ENGLAND UNDER-21 back-row forward Ben Skirving has signed a year extension to his three-year contract at Saracens which was due to expire next summer.

The highly-rated number eight was, alongside fellow Sarries loose forward Ben Russell, a mainstay and regular try-scorer in the England Under-21 side that won the Grand Slam at the Under-21 Six Nations Championships earlier this year, and, according to head coach Rod Kafer, the 20-year-old from Bishop's Stortford represents the future in an area where the Men in Black are blessed with an abundance of talent.

"Going forward I think we have got a good mix of experienced guys in the back row," enthused Kafer, "like Taine Randell and Richard Hill, and then the likes of Hugh Vyvyan and Alex Sanderson followed by the new brigade of Ben Skirving and Ben Russell coming through.

"It's important to get the balance right and I think, particularly in the back row, we've done that. I'm very happy with the group we have got there.

Skirving's 2002/03 campaign was curtailed after he underwent surgery on a shoulder injury, which also deprived England of their back-row linchpin going into June's IRB Under-21 World Cup.

"I think Ben is young guy with a good future in the game," continued Kafer. "One of the things of our new policy is to have an English-based approach to our new signings and Skirvs is a young guy who has been the cornerstone of the English Under-21 team over the last couple of years.

"I think he made some really good improvements in his game. He was hampered a little bit throughout the course of the year with his shoulder, but we were able to successfully deal with that and now he is hopeful of featuring in the early part of next season."

For Skirving, the opportunity to learn some of the game's great stars in his position, such as former All Black captain Taine Randell and England World Cup winner Hill, as well as the newly recruited England prospects Vyvyan and Sanderson was cause enough to extend his contract so soon.

"I'm absolutely delighted to be extending my contract," commented Skirving. "I still had a year left to run on my existing deal, but I'm more than happy to commit myself to the club now.

"There have been a lot of exciting changes at the club over the past year and they have made me want to stay even more. There are some great players at the club along with excellent coaches and we are building a strong team.

"I have no doubt that this is the right place to continue my development as a player and get more experience."

"The surgery went really well and I'm nearly at the end of my rehab," he reported of his shoulder operation. "It's all been going well and hopefully I should be back at 100 per cent within the next month."