England named hosts for U18 men's Six Nations Festival
the fixture will be played between 13th and 21st April
©PA
England's Gillman’s Ground, Sixways Stadium and Kingsholm Stadium have been named the host for the U18 men's Six Nations Festival set to be played between 13th and 21st April.
The opening round in Hartpury will see England taking on Wales while Ireland and Scotland will lock horns with France and Italy respectively.
England U18s 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," said Jim Mallinder.
“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."
Festival fixtures
Matchday one - Saturday 13 April
KO Gillman’s Ground, Hartpury
12:00 England v Wales
14:30 Ireland v France
17:00 Scotland v Italy
Matchday two - Wednesday 17 April
KO Sixways Stadium, Worcester
11:00 France v Italy
13:30 Ireland v England
16:00 Wales v Scotland
Matchday three - Sunday 21 April
KO Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester
11:00 Scotland v Ireland
13.30 England v France
16:00 Italy v Wales
