London & South Central Rugby Academy U14, U15 & U16 DPP Nominations – 2023/24 Season
Posted on 11 August 2023
Dear Managers / Coaches / Teachers,
Following unfortunate events leading to London Irish moving into receivership in June 2023, responsibility for the U14-U18 England Pathways programme for Middlesex, Berkshire and Hampshire has now transitioned to the RFU, via the formation of the London & South Central Rugby Academy.
Patrick O’Grady has been appointed as the Academy Manager and brings across his skills, knowledge and expertise of the England Rugby Pathway with him. He is joined by Jonathan Fisher as Academy Head Coach, Matthew Lamin as Academy Strength & Conditioning Lead, Rhys Davies as ACE Manager & U16 Academy Lead and myself, Carrie Exworth, as Academy Team Operations Manager. All of the named staff members have transitioned across from the London Irish Academy and will run the new programme as part of the RFU.
Please see the information below regarding the nomination process for the London & South Central Rugby Academy U14, U15 & U16 Male Developing Player Programme (DPP) for the 2023/24 season.
The nominate window will open from the 19th July 2023 with different deadlines for nominations per age groups as follows:
U16 & U15 Nominations: A player nomination must be submitted by end of day on Sunday 27th August 2023.
U14 Nominations: A player nomination must be submitted by end of day on Sunday 22nd October 2023.
The forthcoming nominations are for the London & South Central Developing Player Programme (DPP) for the U14, U15 & U16 male age groups. The programme is intended to compliment a player’s current rugby provision, be that through club or school, and give access to high quality core skill development sessions run by London & South Central coaches. Following the guidelines of the Age Grade Review, the Academy-delivered DPP is the only selective system beyond club and school at Under 14, 15 & 16 level.
We are looking for you to nominate new players with the maximum number per age group per school / club as follows:
U14: 5 new nominations
U15: 3 new nominations
U16: 3 new nominations
Any players who were involved with the London Irish pathway during the 2022/23 season should not be nominated again as these players will remain in the pathway for the 2023-24 season.
Existing players involved in the 2022-23 London Irish pathway have not been released and therefore remain part of our pathway.
These players (via parents) will be contacted directly by us with information for the 2023-24 season.
Nomination Forms
Please forward the below links to the parents/ guardian of the player(s) you would like to nominate so they can register their details.
The forms will open on the 19th July 2023.
Please click the following link to nominate: U15 & U16 Nomination Form 2023-24 Season (The link will expire on Monday 28th August)
Please click the following link to nominate: U14 Nomination Form 2023-24 Season (The link will expire on Monday 23rd October)
All nominated players who have completed the form will directly receive an email from London & South Central Rugby Academy and will confirm a trial date and timings by the Friday of the week prior to the trials.
Trial weeks are as follows:
U16 – w/c 4th September
U15 – w/c 11th September
U14 – w/c 30th October
In the nomination link, you can select one of the trial venues below. We will endeavour to give you your choice of trial site, however if a site is over-subscribed we may offer you an alternative venue.
Monday evening: Berkshire – venue tbc (6:00PM-9:00PM)
Tuesday evening: Hazelwood, Sunbury (6:00PM – 9:00PM)
Wednesday evening: Harrow School, Harrow (6:00PM – 8:30PM)
Thursday evening: Hampshire – venue tbc (6:00PM-8:00PM)
Please note: Players must meet at least one of the following criteria in order to qualify for our DPP:
1. Attend a school in Berkshire, Hampshire or Middlesex (north of the river).
2. Play club rugby in Berkshire, Hampshire or Middlesex (north of the river).
3. Live in Berkshire, Hampshire or Middlesex (north of the river).
4. The player must not be registered to another DPP pathway unless released confirmation has been received.
If you have any questions regarding nominations then please contact me (carrieexworth@rfu.com) and I will endeavour to assist.
Many thanks
Carrie
