England U20 Women to play in inaugural Six Nations Summer Series
England will feature in the first Six Nations U20 Women’s Summer Series in July, in Parma, Italy.
The tournament, where U20 Women’s head coach LJ Lewis will lead the side, features all Six Nations teams and include three competitive match days designed to offer a new opportunity for international rugby experience.
Teams will be made up of predominately U20 players, but each union can select up to three U23 players per match day squad.
Lewis’ team will face Ireland on 4 July (kick off 17:30 BST), followed by Wales on 9 July (kick off 20:00 BST), followed by France on 14 July (kick off 20:00 BST) all at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.
England will also face Ireland in an opposed training session held at Bisham Abbey on the 11th June in preparation for this year's competition.
"Our spring fixtures gave us plenty of lessons to take into July. We’ve integrated many new players and put our plans into action - it’s been a rewarding process for myself, Sarah and our staff," said Lewis.
"The Women’s Pathway deserves a tournament like this to bridge the development gap between the age-grade and senior levels and our girls are determined to make the most of this new opportunity for them.
"The Red Roses have served as a massive source of inspiration for us in recent months - now, it’s time for us to make our imprint on the tournament."
The Women’s Summer Series is intended to offer players a vital new opportunity to graduate through the rugby development pathway, from the U18 level. For those players who may have missed the U18 entry point onto the rugby pathway, the Women’s Summer Series opens up another route to international rugby.
As well as players, coaches and match officials from each union will be involved in similar fashion to the Six Nations U18 Festivals in order to maximise the opportunity to gain experience and develop alongside each other.
