The fourth version of this age-group festival will take place again at Wellington College, England, from 11-19 April. It provides a vital stepping-stone on the path towards senior representative level.
The tournament is carefully arranged to cater for the needs of this age-group. So when we hear of teams playing two matches in succession, we shouldn’t worry; they are tailored to requirements (see fixture list below).
Points of interest
The men’s equivalent competition takes place in Parma, Italy, and includes two nations outside the traditional six, Georgia and Spain. This is one tiny inkling of a change of attitude from the Six Nations board regarding membership. It is felt important to give opportunities to other leading rugby nations.
The same does not apply to the women’s tournament.
There is ever increasing debate about the traditional make-up of the 6N. Some people are strongly in favour of promotion and relegation; others are equally opposed to any change in the fabric of a championship that is now 142 years old.
The women’s 6N is very different from the men’s; it shows far less variation in success. Is that good reason to allow other nations to take part in this festival in future years?
England
The RFU has published the names of the 28 players to represent England. They are:
Forwards
Tamsin Baynes (Loughborough College)*
Seren Coombs (Le Rocquier School)
Sylvia Gallagher-Ball (Loughborough College)
Aisha Jah (West Notts College)*
Hayley Jones (Henley College)*
Grace Keel (SGS College)
Honey Kerslake (Exeter College)
Betsy Meads (Loughborough College)
Joy Okechukwu (Peter Symonds College)
Isla Pomroy (City of Oxford College)
Demelza Short (Blundells School)
Harli Stanton (Loughborough College)
Jess Taylor (Oaklands College)
Isabel van der Straaten (Mossbourne Community Academy)*
Maisy Wheeler (Loughborough College)
14
Backs
Ashton Adcock (Loughborough College)*
Charlotte Brookes (Cranleigh School)
Summer Charlesworth (City of Oxford College)
Isabelle Clist (Wellington School)
Katherine Dyke (Exeter College)
Josephine Harris (City of Oxford College)
Holly Jackson (Cardinal Newman)
Eva Ladyman (Loughborough College)
Lily Pereira dos Santos (Oakland College)
Dita Shaw (Worthing College)
Hannah Smyth (Hartpury College)
Jo Vosakiwaiwai (City of Oxford College)*
Charlotte Wreford (Exeter College)
14
*already capped at this level
Congratulations to all these players.
Once more I am forcibly struck by the regional inequalities on display here. At a first glance, the vast majority of players appear to come from a broad swathe of southern England; the north is noticeable by its absence. The educational establishments I have spotted stretch from Notts in the Midlands to Devon in the south-west and even one in the Channel Islands.
I hope that James Cooper, i/c this age-group, knows the reasons for this disparity.
Fixtures
Each team will play 2 x 35-minute matches on Matchdays 1 and 2, followed by 1 x 70-minute game on Matchday 3.
Matchday 1 (Friday 11th April) (35min matches)
KO 11:00 Wales v France
KO 12:00 Scotland v Wales
KO 13:00 France v Scotland
KO 15:00 Italy v Scotland
KO 16:00 Ireland v Italy
KO 17:00 England v Ireland
Matchday 2 (Tuesday 15th April) (35min matches)
KO 11:00 Wales v England
KO 12:00 England v Scotland
KO 13:00 Italy v Wales
KO 15:00 Scotland v Ireland
KO 16:00 Italy v France
KO 17:00 France v Ireland
Matchday 3 (Saturday 19th April) (70min matches)
KO 12:00 Ireland v Wales
KO 14:15 England v France
KO 16:30 Italy v Scotland
*All kick-off times UK BST
Will it be a walkover for France yet again?
