Clare Balding's 6ft9 nephew a step closer to England call-up

The development fixture will be played at Kingsholm following Gloucester's PREM Rugby Cup meeting with Sale Sharks, with the Lions squad featuring a number of academy prospects from the Cherry and Whites.

Balding will start at lock, lining up alongside the likes of England U19 international Krystof Wood, Gloucester first-teamer George Barton and recent New Zealand signings Halen King and Callum McCabe.

The 6ft 9in second-row has previously spoken about his ambition to reach the very top with England as he continues to make his way through the Gloucester pathway.

Balding has already represented England at U18 level before progressing into the U20 setup, but the youngster has his sights firmly set on eventually earning a senior cap.

Rather than attempting to rush through the pathway, Balding wants to continue developing “week on week, year on year” as he builds the physical attributes required for senior rugby.

The Gloucester prospect has previously suggested that being thrown into the professional game before he is ready could potentially lead to injury or poor performances, stressing that there are different routes to ultimately reaching the same destination.

Balding, who has come through Gloucester Rugby's academy, also comes from an incredibly competitive sporting family.

“We come from a very competitive family,” he said to Mail Sport, with that competitive streak reportedly extending beyond professional sport and into family board games.

His aunt Clare has also proved to be a valuable source of advice as he begins to navigate the professional game.

“Clare’s been a great support,” Balding revealed.

The youngster has turned to the broadcaster for help with contracts and other paperwork, with Balding explaining that she is particularly useful when it comes to reading through documents because “she’s done a fair share of that!”

Away from rugby, Balding has combined his development at Gloucester with studying Politics and International Relations at the University of Bristol.

His grandfather Ian Balding played 92 times for Bath between 1956 and 1966 before going on to become one of Britain's leading racehorse trainers.

Speaking about his grandfather's influence on his own sporting ambitions, Jonno said: “It was his footsteps I wanted to follow in.”