England U18 Clubs & Schools team to face Ireland
By KBM
April 15 2014
England, who travel to France on Monday, will be based at the French National Rugby Centre in Marcoussis where they will play Ireland Under 18 Clubs on April 16 (3pm) and France Under 18 A on April 20 (1.30pm).
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“To be allowed to play and train at Marcoussis is a fantastic experience in itself,” Reed said. “Some of the players will never have been in a seven-eight day environment where all they do is live and breathe rugby. “Hopefully it will be a life-changing experience for them and make them not only better rugby players but better as people. “They are going to have to mix with guys who they have only known from the two weekends that we have had training together for a whole week which will be something new to a lot of the players. “But we aim to develop the players as individuals as well as rugby players and we do that by instilling in them the RFU’s Core Values of Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship. “They are a good basis for the rest of their lives and their rugby careers.” On the pitch, Reed expects the week in Marcoussis to produce two tough matches for his squad who have developed well over their two training weekends at Loughborough University. “The lads have gelled together really well over the two weekends and they have become a very tight bunch,” he said. “They come from varied backgrounds, some are at established rugby schools some, like Charlie Brown, have come to us purely from a club background. “There are one or two players who had not played rugby at all until a couple of years ago so they are late developers but the aim of the programme is to bring players on and push them through. “There is a lot of talent in the squad and we are excited by the prospect of playing in this triangular festival. “Ireland beat us well last year but we beat them the year before. This is the first time that we have played France but we expect them to be a big and physical side, as they always are.” England Under 18 Clubs and Schools squad: Tom Bell (Uppingham School and Leicestershire) |
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