down together for the first time in last month’s Premiership Rugby Cup match against Exeter Chiefs at Sixways.
Hill was capped by England as a replacement against Japan 12 months ago while he was still a member of the Three Pears Warriors Academy and only two months after he had scored two tries on his Warriors debut in a dramatic Gallagher Premiership win over Leicester Tigers at Welford Road.
“It’s a really exciting time to be at the club. It’s about developing homegrown players and important to keep those guys signed up and to keep growing the club through our youth set-up,” Hill said.
“I’m honoured the club have seen me as a key part of that and I am really pleased to be a part of it. But it’s not all about me, there is a lot of good young talent coming through and it’s about keeping those players and harnessing their abilities.”
Director of rugby Alan Solomons said: “Kitch is an outstanding talent and, in my view, one of the best young locks in England. He has already shown that he is a force to be reckoned with at Premiership level and I firmly believe that he will, in time, play for England.
“Ted is a huge talent and is recognised as one of the outstanding young players in England. Over and above his exceptional ability as a player he is a fantastic bloke and a great team man, who, I believe, will develop into an outstanding leader.”