selection process for boys u18s, U17s & U16s county rugby squads
Selection Process for the Sussex U18 Boy’s County Rugby Squads
August: Invitations for Assessment
An email will be sent out in August prior to the trials to the Head of Sport / Head of Rugby at all of the rugby-playing schools and clubs in Sussex with a nomination form. The school/club can then nominate any boys, within the age group, that they feel are the stand out rugby players or talented athletes who have the ability to become successful rugby players.
Note: Players can be nominated at any time before the trials in October by contacting the U18 Boy’s Manager.
October: Trails and Selection
All the boys will then be contacted directly by Sussex RFU U18 Boys Management Team and invited to attend trials in October at the Horsham RFC.
November: Training
Training takes place on Monday or Wednesday evening at the Horsham RFC.
December & January: Matches
All matches take place in December and January each season. Sussex play 3 matches which are watched and assesed by the London South East Divisional coaches. When all of the matches in Sussex have been played the coaches will select players to trial for the LSE Divisional Programme which runs in February and March.
Selection Process for the Sussex U17 Boy’s County Rugby Squads
January: Invitations for Assessment
An email will be sent out in January prior to the trials to the Head of Sport / Head of Rugby at all of the rugby-playing schools and clubs in Sussex with a nomination form. The school/club can then nominate any boys, within the age group, that they feel are the stand out rugby players or talented athletes who have the ability to become successful rugby players.
Note: Players can be nominated at any time before the trials in April by contacting the U17 Boy’s Manager.
March: Trials and Selection
All the boys will then be contacted directly by Sussex RFU U17 Boys Management Team and invited to attend trials in the April half-term at the Horsham RFC.
March - May: Training
Training takes place at the Horsham RFC on Wednesday evening.
May: Matches
The squad will play three matches in May each season.
U16 Sussex Player Development Group
January/February of each season
The Harlequins U16 Developing Player Programme (DPP) changes to the Harlequins U16 Player Development Programme (PDP). At this time some Sussex players will be released from the Harlequins DPP. These players will join the Sussex Player Development Group (SPDG) which is only for U16 players that have been involved in the Harlequins DPP.
February to April: Training
Training sessions are typically held from February to April at Durrington High School on Monday or Friday evenings.
March to April: Matches
Working Harlequins and Surrey Rugby the players will play a series of fixtures against the Surrey players who have also been released from the Harlequins DPP Programme, the fixtures take place in March/April each season. These matches are part of the aspirational pathway to maintain player engagement as they transition into the Sussex RFU representative pathway.
Development Opportunities for players in the SPDG.
- Harlequins will be closely involved with the SPDP and they will continue assessing the players as they may bring some of them back into the Harlequins PDG.
- All of the players in the SDPD will automatically be invited to attend the trails for the Sussex County U17 squad.
