Men’s and women’s pathway in action this autumn
There have been important development camps taking place over the past week for the England pathway.
At Bisham Abbey, 40 players joined England men’s U18 head coach Jon Pendlebury and his coaching team for a three-day national training camp while at Hazelwood, London Irish’s training centre, the women’s pathway held a weekend camp for 29 players ending with a training game against the Black Ferns.
Explaining the purpose and benefits of such camps RFU Head of Performance Pathways and Programmes Don Barrell said: “These camps are integral to the England player pathway. The overriding purpose is for the coaching teams to be able to look at as many players as possible and for us to be able to give as many players as possible the opportunity to attend.
As part of the England Rugby development framework these pathway training camps aim to provide all players with a positive experience and to aid them in their development – both as a player and person.
“These camps are very much part and parcel of the development framework and the pathway journey,” Barrell added “In the early stages of a player’s pathway journey the focus is very much on the group and making sure that the experience adds value to keep players in the game and help develop their love for it.
“Squad lists will be released at specific points during a season to align with key activity such as the U20s EPS or for the Six Nations or an international series. With the U18 camps we will release teams during the international matches, at this stage we do not want any additional pressures on the players to allow them the space to train and develop.”
Talking about what he was looking to achieve during this week’s camp Pendlebury said: “We’ve held some regional camps already this autumn which have gone really well, working with over 70 players but this was the first chance to get all the players together in one national session this season.
“It’s been fantastic to get such a big group of players together and put on some sessions that have tested them in a few different areas around ‘Speed’ in terms of seeing and acting, and most recently ‘Attachment’ – covering support play and communication. We as a group are really pleased with how it’s all gone and it really builds on the camps we held towards the end of last season.
“As ever, a lot of time and effort went on in the background to make it happen. So thanks to the management team and club academies for all their work.”
The men’s U18s will have further regional development camps this autumn and the women’s U18s have been in action too, with regional training days held regularly since September and running through to end November ahead of an internal development game in December. Elsewhere the men’s U20s, under head coach Alan Dickens, will participate in some short training camps with internal development games in November and December.
Having not had any fixtures since 2019, Sunday’s training game was a great opportunity for the England Women’s pathway players to get some match experience before a friendly fixture against international opposition on 21 November. It also offered valuable preparation for the U20s players who will face France in Test matches next year.
England Women U20 head coach Amy Turner explained the importance of holding this camp for the women’s pathway players: “The opportunity to play against a world class side provided great memories, a fantastic development experience and will give the players confidence going into our upcoming home international friendly and then Test matches in 2022.
“It provided crucial game time for the group outside of the Allianz Premier 15s,” added Turner “they had different roles and responsibilities, had to problem solve and manage the game while playing for England.
The integration of the pathway system has seen the various coaching teams meet up as one group to share their experiences and learnings. As Turner observed: “The alignment between the men’s and women’s pathways is really strong and it’s an exciting time for all of our teams.”
