With the main school season now at a close, a lot of attention now will move towards the representative season.
That representative season incudes the U18 Academy League, the U20 Six Nations, and the various U18 internationals.
Among those will be the various Irish age-grade sides and Irish Qualified Rugby (IQ Rugby) and the IRFU Exiles are holding various development days in January and February as part of their process of identifying Irish qualified talent.
So if you are Irish qualified either through being born in Ireland or having a parent/grandparent born in Ireland this could be your chance to follow in the footsteps of the likes of current Irish internationals Kieran Marmion, Kieran Treadwell, and Sam Arnold and wear that famous green shirt.
More recently Cranleigh’s Hayden Hyde and SGS Filton College’s Zach Kavanagh have represented Ireland U19 and U18 through the IQ Rugby identification process.
In January there are two IQ Rugby Development Days, one at West Park Leeds on Thursday 3rd January and one at Oxford Harlequins RFC on Friday 4th January. Any Irish qualified player born in 2002 who did not attend the October development days is eligible to attend (players who attended the October days should have received notification of selection to attend). Registration is via this link: IQ Rugby Registration.
In February comes the Irish Exiles National Festival, taking place on Monday 18th and Trent College. This is for slightly younger players, those born in 2003 or 2004 who are Irish qualified. To register for the Irish Exiles National Festival all players have to do is follow this link: Irish Exiles National Festival Registration.
There is certainly no more exciting time to Live Your Dream In Green by being a part of the IRFU system following the Grand Slam triumph, series win in Australia, and unbeaten Autumn Series that included a win over the All Blacks, propelling them into being one of the favourites for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
For any Irish Qualified player who is not born in 2002, 2003 or 2004 but who wishes to get involved you can sign up at www.IQRugby.com and click register and staff will be in touch to discuss the IRFU player pathway and potential opportunities.
Full Details
IQ Rugby January Development Days
Who is eligible?
Players born in 2002 who did not attend the October Development Days. Players who attended the October days who have been selected. Any new 2002 born players who have not been involve with IQ Rugby or the IRFU Exiles before.
Dates:
North – Thursday 3rd January – West Park Leeds RUFC, Leeds, LS16 9JR
South – Friday 4th January – Oxford Harlequins RFC, Oxford, OX4 2RR
Timings:
Timings will be confirmed with players directly upon registration
Registration:
IRFU Exiles National Festival
Who is eligible:
All Players born in 2003 or 2004 (irrespective of whether they attended the IRFU Exiles October Development days)
Dates:
Monday 18th February – Trent College, Nottingham, NG10 4AD
Timings:
Timings will be confirmed with players directly upon registration
Registration:
