News Archive

On a dry sunny day in Derbyshire, NLD U20s took on local neighbours Staffordshire in a pre-tournament match ahead of the forthcoming Jason Leonard cup matches.

Both sides were eager to impress, bustling with talent and eagerness.

The first forty minutes were a highly competitive stalemate as neither side could break the deadlock as defence won the first half. Plenty of changes were being made as the coaches of the two counties look to assess the quality and depth to their squads.

In the second forty it was Staffordshire who established an early lead as they used their powerful centre partnership to split the NLD defence and score left of posts for a converted try.

NLD soon began to gain ascendency. Having defended resolutely it was now the three counties opportunity to attack, and quick thinking by the backline saw the ball moved wide left for Josh Beech to run a well timed inside line, scything through the Staffordshire defence and evading the covering back three with his sheer pace to dot the ball down centrally for a well converted try.

NLD soon showed their fitness as they began to stretch the Staffordshire defence on more frequent occasions, working well as a team and executing in their simple game plan.

It was Fin Tweedy who soon secured a secured try for the blues, as the scrum half benefited from an excellent maul set-up by the forward pack who outmuscled the opposition. Tweedy spotting a defensive mismatch darted into space to touch down. 12 –  7

The home side were buoyed by a confident display and it was the turn of No.8 Josh Sarsfield whose quick thinking saw an opportunity present itself. The speedy back row, took a quick tap penalty and fended the nearest defend before getting in behind the broken defensive line. Despite the best attempts of the covering Staffordshire players no-one could capture the nifty back-row.

To cap off a fine display, centre Rob Aikman used typical physicality and a fine inside running line to hammer the ball home right of the posts and round off the scoring for the day with Jamie Rudd converting.

Final Score 24 – 7

Matt Derbyshire (NLD U20s head coach) stated; “Considering we have a squad of newly nominated players that have only trained together once thus far, the display on show was a credit to each and every player. The guys looked like they enjoyed themselves out there and that is No.1 for us as coaches.

“We have a very talented squad and that is a true testament to the strength of coaching we have across NLD  and the three counties in both clubs, colleges and universities.

“We want to give the best account of ourselves that we can this year. It will be challenging having been promoted following last years success, but we are excited by that challenge.”

The final Super Sunday games were held at Loughborough University on the AGP last weekend, with NLD completing a clean sweep by beating East Midlands 29-26 in a closely contested match.

Following these last three games, the Midlands Selectors met to decide on which players would constitute the the initial 40 man squad for the Midlands Development Days on 27 January and 03 February at Leicester Grammar School.

Over the course of the Midlands campaign almost 200 of the best U18 players in the region have competed to wear the famous Blue Midlands kit and it is a significant achievement for the players to make it to the final 40.

Those NLD players who were successful in reaching the next stage are:

James Brogden

Elliott Caunt

Oliver Chessum

Will Harding-Terry

Stan Hoare

Harry Finney

Jacob Pearson

Will Seage

Caius Tweed

Congratulations go to these 9 players, who will now compete to be included in the final 23 man Squad to play in the Divisional games towards the end of February.

Equally, congratulations must also go to every member of the NLD Squad who has participated in the campaign. Without the support of those other team members, none of the successful 9 would have had the platform to be able to shine individually. The camaraderie and togetherness of this season’s Squad has greatly impressed the Coaching and Management Team and the achievement of providing almost a quarter of the Midlands Development Squad is testament to the hard work put in collectively by the players since the start of the campaign.

We wish all those players who were selected every success and look forward to their continued progress within the Midland’s set up.

NLD are pleased to announce the appointment of James Hamilton from Nottingham High School as Chair of NLD County Schools Union.  James brings with him a wealth of experience which we believe will be of great value within school rugby within NLD.  He will be supported by Chris Whitworth from Derby Grammar School, Dave Laventure from Stamford and Nick Cairns from West Bridgford.  We wish the team every success in taking the County Schools Union forward in partnership with NLD and very much look forward to working with them.

This game on Sunday 6th January 2019, formed part of the Super Sunday fixture held at Loughborough University.  Being the first fixture the plan was to give all the squad an opportunity to play at least a third.

Playing on the all-weather pitch in near perfect conditions, the sun even made an appearance; it gave both sides every chance to run the ball.

Leicester Manager, Stuart Davies summed up the day nicely.

“It was an enjoyable day yesterday and I thought all went well.  We had some good rugby and you [NLD] clearly have some talented players”

The scores were:

Game 1: 3 tries 1 conversion to 2 tries, two conversions.  So a 17-14 score.

Game 2: 1 try.  No other score so 5 – 0.

Game 3: 5 tries, 4 conversions to 2 tries, 1 converted, making a 33-12 score.

The total would therefore be 55-26 to Leics.

Next fixture is on Sunday 20^th January at Derby RFC 2pm KO against Staffordshire, on the new all-weather pitch .

On Sunday 6th January 2019, seven teams competed in the NLD Colts Festival.

This year the newly formed NLD RFU Youth Council took charge of organising and running the tournament which was kindly hosted at Kesteven RFC, with players visiting from Newark, Lincoln, Sleaford, Mellish, Oundle and Spalding.

The teams competed in a round robin tournament which was officiated by a team of referees from the NLD Referee Society. The team included three Young Match Officials demonstrating their fitness and management skills, which contributed to a fantastic day. Many thanks to Owen Baines, Sam Yates, Aidan Baker-Johal and David Hurst for their help.

Throughout the day the players demonstrated all the core values of rugby, often lending players to other teams. All players competed at an impressive standard and are a credit to the NLD RFU.

The Youth Council would like to thank all the volunteers at Kesteven for their help on the day, and it hopes to host future events across the region. They are keen to here from clubs with new ideas and schemes, and if you want to reach out please contact [email protected]

NLD Under 20s campaign 2019 kicks off with a friendly against Staffordshire on Sunday 13th January, at Derby RFC. Kick off 2.15pm

Around 30 players from 12 clubs and universities will take part in a training game against Staffordshire.

This is the second gathering for this season’s players looking to enhance their rugby with potential representative honours going forward.

This season the squad has been promoted to Division 1 in the Jason Leonard Under 20 County Championship, having reached the final of Division 2 last season. This was the best result the age group has had for many years.

Head coach Matt Derbyshire said; “I am really excited about this campaign and, looking at the quality we have, I’m hoping for some strong results. We welcome as much support as possible to come and watch some future stars playing. Indeed, NLD have had players feature in the full England counties Under 20 squad for each of the last 5 seasons.”

The competitions league matches coming up are on Sunday 3rd February at home against East Midlands and Sunday 24th February away against North Midlands. Venues are still to be confirmed.

January 2019 Community Game Update contains important information on the following:

• Payment of Players update
• How NatWest RugbyForce has helped Alton RFC
• Clarification on Age Grade Law variations and Rules of Play
• County Championship fixtures announced
• Update on CB Age Grade player pathway consultation
• Inner Warrior campaign returns
• Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer of the Year Awards – nominations open
• Secure Trading Sevens Series 2019
• Mitsubishi Motors volunteer hospitality – Guinness Six Nations fixtures

Payment of Players update

We would like to remind clubs that Payment of Player declarations are due to be submitted between 1 March and 30 June 2019. The declarations will include any Gross Payments of Material Benefits paid or payable, between 1 June 2018 and 31 May 2019. The declarations are mandatory for clubs who wish to be eligible for RFU benefits, and clubs that do not complete a declaration within the designated window will lose access to these benefits for the 2019/20 season.

Regulations pertaining to payment of players were introduced on 1 August 2018 as part of Regulation 7 – Players, Approaches, Contracts, Payments and Player Movement. The regulation can be found in full here, and a list of FAQs that we have produced can be found here. A guide on how to submit the declaration can also be downloaded here. For any further enquiries, please contact [email protected].

How NatWest RugbyForce has helped Alton RFC

NatWest RugbyForce is back for 2019 and clubs are invited to register online. The programme offers a unique and carefully crafted programme for grassroots clubs across the country, including a wealth of advice and support, to ensure that clubs can thrive as strong and sustainable businesses away from the on-pitch action.

One club who benefited from NatWest RugbyForce, was Alton RFC in Hampshire. We have produced a short case study, where Tom Gaynor, Chairman of Alton RFC, talks about how NatWest RugbyForce helped them as a community rugby club. They embarked on a project to improve the quality of pitches at the club. As a result, the club have not missed a training session and played all of their home matches on their own ground. Tom attributes this to NatWest RugbyForce, and the support the initiative offers. To watch the interview with Tom, please click here.

Register your club for NatWest RugbyForce 2019, by clicking here.

Clarification on Age Grade Law variations and Rules of Play

Please remember that all Age Grade matches must take place using the Rules of Play for that given Age Grade. The only Laws Variations permitted for Age Grade rugby are those already included in the Age Grade Rules of Play (Appendices 1 to 11 of RFU Regulation 15). No other variations to the Laws can be applied without the prior approval of the RFU.

The Rules of Play have been developed with player welfare in mind and to provide a progressive and staged development of the Laws which encourages the appropriate development of young players. All clubs, coaches and referees for Age Grade rugby should make themselves familiar with the applicable Rules of Play for their specific Age Grade and competition.

County Championship fixtures announced

The 2019 County Championship Finals will be taking place at Twickenham on the following dates:

Sunday 2 June:

Gill Burns Division 1 Final (10.00am)

Bill Beaumont Division 1 Final (5.30pm)

To purchase tickets, please click here.

Saturday 8 June:

Bill Beaumont Division 3 Final (11.00am)

Gill Burns Division 2 Final (1.00pm)

Bill Beaumont Division 2 Final (3.00pm)

Update on CB Age Grade player pathway consultation

Following speculation around a proposed removal of CB Age Grade rugby, David Ewing (Chair of the RFU’s Player Development Sub-Committee) has written to CBs and Clubs to provide an update on current positioning and an upcoming consultation process.

The delivery of Age Grade rugby alongside CB pathway activity is a complex process. The impact of participating in simultaneous programmes on player welfare, player retention and Age Grade rugby at clubs can be significant, including:

Inner Warrior campaign returns

Clubs around the country will be welcoming new women this January with the next wave of the Inner Warrior campaign taking place from 12-27 January. We’d like to encourage all clubs that are hosting camps, to spread the word amongst their male and female members – do they know a woman who hasn’t yet had the chance to play rugby that would be up for a new challenge for the new year? Women can sign up to attend their local camp at www.englandrugby.com/innerwarrior. For any clubs looking for advice on how to maximise the impact of their camp, please see this video from Alban Barnes at Fullerians.

Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer of the Year Awards – nominations open

Nominations for the Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer of the Year Awards will open on 8 January – please click here to nominate a deserving volunteer. Volunteers are key to our game and now in its third year, the Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer of the Year Awards recognise and celebrate the vital role that is played by our volunteers all over the country. The Volunteer of the Year Awards are aimed at recognising those who have impacted their communities in the last 12 months specifically. Nominations are open until 24 February and shortlisted nominees will be announced in March. For more information, please click here.

Secure Trading Sevens Series 2019

Calling all sevens teams – the Secure Trading Sevens Series is back for 2019 and teams can register in local qualifiers now. The format for this year has been streamlined – with the best men’s and women’s teams from across the local qualifiers progressing directly to the National Finals. The National Finals will then see the winning men’s and women’s sevens team crowned champions of England. For more information and to enter your team, click here.

Mitsubishi Motors volunteer hospitality – Guinness Six Nations fixtures

As part of the Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer Recognition Programme, club volunteers who already have match tickets for the Guinness Six Nations fixtures at Twickenham, are able to register up to four tickets for pre-match hospitality in the British Airways Fan Village.

The aim of this recognition incentive is to identify and thank grassroots volunteers for their valued contributions to the game. We will be serving hot food and a variety of beverages, opening two hours before each match and closing just before kick-off.

Registration is open for one game only, and to volunteers who did not attend hospitality at one of the Quilter Internationals in November 2018. To register for tickets, please click on one of the links below:

Sunday 10 February – England v France (3.00pm kick off)

Saturday 9 March – England v Italy (4.45pm kick off)

Saturday 16 March – England v Scotland (5.00pm kick off)

The next Community Game Update will be released on Friday 8 February.

For information regarding the 2019 Women’s and Girls’ trials, including the joint application form, please view the Player Application Information

The skills criteria is available to view here.

If you have any questions about either of the Trials or the application process please get in touch with the Women’s and Girls’ Rugby contact, Neil Clack or Katherine Wells at the NLD RFU office.

NLD would like to invite applications for 2 Coach positions in the NLD U20 Representative Squad.

This is fantastic opportunity to get involved with developing some of the best young players that the CB has to offer and be a part of the journey that has seen numerous players from NLD go on to represent Midlands & England.

The NLD U20’s representative squad play in the RFU Jason Leonard Division 1 Championship which runs from February to May.

The job description for the post can be found by clicking here. Interested parties should complete and submit this application form to [email protected] by the closing date of Friday 18th January 2019

For an informal chat regarding the role please contact NLD Head of Representative Rugby Lee Slack on 07739 295182.

The RFU Council recently endorsed changes to the method for allocating tickets to England internationals at Twickenham, to various sections of the game. The new system will be introduced ahead of the 2020 Autumn Internationals, with clubs required to input data via the Team Management tool on GMS across the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons. The RFU will provide updated user guides and FAQs on the Team Management tool, in upcoming Community Game Updates.

Please note that the total number of tickets allocated to each section of the Game and the policy that at least 50% of the tickets for each match are available to the Game, remains unchanged.

From the 2020/21 season, changes are as follows:

1. RFU Voting Clubs
• Every club receives an initial allocation of six tickets (currently it is two).
• Each club with an aggregate total of 30 players or more at U13 and below correctly registered on GMS, will receive an additional two tickets.
• All remaining tickets to be divided between voting clubs, based on the number of matches played by all teams (men and women, U14s to adult) of the club.

2. The 28 Geographic CBs
• Every geographic CB receives an initial allocation of 20 tickets (as is currently the case).
• All remaining tickets to be divided between geographic CBs, based on the number of matches played by their clubs.

3. Referees Societies
• Every society receives an initial allocation of six tickets.

• All remaining tickets to be divided between referees societies, based on the number of matches the society appoints to.

4. Cambridge University, Oxford University and Student RFU CBs and their member clubs
• The allocation of tickets for these three CBs and their member clubs will remain unchanged at this time.

5. The three Armed Services’ CBs and their member clubs
• Each of these CBs have a set number of tickets to allocate to their members.

6. Schools and Colleges that are members of the ERFSU or England Colleges RFU
• The allocation of tickets for Schools and Colleges remains unchanged at this time.
• Schools and Colleges will now be required to demonstrate proof of rugby activity and that tickets are used by an individual who contributes to the rugby activity in that school or college.

In June 2019, we will provide RFU voting clubs, geographic CBs and referee societies with an indicative International ticket entitlement, based on the new process and data collected this season. This will provide an opportunity to compare with current allocations.

For examples of how entitlements will be allocated to the game, together with further information on the endorsed changes to the method, please click here.