Cambridge Rugby are proud and privileged to be hosting the next generation of England internationals at Grantchester Road this Saturday. England Under 19s against Japan Under 19s kicks off at 2pm.
Cambridge Chair Tim Hague says:
“It’s a really important flagship game for us. We’re looking forward to welcoming both sides and their support teams, and the RFU board will be joining us to see what we have to offer here. It’s important we put on a good show for them and, of course, the Japan side. It’s the 50th anniversary of their first tour to England and, appropriately, the 50th anniversary of our Mini and Youth section so it’s a tremendous event to celebrate both.
Tim continues:
“We’ve worked hard to mobilise the Cambridge University student population as part of our new initiative with the Light Blues. We hope to see a lot of students here alongside those of our regular support who aren’t making the trip to Coventry in the Championship this weekend. There will be a number of those England U19 players who will inevitably be turning out for Cambridge Rugby in the future, too, as we play our part in the England and Premiership pathway, starting with this prestige fixture on Saturday”.
England Under 19s Head Coach Andy Titterell says:
“It’s important to recognise our U19 programme as a vital development opportunity for those graduating from the U18 side with further international experience for the players. The U19s bridge the gap from the excellent work Jon [Pendlebury], Will [Parkin] and the U18 team do to feed into our programme to ensure maximum alignment in the Men’s Pathway
“These games serve a purpose in bringing through a new guard of talent to incorporate and complement our U20 squad ahead of a busy summer period and into a new campaign. All 15 players that started against Italy in April have now been named in our U20 EPS this season, for example, with six of them already achieving competitive U20 caps.
“Welcoming Japan as the first U19 game of our 2025 schedule is an incredibly exciting prospect and an occasion we all eagerly anticipate. Mark [Mapletoft] and I are grateful to our hosts Cambridge, who we’ll be working closely with over the coming months, and to Japan as we establish new, strong connections at pathway level.”