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Tigers Academy Rugby Festival

Our Year 11 students Bradley and Matthew really enjoyed being part of the Leicester Tigers academy team which took part in the U16s Wellington College Festival during the Easter break. The festival featured 420 players from 14 regional academies in a week-long programme and aimed to develop academy players & coaches.

On the field, the teams trained and played against each other in a series of matches and challenged with law variations aimed to encourage ball-in-play time. Players were also given education and guidance in nutrition, anti-doping and professional sports pressures during the week.

Wellington Festival is the largest academy festival in English rugby and is seen as a key experience in a players’ development and transitional experience.

Referee Wayne Barnes also gave the players a presentation on officiating and there was a National Coaching Day on Thursday. Players were also be immersed in skill zones and masterclasses throughout the week.

“The point of Wellington is individual development, it’s not a tournament, there are no finals, it is a festival, it is about personal development on and off the pitch during the week,” adds Barrell.

“It’s not a rugby tournament, it’s an experience. It’s about developing players of the future not teams of the future. The best players are going to be built of experiences not tournaments. There are loads of different departments that input into the week.”