General
Representing Buckinghamshire at the U20s level is an excellent opportunity to progress a player’s game to a higher level and to play alongside players of similar ability at a level above normal club standard. For a select few it also provides an opportunity for further selection into South West Regional and England Counties U20s.
The U20’s is regarded as an important age group within the England Rugby structure. For those players who started playing rugby late, late maturing players, and those who may not have played County rugby at U13-U18 levels this is the opportunity to play and represent Buckinghamshire Rugby at county, divisional and national levels.
The Bucks U20s squad is selected in the Autumn; players are nominated by their respective teams and are invited to a trial where they are assessed prior to being offered a place on the squad. Submission forms for players to be considered for the U20s trails can be found on the U20s Forms page here. Training sessions are kept to a minimum in order to avoid clashes with Club/School/University games, so it is expected that, wherever possible, players make every effort to attend.
There are normally three pool games in the U20s championship, with the first and second placed teams in each group progressing to knock out games. The pool games are usually played between November and March. South West selectors are present at some or all of the games and the players selected will be invited to trail for the South West regional team. They can progress from this team to an England Counties U20s squad if they are suitable.
Players are expected to make their own way to home games/training sessions, but for away games the County provides transport. For those players who travel back from University to attend training and matches there is a remuneration package available to ensure that they are not out of pocket as we are aware of the financial constraints placed on today's students.
Eligibility
A player may only qualify to Play for Buckinghamshire U20’s if they:
- Were under the age of 20 at midnight on the 31st August 2016 and at least 17 years of age or over on the date of the match. (players who are aged 17 are still not permitted to play in the front row of the scrum)
- Are a student attending a College or University based in the Constituent body of Buckinghamshire
- Were born in the Constituent Body area of Buckinghamshire County RFU
- Are an active member of an Buckinghamshire affiliated club at level 3 or below
Points of Contact
Points of Contact for the U20s Squad are:
Chris Smith, Manager
e-mail: smith_c98@yahoo.com Mobile: 07766 164 633
Dan Pettifer, Coach
e-mail: DXP@rgshw.com Mobile: 07889 819 227