Sixways to host Under-18s Six Nations matches

Sixways will stage three Under-18s internationals in a day in April, including England v Ireland in the Under-18s Six Nations Festival.

The festival, which involves all six unions, will see each nation play three matches over ten days with the teams based at Hartpury University and Hartpury College in Gloucestershire.

Sixways will host three matches on the second day of the festival on April 17 when France will play Italy at 11am followed by England v Ireland at 1.30pm and Wales v Scotland at 4pm.

Players, coaches and management will also have access to a range of off-field experiences and development opportunities in between match activity during the festival.

England Under-18s are led by Pathway Performance Coach Jim Mallinder and he is joined by consultant coaches Jonathan Fisher, Mark Luffman and Sean Marsden for the season.

The festival structure will be overseen by the Rugby Football Union’s head of regional academies Don Barrell.

“Over the course of the festival we want players to enjoy themselves and have fun, to understand the way that England want to play and understand what they need to do in terms of being an international player both on and off the pitch to progress through the pathway,” Mallinder said.

“For the players it’s also the chance to experience what it is like to play several international fixtures in a tournament setting. Some of the fixtures at this level see the players usually come together for two or three days so this is an opportunity for them to develop as a squad, form relationships and experience what it is to be an international rugby player.

“We’ve seen these players slowly come through the pathway, some of the group have been out with us in South Africa, there will be some younger players in there as well and we’ve got an opportunity over 10 days to work with them, to get to know them a little bit better and to see them play in three international fixtures.”

Under-18s Six Nations Festival fixtures

Matchday one – Saturday April 13
KO       Gillman’s Ground, Hartpury
12:00    England v Wales
14:30    Ireland v France
17:00    Scotland v Italy

Matchday two – Wednesday April 17
KO       Sixways Stadium, Worcester
11:00    France v Italy
13:30    Ireland v England
16:00    Wales v Scotland

Matchday three – Sunday April 21
KO       Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester
11:00    Scotland v Ireland
13.30    England v France
16:00    Italy v Wales

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