Winners announced for the Twickenham Takeover
As part of England Rugby’s Play Together, Stay Together campaign, eight teams will take over Twickenham Stadium.
The teams will take over Twickenham Stadium to play on the hallowed turf on 21 April 2024.
Visit the Play Together, Stay Together page
They have been chosen due to their work in supporting players as they move into adult rugby. Players aged between 17 and 24 are a key audience for the Play Together, Stay Together campaign and keeping them engaged from age grade to adult rugby is a great way to ensure a rugby clubs’ sustainability.
The winning teams were chosen by an independent panel who were impressed by the clubs’ ingenuity and dedication to helping their younger players.
North
Scarborough Ladies RUFC
Scarborough RUFC have recognised the importance of the successful transition of juniors into adult rugby by making it one of their club’s central objectives. They have an Assistant Director of Rugby whose focus is transitioning juniors into adult rugby, and they run joint training sessions with their junior and senior players to integrate junior players into the adult set up.
The club also creates opportunities for U18 players to be part of their senior teams’ matchday squads before the game to help the youngsters become comfortable with the matchday experience and learn the preparation and tactics on a gameday.
As well as encouraging players who go to university to come back to Scarborough during their holidays, the club has built strong relationships with local schools and provides coaching.
Hartlepool RFC
Hartlepool RFC have a clear structure in place to allow their juniors to seamlessly move into adult rugby. The club appoints senior players to coach their colts’ teams to build relationships between the senior and junior players. Junior players who are becoming ready to play for the senior teams are invited to non-contact sessions and the club has transition fixtures against social opposition teams to allows their junior players to make their first steps into adult rugby.
The club also invests in their young players, encouraging them to join their Youth Committee where they can affect positive change and plan a future for the club that is relevant to their generation.
Midlands
Boston RFC Ladies
Boston RFC has developed a player pathway that is designed to take their players from grassroots to greatness. Their structured pathway begins with their Youth Development programme, where girls are introduced to the fundamental skills and values of the game, through to their development squad for their ladies’ team, which offers specialised training and support to act as a stepping stone for their junior players.
Nottingham Moderns RFC
Last summer, Nottingham Moderns RFC began a project aimed at increasing the number of players aged 16-21 at their club.
They set up the Doug Scott Memorial Fund, aimed at players aged between 17 and 21. The fund provides financial support with match fees, subscriptions and kit; employment opportunities through the club’s existing business network; a pathway to achieve coaching, refereeing and first aid qualifications; and player development through the club’s mentoring programme.
Through the creation of a U17 and U18 team to help prepare their younger players for adult rugby, engaging with students at local universities, creating an incentive programme for number of fixtures played in addition to providing joint coaching sessions between the senior and junior teams, the club has a clear strategy for aiding their younger players.
South East
Eton Manor Women
Eton Manor Women adopt a ‘one team’ approach that centres around making connections between older and younger players, from as soon as girls enter the junior section.
The junior teams are all coached by senior players, their U18s and seniors train together monthly and the club has a mentoring programme which offers pastoral support to younger players. Their senior teams are filled with players who have transitioned from junior rugby, including mothers and daughters playing together. The club offers physios and on-site gym facilities to all members and ensures informal training sessions and games with local universities are available to all players to help those with less time to dedicate to the game engaged with their club.
On senior women’s match days, the club invite their U16 and U18 teams to watch to help the younger players envision their progression into the senior team.
Farnham RUFC
After recognising that the club was losing junior players to the Army or higher education, Farnham RUFC launched an U23 program to help bridge the gap between junior and senior rugby and give players returning to the area a reason to come back to their club.
By giving their U23 squad exclusive access to their gym, personalised development plans from the club’s Transition Manager, and celebrating the team’s success at the annual Club Day, Farnham helps players from U23 squad build lasting connections with their teammates and the club, and subsequently has seen many junior players go on to play for the club’s first and second senior teams.
South West
Ivybridge RFC Women
Under the guidance of their Head Coach Georgie Gulliver, Ivybridge women train at the same time as the girls’ section with the U18s joining then senior team for their warm-up to familiarise themselves with other players and with the moves the team uses. The club has skill-based forwards and backs training, which both senior and junior players are invited to.
The club also has a women and girls’ showcase each summer, which sees the whole club celebrate a female-focused event. The age grade teams play a fixture before the senior women play in the Grace McCaulky Cup.
Kingswood RFC
To aid their transition of junior players into the senior rugby, Kingswood RFC has integrated their colts’ section into their senior set-up and has placed it under the guidance of their senior coaching team and Director of Rugby.
The club has a structed player pathway where their second-year colts engage in joint training sessions with the senior section and their U16 players train with their future teammates, the first-year colts to foster camaraderie, encourage mentorship, and promote a sense of continuity.
The club also has a dedicated Transition Manager, an U23 team and a style of play known as the ‘Kingswood way’, which gives players familiarity and confidence as they move through the age groups.
Visit the Play Together, Stay Together campaign for ideas, resources and examples of how to recruit and retain players.
