The U18 Women face their third and fourth 35-minute fixtures of the 2024 tournament in Colwyn Bay, taking on Wales at 14:00 BST and Scotland at 16:30 BST. Entry to Stadiwm CSM costs £10 for adult tickets and £5 for spectators under-16, with all fixtures streamed live on the Six Nations Under-20 YouTube channel.

The tournament serves as a crucial window for development for the England Rugby Women’s pathway, offering competitive and equal playing opportunities with four 35-minute fixtures across the first two matchdays and one 70-minute fixture on the final matchday.

In England U18 Women’s opening fixture of the campaign, Cooper’s side recorded a 19-12 victory against Ireland thanks to tries from Ellie Wilson, Sarah Parry and Abigail Pritchard. The side then came from behind to draw against Italy, with a last-gasp Isabel van der Straaten try converted by Natalee Evans to level the scores at 19-apiece ensuring England registered an unbeaten start to the tournament.

Heading into Matchday 2, centre Sarah Parry will lead the team out against Wales on Tuesday, while Rebecca Jackson of Gloucester-Hartpury captains the side against Scotland. England will then encounter France on the final matchday of the 2024 U18 Women’s Six Nations Festival this Saturday (6th April, 12:00 BST kick-off).

James Cooper said: “We were pleased to get the competition underway on Friday, and the effort and intent of our principles of being daring and deadly were very pleasing for myself and Ollie to see.

“We know there are improvements to be made as we progress through this tournament, however, and the group have taken some valuable learnings already in what were exciting contests in our first two Tests.

“The nature of the competition gives the team ample opportunity to put these lessons into practice, and we look forward to further testing our capabilities against Wales and Scotland as we enter a new week.”

England U18 Women team to face Wales (includes college, England Rugby Centre of Excellence site and community club)

15 Daisy Aspinall (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Stafford RUFC)

14 Abigail Pritchard (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Medway Rugby Football Club)

13 Sarah Parry (c) (Hereford College, Worcester, Worcester Warriors)

12 Molly Bunker (Hartpury College, Harlequins, Portsmouth RFC)

11 Grace Banks (Wigan and Leigh, Sale Sharks, Liverpool St Helens FC)

10 Natalee Evans (Hereford College, Worcester, Flying Kukris Rugby Football Club)

9 Evie Haskell (The Samworth Church Academy, Loughborough Lightning, Mansfield Rugby Club)

1 Zara Green (Cardinal Newman, Harlequins, Lewes RFC)

2 Lucy Simpson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Rams RFC)

3 Ruby Winstanley (The Farnborough Sixth Form, Harlequins, Guildfordians RFC)

4 Tamsin Baynes (Loughborough College, Loughborough Lightning, Market Harborough RUFC)

5 Kaya Acton (Bishop Burton, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians RFC)

6 Ellie Wilson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Gosford All Blacks RFC)

7 Hayley Jones (Henley College, Thames Valley, Chippenham RFC)

8 Haineala Lutui (RGS Worcester, Worcester, Worcester)

Replacements

16 Heidi Pashaei Tarighoun (SGS Filton, Bristol Bears, North Bristol RFC)

17 Bethan Candlin (Loughborough College, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians RUFC)

18 Aisha Jah (West Notts Sixth Form, Loughborough Lightning, Mansfield Rugby Club)

19 Jasmine Adonri (City of Oxford, Thames Valley, Medway Rugby Football Club)

20 Ashton Adcock (Loughborough College, Loughborough Lightning, Tamworth RUFC)

21 Becca Jackson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Guildfordians RFC)

England U18 Women team to face Scotland (includes college, England Rugby Centre of Excellence site and community club)

15 Joanne Vosakiwaiwai (City of Oxford, Thames Valley, Andover RFC)

14 Abigail Pritchard (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Medway Rugby Football Club)

13 Jessica Doyle (Sacred Heart Sixth Form, North East and Cumbria, Tynedale Rugby Football Club)

12 Becca Jackson (c) (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Guildfordians RFC)

11 Solana Shaw de Leon (Worthing College, Harlequins, Sutton and Epsom Rugby Club)

10 Emily Lunn (Henley College, Harlequins, Cobham Rugby Club)

9 Ashton Adcock (Loughborough College, Loughborough Lightning, Tamworth RUFC)

1 Bethan Candlin (Loughborough College, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians RUFC)

2 Heidi Pashaei Tarighoun (SGS Filton, Bristol Bears, North Bristol RFC)

3 Aisha Jah (West Notts Sixth Form, Loughborough Lightning, Mansfield Rugby Club)

4 Gabriella Brown (Maidstone Grammar, Harlequins, Aylesford Bulls RFC)

5 Jasmine Adonri (City of Oxford, Thames Valley, Medway Rugby Football Club)

6  Kaya Acton (Bishop Burton, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians RFC)

7 Iley Bailey (Henley College, Harlequins, Paderborn Pirates)

8 Isabel van der Straaten (Mossbourne Community Academy, Saracens, Eton Manor RFC)

Replacements

16 Lucy Simpson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Rams RFC)

17 Ruby Winstanley (The Farnborough Sixth Form, Harlequins, Guildfordians RFC)

18 Zara Green (Cardinal Newman, Harlequins, Lewes RFC)

19 Tamsin Baynes (Loughborough College, Loughborough Lightning, Market Harborough RUFC)

20 Evie Haskell (The Samworth Church Academy, Loughborough Lightning, Mansfield Rugby Club)

21 Molly Bunker (Hartpury College, Harlequins, Portsmouth RFC)

22 Grace Banks (Wigan and Leigh, Sale Sharks, Liverpool St Helens FC)

England U18 Women’s Festival Fixtures

Matchday 1 (Friday 29th March) (35min matches)
England 19 – 12 Ireland
Italy 19 – 19 England

Matchday 2 (Tuesday 2nd April) (35min matches)
England vs. Wales (14:00 kick-off)
Scotland vs. England (16:30 kick-off)

Matchday 3 (Saturday 6th April) (70min match)
France vs. England (12:00 kick-off)

With thanks to the RFU

Cooper and assistant coach Ollie Perry lead the team into the opening two 35-minute fixtures of this year’s tournament in Colwyn Bay, kicking-off against Ireland at 12:00 GMT and at 13:00 GMT against Italy. Entry to Stadiwm CSM costs £11 for adult tickets and £6 for concessions, with all fixtures streamed live on the Six Nations Under-20 YouTube channel.

The tournament serves as a crucial window for development for the England Rugby Women’s pathway, offering competitive and equal playing opportunities with four 35-minute fixtures across the first two matchdays and one 70-minute fixture on the final matchday.

Gloucester-Hartpury full-back Daisy Aspinall will captain the U18 Women against Ireland, with Sale Sharks wing Grace Banks, Loughborough Lightning lock Tamsin Baynes and Aspinall’s clubmate and back-row forward, Ellie Wilson, earning their first caps.

Against Italy, Wilson continues her starting berth at blindside flanker and is joined by Iley Bailey of Harlequins and Saracens Isabella van der Straaten to complete the loose forward selection. Natalee Evans (Worcester) captains the side and is partnered by Ashton Adcock in the half-back pairing.

Uncapped Banks joins Wilson as one of two players to keep their starting place between fixtures, with more debutants in prop Aisha Jah (Loughborough Lightning) and Solana Shaw de Leon (Harlequins) set for their first appearances against their Italian counterparts.

In preparation for the 2024 competition, England defeated Ireland in a one-off development fixture held at the IRFU High Performance Centre in a 29-14 win earlier this month with tries from Aspinall, Beth Candlin, Heidi Pashaei Tarighoun, Abigail Pritchard and Hayley Jones.

England face Wales (14:00 BST kick-off) and Scotland (16:00 BST kick-off) next Tuesday (2nd April) on Matchday 2 of the tournament, before a match-up with France on Saturday 6th April (12:00 BST kick-off).

James Cooper said: “We’re intending to go out and seize the opportunity and make the positive start necessary in this competition. Every player available will have some minutes under their belt by Friday afternoon and the group are raring to go.

“Our players gave a positive account of themselves last time out against Ireland, but we as a squad appreciate the stakes will be much higher this time around and will have two very testing opponents to open up our week in Colwyn Bay.

“Five fixtures over a week will test any side, and we anticipate the appropriate response from our team in embracing the challenge ahead and kick-starting the Festival in the best manner possible.”

England U18 Women team to face Ireland (includes college, England Rugby Centre of Excellence site and community club)

15 Daisy Aspinall (c) (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Stafford RUFC) *

14 Abigail Pritchard (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Medway Rugby Football Club) *

13 Sarah Parry (Hereford College, Worcester, Worcester Warriors) *

12 Molly Bunker (Hartpury College, Harlequins, Portsmouth RFC) *

11 Grace Banks (Wigan and Leigh, Sale Sharks, Liverpool St Helens FC)

10 Emily Lunn (Henley College, Harlequins, Cobham Rugby Club) *

9 Evie Haskell (The Samworth Church Academy, Loughborough Lightning, Mansfield Rugby Club) *

1 Zara Green (Cardinal Newman, Harlequins, Lewes RFC) *

2 Lucy Simpson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Rams RFC) *

3 Ruby Winstanley (The Farnborough Sixth Form, Harlequins, Guildfordians RFC) *

4 Tamsin Baynes (Loughborough College, Loughborough Lightning, Market Harborough RUFC)

5 Kaya Acton (Bishop Burton, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians RFC) *

6 Ellie Wilson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Gosford All Blacks RFC)

7 Hayley Jones (Henley College, Thames Valley, Chippenham RFC) *

8 Haineala Lutui (RGS Worcester, Worcester, Worcester) *

Replacements

16 Bethan Candlin (Loughborough College, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians RUFC) *

17 Heidi Pashaei Tarighoun (SGS Filton, Bristol Bears, North Bristol RFC) *

18 Iley Bailey (Henley College, Harlequins, Paderborn Pirates) *

19 Ashton Adcock (Loughborough College, Loughborough Lightning, Tamworth RUFC) *

20 Jessica Doyle (Sacred Heart Sixth Form, North East and Cumbria, Tynedale Rugby Football Club) *

*denotes a player capped at England U18 level

England U18 Women team to face Italy (includes college, England Rugby Centre of Excellence site and community club)

15 Joanne Vosakiwaiwai (City of Oxford, Thames Valley, Andover RFC) *

14 Solana Shaw de Leon (Worthing College, Harlequins, Sutton and Epsom Rugby Club)

13 Jessica Doyle (Sacred Heart Sixth Form, North East and Cumbria, Tynedale Rugby Football Club) *

12 Becca Jackson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Guildfordians RFC) *

11 Grace Banks (Wigan and Leigh, Sale Sharks, Liverpool St Helens FC)

10 Natalee Evans (c) (Hereford College, Worcester, Flying Kukris Rugby Football Club) *

9 Ashton Adcock (Loughborough College, Loughborough Lightning, Tamworth RUFC) *

1 Bethan Candlin (Loughborough College, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians RUFC) *

2 Heidi Pashaei Tarighoun (SGS Filton, Bristol Bears, North Bristol RFC) *

3 Aisha Jah (West Notts Sixth Form, Loughborough Lightning, Mansfield Rugby Club)

4 Gabriella Brown (Maidstone Grammar, Harlequins, Aylesford Bulls RFC) *

5 Jasmine Adonri (City of Oxford, Thames Valley, Medway Rugby Football Club) *

6 Ellie Wilson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Gosford All Blacks RFC)

7 Iley Bailey (Henley College, Harlequins, Paderborn Pirates) *

8 Isabel van der Straaten (Mossbourne Community Academy, Saracens, Eton Manor RFC) *

Replacements

16 Ruby Winstanley (The Farnborough Sixth Form, Harlequins, Guildfordians RFC) *

17 Lucy Simpson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Rams RFC) *

18 Kaya Acton (Bishop Burton, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians RFC) *

19 Evie Haskell (The Samworth Church Academy, Loughborough Lightning, Mansfield Rugby Club) *

20 Emily Lunn (Henley College, Harlequins, Cobham Rugby Club) *

*denotes a player capped at England U18 level

England U18 Women’s Festival Fixtures
Each team will play 2 x 35min matches on MD1 and MD2, followed by 1 x 70min match on MD 3. (MD1 – Friday 29th March, MD2 Tuesday 2nd April & MD3 Saturday 6th April).

Matchday 1 (Friday 29th March) (35min matches)
England vs. Ireland (12:00 kick-off)
Italy vs. England (13:00 kick-off)

Matchday 2 (Tuesday 2nd April) (35min matches)
England vs. Wales (14:00 kick-off)
Scotland vs. England (16:00 kick-off)

Matchday 3 (Saturday 6th April) (70min match)
France vs. England (12:00 kick-off)

With thanks to the RFU

The Women’s Festival will be hosted by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for the first time at Colwyn Bay’s Stadiwm CSM from 29th March – 6th April. The tournament serves as a key step on the development pathway for players and provides an opportunity for the brightest young talent in the game to feature on the international stage.

Grace Banks (Sale Sharks), Tamsin Baynes (Loughborough Lightning), Aisha Jah (Loughborough Lightning), Solana Shaw de Leon (Harlequins) and Ellie Wilson (Gloucester-Hartpury) are the five uncapped players involved in the team.

Six of Cooper’s cohort have experienced Six Nations rugby beforehand in the 2023 edition of the tournament; Worcester trio Natalee Evans, Haineala Lutui and Sarah Parry, Daisy Aspinall and Lucy Simpson of Gloucester-Hartpury and Evie Haskell (Loughborough Lightning).

10 England Rugby Centre of Excellence sites and 17 colleges are represented in the makeup of the England Rugby pathway squad. Cooper will also select a different captain on each matchday of the tournament.

As well as four rounds of domestic action in this season’s England Rugby Centre of Excellence fixtures, the U18 Women prepared for this spring’s tournament with a 29-14 win over Ireland.

15 of the selected representatives earned their first runouts in England colours at the IRFU High Performance Centre, with matchday captain Aspinall, as well as Beth Candlin, Heidi Pashaei Tarighoun, Abigail Pritchard and Hayley Jones all running in tries on the afternoon.

Each Union will play two 35-minute matches on each of the first two matchdays of the U18 Festival, followed by one 70-minute match on the final matchday (MD1 Friday 29th March, MD2 Tuesday 2nd April & MD3 Saturday 6th April).

The U18 Women tasted victory in four of their five fixtures in the 2023 tournament, overcoming Wales (10-0), Scotland (21-0), Ireland (14-5) and Italy (15-7) in 35-minute outings whilst missing out against France (10-57) on matchday three.

This year, James Cooper leads his side against Ireland (12:00 kick-off) and Italy (13:00 kick-off) on Friday 29th March, then facing Wales (14:00 kick-off) and Scotland (16:30 kick-off) on Tuesday 6th April before a full 70-minute Test against France (Saturday 6th April, 12:00 kick-off). Entry costs £10 for adult tickets and £5 for spectators, with all fixtures streamed live on the Six Nations Under-20 YouTube channel.

James Cooper said: “I want to congratulate the group for their efforts in being selected to represent England. It was an incredibly difficult challenge to refine the squad to its final iteration, but we are in no doubt of the capable group we now possess.

“We expect our players to be daring in their approach to these fixtures and deadly in their execution – in attack, defence and the set-piece.

“We were assured in our performances in 2023, but this is largely a refreshed group with what we believe is the correct balance of experience to go even better this year. Myself, Ollie and all of our staff have been taken with the resolve of the team, and we’re eager to now put that into practice in this year’s competition.”

England U18 Women’s 2024 U18 Six Nations Festival squad (includes college, England Rugby Centre of Excellence site and community club)

Kaya Acton (Bishop Burton, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians RFC) *

Ashton Adcock (Loughborough College, Loughborough Lightning, Tamworth RUFC) *

Jasmine Adonri (City of Oxford, Thames Valley, Medway Rugby Football Club) *

Daisy Aspinall (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Stafford RUFC) *

Iley Bailey (Henley College, Harlequins, Paderborn Pirates) *

Grace Banks (Wigan and Leigh, Sale Sharks, Liverpool St Helens FC)

Tamsin Baynes (Loughborough College, Loughborough Lightning, Market Harborough RUFC)

Gabriella Brown (Maidstone Grammar, Harlequins, Aylesford Bulls RFC) *

Molly Bunker (Hartpury College, Harlequins, Portsmouth RFC) *

Bethan Candlin (Loughborough College, Yorkshire, Hull Ionians RUFC) *

Jessica Doyle (Sacred Heart Sixth Form, North East and Cumbria, Tynedale Rugby Football Club) *

Natalee Evans (Hereford College, Worcester, Flying Kukris Rugby Football Club) *

Zara Green (Cardinal Newman, Harlequins, Lewes RFC) *

Evie Haskell (The Samworth Church Academy, Loughborough Lightning, Mansfield Rugby Club) *

Becca Jackson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Guildfordians RFC) *

Aisha Jah (West Notts Sixth Form, Loughborough Lightning, Mansfield Rugby Club)

Hayley Jones (Henley College, Thames Valley, Chippenham RFC) *

Emily Lunn (Henley College, Harlequins, Cobham Rugby Club) *

Haineala Lutui (RGS Worcester, Worcester, Worcester) *

Sarah Parry (Hereford College, Worcester, Worcester Warriors) *

Heidi Pashaei Tarighoun (SGS Filton, Bristol Bears, North Bristol RFC) *

Abigail Pritchard (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Medway Rugby Football Club) *

Lucy Simpson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Rams RFC) *

Solana Shaw de Leon (Worthing College, Harlequins, Sutton and Epsom Rugby Club)

Isabel van der Straaten (Mossbourne Community Academy, Saracens, Eton Manor RFC) *

Joanne Vosakiwaiwai (City of Oxford, Thames Valley, Andover RFC) *

Ellie Wilson (Hartpury College, Gloucester-Hartpury, Gosford All Blacks RFC)

Ruby Winstanley (The Farnborough Sixth Form, Harlequins, Guildfordians RFC) *

*denotes a player capped at U18 level for England

England U18 Women’s Festival Fixtures
Each team will play 2 x 35min matches on MD1 and MD2, followed by 1 x 70min match on MD 3. (MD1 – Friday 29th March, MD2 Tuesday 2nd April & M3 Saturday 6th April).

Matchday 1 (Friday 29th March) (35min matches)
England vs. Ireland (12:00 kick-off)
Italy vs. England (13:00 kick-off)

Matchday 2 (Tuesday 2nd April) (35min matches)
England vs. Wales (14:00 kick-off)
Scotland vs. England (16:30 kick-off)

Matchday 3 (Saturday 6th April) (70min matches)
France vs. England (12:00 kick-off)

With thanks to the RFU