U-18 Six Nations Festivals Kick Off In Wellington And Vichy
Blackrock College's Luke Coffey will captain the Ireland Under-18 Schools team against England, who are led by Declan Treacey ©Matteo Pellegrinuzzi
The Under-18 Men’s and Women’s Six Nations Festivals return this Easter. The Men’s event in Vichy, France gets underway this afternoon with the Ireland Under-18 Schools team playing England (kick-off 4.15pm local time/3.15pm Irish time – live on irishrugby+).
Wellington College in England is hosting the fifth edition of the U-18 Women’s Six Nations Festival for a third year, which runs until Friday week. Craig Hansberry’s Ireland U-18 Women’s side lost to France in their opening 70-minute fixture.
The U-18 Men’s Six Nations Festival is back in Vichy for a second consecutive year, and once again features two invitational teams, Spain and Georgia. Coached by Michael Hodge, Ireland will play Spain and tournament hosts France next week.
In both Six Nations Festivals, teams will compete across three matchdays. The Women’s event will feature three fixtures per matchday, with the format designed to prepare the players to graduate into the newly-created U-21 level in future seasons, another vital point on the journey towards the elite game.
For the first time in its history, Women’s rugby has a clearly aligned standalone window within its calendar, with the U-18 Festival setting the scene for the Guinness Women’s Six Nations and the U-21 Series that follows. This highlights the growth of Women’s rugby and the momentum being injected at all critical levels of the sport.
IRELAND UNDER-18 WOMEN’S Schedule & Watch Live
Watch live on irishrugby+ and the Six Nations U-20 YouTube channel
Thursday, April 2 –
Ireland 0 France 59, Wellington College – Match Report & Highlights
Monday, April 6 –
Ireland v England, Wellington College, 1pm (35-minute match)
Scotland v Ireland, Wellington College, 2pm (35-minute match)
Friday, April 10 –
Ireland v Italy, Wellington College, 2.15pm
IRELAND UNDER-18 MEN’S Schedule & Watch Live
Watch live on irishrugby+ and the Six Nations U-20 YouTube channel
Friday, April 3 –
England v Ireland, Stade Louis Darragon, 4.15pm local time/3.15pm Irish time
Tuesday, April 7 –
Ireland v Spain, Stade Louis Darragon, 6.30pm local time/5.30pm Irish time
Saturday, April 11 –
France v Ireland, Stade Louis Darragon, 6.30pm local time/5.30pm Irish time