England's #1 Youth Rugby Academy
Welcome to the Elite Youth Rugby Academy – a pioneering programme for England’s most promising young players. Open to children currently playing U11s rugby, this fully funded three-year journey is designed to fast-track talent towards top scholarships and professional pathways.
🏉 SHAPING THE FUTURE OF ENGLISH RUGBY
Players will train at the National Sports Centre, competing in major youth tournaments across Europe and the USA. The Academy will soon expand to more age groups and regions, marking the start of an international pathway for the next generation of England rugby stars.
🏉 IF YOUR CHILD IS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE TEAM, ELITE YOUTH RUGBY WANTS THEM.
🏉 IF YOUR CHILD SCORES ALL THE TRIES, ELITE YOUTH RUGBY WANTS THEM.
🏉 IF YOUR CHILD MAKES ALL THE TACKLES, ELITE YOUTH RUGBY WANTS THEM.
🏉 IF YOUR CHILD WANTS TO PLAY WITH THE BEST PLAYERS, ELITE YOUTH RUGBY WANTS THEM.
🏉 IF YOUR CHILD WANTS TO BE TRAINED BY THE BEST COACHES, ELITE YOUTH RUGBY WANTS THEM.
🏉 IF YOUR CHILD WANTS TO PLAY IN GLOBAL TOURNAMENTS, ELITE YOUTH RUGBY WANTS THEM.
🏉 IF YOUR CHILD WANTS TO EARN A SPORTS SCHOLARSHIP, ELITE YOUTH RUGBY WANTS THEM.
🏉 IF YOUR CHILD WANTS TO PLAY FOR ENGLAND, ELITE YOUTH RUGBY WANTS THEM.
A launchpad for England's future stars.
We don’t just train players; we build pathways. Through our extensive network, athletes gain access to scholarships, academy placements, and professional opportunities as we shape a world-class squad ready to compete—and succeed—on the global stage.
CALENDAR
BE TRAINED BY THE BEST
This works for 90% of the children. However, this does not work for the 10% who are the exceptional talents and possess higher ability levels and demonstrate faster rates of development. Our objective is to identify this 10% and provide these exceptional players with additional coaching in an elite environment.
We strongly believe that when the most outstanding players train together, it not only accelerates their personal growth, but also benefits their clubs and contributes to the overall expansion of grassroots rugby nationwide.
Here at Elite Youth Rugby, our coaches possess firsthand experience in wearing the prestigious England shirt, running out in front of massive crowds, standing on the field at Twickenham for the national anthem, and even winning Olympic medals.
Our coaching team comprises of England players, Olympians, and highly regarded age group head coaches handpicked from various rugby teams across the home counties. They have walked the very path they are here to educate and guide your children along.
To further support our coaches, we have assembled a team of Sport Scientists, Medical and Nutrition experts, business professionals, and mentors who are also on their own personal journeys of professional growth.
This comprehensive support network ensures that our coaches can offer the best training and guidance to your children, with a greater number of resources available to a select group of young players than most clubs have across their entire junior setup.
TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN
Each athlete is equipped with cutting-edge tools that track performance and physical condition in real time, enabling us to analyse data, monitor development, and create personalised training programmes that drive progress. This insight is strengthened by a dedicated team of sports scientists specialising in youth performance, ensuring your child receives the knowledge and foundation needed to excel as an athlete.
FEEDBACK
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
NO
For international matches and tournaments, costs remain heavily subsidised, with 50% funded by our sponsors.
JULY - AUG '26
Eight trial sessions will run on Monday and Wednesday evenings, 6:30–8:00 PM, throughout July and August. While attendance at every session isn’t required, we ask each participant to attend at least four to ensure a fair and thorough assessment.
By spreading trials over several weeks, we’re able to properly evaluate every player—while also giving them the chance to bond with potential teammates, meet players from other clubs, and experience world-class coaching and facilities.
BISHAM ABBEY
Bisham Abbey has a proud history as the training base for world-class athletes and teams, including England’s senior men’s football and rugby squads, Barcelona FC, England Hockey, the English Institute of Sport, and the WIN Tennis Academy. You can read more at: https://www.bishamabbeynsc.co.uk/nsc/
SETUP
FIRST SEASON
Rugby Training
Our focus is on developing players who can truly think on the field. By running longer sessions, we have the time to explain key principles, reinforce understanding, and analyse performance in detail.
Each session is structured as follows:
⚬ Warm-up drills
⚬ Theme introduction – exploring the day’s focus, the science behind it, and why it matters
⚬ Skills training – applying the theme in practical drills
⚬ Mini matches – putting new skills into real-game scenarios
⚬ Debrief & analysis – ensuring players understand the how and why behind their performance
Team building
Players will lern to row together on the Thames, tackle assault courses with the Army, conquer Tough Mudder challenges, and camp in the wilderness.
We’ll also visit specialist clubs and schools to refine key skills—like sprint training at athletics clubs—ensuring every player develops both on and off the pitch.
HEAD COACHES
ENGLAND PLAYERS
These are headed up by Ollie Phillips - the most successful England Rugby Sevens captain leading his team to three World Series Cup victories - including in New Zealand - and six finals. In 2009, he was voted World Rugby Seven’s player of the year. In 2022 Ollie Phillips was appointed the role as Head Coach of the China Rugby Sevens team.
MENTORS
SPECIAL
We also provide a full support team—player chaperones, medics, commercial staff, and liaison officers—to ensure every aspect of the programme runs smoothly.
SAFE GUARDING
YES
These sessions are non-compulsory, recognising that players have other commitments during holiday periods.
MATCHES
The first tour will be to Wales in 2026, followed by our debut international tournament at the 2027 Tropical 7s in Florida, USA.
BOYS & GIRLS
NO
None of our sessions are on Sundays, and all are scheduled to minimise any impact on existing club commitments.
SINCURA
), a company that works with over 130 professional teams across sports including Premiership football, rugby, NBA, and NFL franchises. They also represent individual stars, such as boxing world champion Amir Khan.
Sincura’s events team is involved in major global sporting events like the Olympics and Rugby World Cup. Committed to supporting youth, they partner with charities including Grassroots Rugby, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and British Fencing, and have pledged £250,000 to help develop England’s future rugby stars.
A NEW APPROACH
Around the world, elite youth pathways are already well established:
⚪ In the USA, 60 million children play sport—the size of our entire population.
⚪ By age 8, children are often considered too old to start sports like tennis, football, and gymnastics.
⚪ By age 9, scouts begin identifying talent.
⚪ By age 10, the top 1% enter funded elite programmes.
⚪ By age 11, over 90% of future national stars have been scouted.
⚪ By age 12, college scholarships are being awarded.
In the UK, football has pre-academy programmes for players as young as 6 or 7, with official academy entry from age 9.
Rugby has never followed this model. At age 12, most players are still training in mixed-ability groups at the pace of the slowest in the team.
We are changing that.
YES
NO
PLAYER STREAMING
However, science shows that children progress most effectively when training with peers at a similar level. Private schools, Welsh junior rugby, New Zealand rugby, and football academies all use ability-based grouping—and it works.
From our experience as head coaches, we often see players naturally fall into three categories:
⚬ Category A: Top 10%
⚬ Category B: Middle 80%
⚬ Category C: Bottom 10%
When Category A children constantly play against Category C, they dominate the game, which benefits neither group. Coaching often ends up focused on Category B/C players, limiting the potential of Category A.
This programme is not for everyone, but it is run with full transparency alongside the RFU and operates alongside regular, non-streamed club rugby.
PHONE
When you are selected for the team you will be given access to the team phone numbers and WhatsApp group.
You will also be given the contact number for your mentor
OFFICE
We have staff in during core business hours should you wish to pop in an discuss the programme with us
INVITE YOUR STUDENTS
⚬ Elevate your sports programme and inspire students to reach the next level
⚬ Access professional rugby training and sports science insights
⚬ Create opportunities for future England rugby stars from your school
If one of your students is selected, your school will receive:
⚬ Feature on our website and a digital promotion pack to share the achievement
⚬ Academy and student photos in kit
⚬ Regular updates on your students’ progress
⚬ Invitations to watch training during open sessions
⚬ Invitations to the end-of-year awards
⚬ Support for future scholarship applications for your students
Please contact us to be sent a school pack or to arrange a meeting
JOIN US
We still have spaces available for coaches to join our roster. If you believe you are among the best and are ready to make an impact, we want to hear from you.
YOU
⚪ Have played rugby at a respectable senior level
⚪ Hold a senior coaching position within their age group
⚪ Be fully qualified through the RFU, ideally holding an England Rugby Coaching Award (ERCA)
REWARDS
You will also receive your coaching kit.
Throughout the year, coaches will take part in team-building activities, starting with an Outward Bounds weekend in Wales at the end of May with the British Army. During this session, we will also collectively discuss and select the Academy players.
EliteyouthRugby
A groundbreaking opportunity for young rugby talent is coming this summer, as the Elite Youth Rugby Academy opens its doors to under-10 players (moving into under-11s) for a series of high-performance, free-to-attend national trials.
England’s All Blacks beating Number 10 -George Ford -An Exceptional Talent
Interviewed for BBC Sounds after an England win over the All Blacks, November 2025 at
Twickenham, Number 10 George Ford said a few things that we’d all recognise, at the Elite Youth
Rugby Academy.
“We feel so well prepared going into the game. We feel we can deal with adverse moments. I’ll
always believe in myself. You get that from the way you prepare and the way you train, doing it
year after year, day after day. Having the mindset that every session counts, every meeting
counts. You find yourself in a decent spot to go and play, at a decent level. I do believe in myself. I
believe in this squad. I love looking left and right, knowing that the boys are going to be there with
me”.
George Thomas Ford, born 16 March 1993, in Oldham, England is an English professional rugby
union player who plays as a fly-half for Premiership Rugby club Sale Sharks and the England national
team.
Started rugby union at 11 years of age
He started playing rugby union aged 11 at Rishworth School and played for Leeds Carnegie, before
eventually joining Leicester at the age of 16 and subsequently signed professional forms with them.
At 15 years of age, he played for England Under 18s. He went on to captain the team in 2009–10
before moving up to the Under-20s where he started every game in a Six Nations Grand Slam,
contributing 76 points. Ford then helped England to final of the 2011 Junior World Championship.
Played up for age with RFU Exceptional Approval
Ford made his professional debut at Leicester Tigers in 2009 at the age of 16, making him the
youngest player to make a professional debut in England. He was World Rugby Junior Player of the
Year in 2011. He has played in five Premiership finals, winning titles in 2013 and 2022. Ford earned
his first cap for England during the 2014 Six Nations Championship against Wales. He has played for
England in three Rugby World Cup campaigns.
In December 2009, Ford was nominated for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. In October
2011, he became the first Englishman to win the title of World Rugby Junior Player of the Year, and
also became the youngest-ever winner of the award.
Elite Player
Despite still being age-eligible for the U20s in 2013, Ford was instead promoted into the England A
side when the Elite Player Squad was named at the start of the 2012–13 season. In January 2013 he
started in games against Scotland A and Ireland Wolfhounds.
On 9 March 2014, a week before his twenty-first birthday, Ford made his England debut as a
replacement against Wales in the penultimate round of the 2014 Six Nations Championship as
England claimed their first triple crown in over a decade.
George Ford has always been a great example that ‘if you are good enough, you are old enough’.
For our Elite Youth Rugby Academy, George is an inspiration that for an exceptional, the path to
national pride can be opened for an elite youth rugby.
Notes from RFU Regulation 15 on Age Grade Rugby:
No player in the U18 age grade or below is permitted to play in the Men’s Premiership League
unless in exceptional circumstances for Premiership Rugby Club Players approved by the Club, the
RFU and PRL, and for Player Development Group Players, approved by the Club and the RFU; and
England’s All Blacks Beating Number 10 - George Ford - An Exceptional Talent!
U16 age grade players can only play in the U18 Academy and Player Development Group
Competitions with the prior written approval of the RFU Executive Director of Performance Rugby.
At our elite youth rugby academy, we prioritise developing speed, agility, and explosive power—the key attributes that separate good players from great ones. Recent research in youth sports highlights the impact of focused training on these physical qualities. Over an eight-week period, young athletes who completed speed and change-of-direction exercises showed remarkable improvements in both linear speed and agility.
Performance was measured through sprint tests, agility drills, and jump assessments, all designed to capture speed, quick directional changes, and muscular power—skills directly transferable to the rugby pitch. Interestingly, the study found that athletes training without additional equipment achieved greater gains than those using extra tools, reinforcing the importance of focused, bodyweight-driven, and sport-specific exercises.
At our academy, we incorporate these insights into every session. By emphasising explosive sprints, multi-directional movement, and dynamic power exercises, we ensure our players develop the speed, agility, and strength needed to dominate in every aspect of the game. #eliteyouthrugby #BishamAbbey
As the Autumn Nations approaches, we encourage all our players to watch more full rugby matches. Pick a player in your position, study their movements, and take notes. By watching full games, you’ll start to understand how momentum shifts, how elite teams create space, and how structure and decision-making unfold across 80 minutes. The more rugby you watch, the smarter your rugby becomes… and let’s be honest — who doesn’t want an excuse to watch more rugby? 😉
#BishamAbbey #eliteyouthrugby #youthsports #rugby #autumnnations
