Berkshire RFU U18s is open to all players who play their club or school/college rugby in the county OR who live OR were born in the county.
Berkshire RFU is part of the England Counties South West Division that includes Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset & Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Oxfordshire.
For U18 boys the season is very short, concluding normally either before or directly after Christmas. We usually play a warm-up fixture in early November and then from this, the final squad is selected to play in the England Counties South West Divisional matches in December (sometimes January). These matches are played on a Saturday or Sunday over two or three weekends at a location central to the 8 counties – often in Gloucestershire/Somerset or Bristol. The Berkshire U18 squad play two or three games (one on each weekend Saturday OR Sunday).
From these matches, players are selected into the England Counties South West U18s wider squad for the final trials to select the England South West Divisional U18s squad (23 boys only). They then play against 2 of the other England Counties Divisions (Midlands, North and London & South East) from which an England Counties U18s team is selected.
From a Berkshire RFU perspective, our purpose is to provide a competitive and positive experience for all those players in our squad throughout all our programmes. Our aim is the select the best squad available to compete against our South West Counties’ opposition. We will select the players whom we believe have the aptitude and ability to shine in the elite rugby environment so some players may be disappointed if not selected but we hope the players return to their clubs and schools as better players and continue to play county rugby with our U20s and Senior squads.
Contact
Mark Pett-Ridge, Berkshire RFU Boys Age Grade Chair
Email: mpettridge@aol.com
Mobile: 07742 338 572
The following fixtures have been confirmed:
South West Selection
| 01/12/24 | Gloucestershire | 10.00 | Hartpury RFC |
| 15/12/24 | Cornwall | 14.00 | Hartpury RFC |
| 05/01/25 | Oxfordshire | TBC | Hartpury RFC |
Our Berkshire U17 Boys management team is lead by Head Coach Beki Davies and Team Manager Chris Hoy.
Updated 3rd February 2025
