England has been announced as the host nation for the Under-18 Women’s Six Nations Festival for the first time, with the tournament running from 7 – 15 April at Wellington College.
As the festival returns for its second year, the England women’s U18 side will play five fixtures across three matchdays, facing off against their traditional Six Nations opponents including in the tournament’s opening game against Wales on Friday, 7 April (KO 10:00am).
To promote an appropriate and competitive playing environment, teams will play four 35-minute fixtures across the first two matchdays followed by one full 70-minute fixture on the final matchday. A full fixture list is available on the Six Nations website.
Under-18 Women’s Six Nations Festival fixtures:
England v Wales – Friday, 7 April – KO 10:00
Scotland v England – Friday, 7 April – KO 11:00
Ireland v England – Tuesday, 11 April – KO 11:00
England v Italy – Tuesday, 11 April – KO 15:00
England v France – Saturday, 15 April – KO 16:30
Admission to the festival will be free and fans unable to attend can watch every fixture live via the Six Nations Rugby digital channels.
As part of England Rugby and Six Nations’ commitment to supporting the development of women’s rugby, running alongside the Under-18 Women’s Six Nations Festival will be a two-day coaching conference to boost the next generation of match officials.
The Under-18 Men’s Six Nations Festival will be played in Dublin from 8 – 16 April, which England men’s U18 will compete in, after finishing last year’s tournament undefeated.
Men’s teams will play three standalone 70-minute fixtures, with every player looking to start at least one game with rolling substitutions throughout to ensure the best development opportunity for the athletes across the festival.
The Under-18 Six Nations Festivals are a key part of the development pathway for women’s and men’s rugby players and England Rugby teams.
Speaking on the announcement, Head of Performance Pathways and Programmes, Donald Barrell said: “This is incredibly exciting for England to be hosting the Under-18 Women’s Six Nations Festival. We’ve been committed to, and are continuing to identify opportunities that we want to build and grow in the women’s game and this festival and the coinciding conference are important parts of that.
“A big thank you goes to the Centres of Excellence right across the country that have not only supported the young women who’ll be competing in the festival, but also worked very hard to ensure England could earn hosting rights to this tournament, which is vital to developing talent.
“Equally, the chance for the England men’s U18 side to compete in their parallel tournament means they too can continue to explore the boundaries of their own rugby development in an international environment.”
Speaking on the announcement, England women’s U18 head coach, James Cooper said: “The entire squad and staff are delighted to be able to play the Under-18 Women’s Six Nations Festival on home soil – it’s a wonderful opportunity for all involved.
“We had an encouraging win against Wales earlier this month, as part of celebrations for the bicentenary year of rugby, and playing in the Six Nations Festival will allow the players to continue their development and wear the rose in a prestigious tournament.
“Throughout our continuing season I’ve been very impressed with all players’ attitudes and commitment to representing their country proudly, and we’ll announce our playing squad for the Six Nations Festival shortly.”
