All you need to know as NextGenXV team up with the Alred Trophy to provide coverage & Live Streaming

NextGenXV are delighted to be working with School of Kicking for the 2021 Alred Trophy, providing a launchpad for young kicking talent.

The Alred Trophy is a competition aimed at finding Great Britain and Ireland’s next best rugby kicker, and here at NextGenXV we will be providing coverage of the competition throughout, including live-streaming the final in July.

What is the Alred Trophy?

Founded by legendary kicking coach Dave Alred MBE, the mastermind behind globally renowned kickers like Jonny Wilkinson, George Ford, Beauden Barrett, James O’Connor, Stuart Barnes, Jonathan Webb, Matt Burke, Morné Steyn, Rob Andrew, and Jonny Sexton, the Alred Trophy is a competition open to under 18 rugby kickers designed to test them on a range of disciplines to gauge their power, accuracy and performance under pressure. A series of regional qualifying competitions will take place throughout April, culminating in the grand final in July.

The Alred Trophy is a product of rugby kicking coaching platform, the School of Kicking, and run by leading kicking coaches including Head Coach and former professional Tony Yapp, World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year and Red Rose Emily Scarratt and World Cup winner and former Red Rose, Katy Daley-McLean.

How does it work?

There are six different disciplines that the competition focuses on:

Hang Time – A test of your Up and Under

Drop Zone – Sudden Death Drop Goals

Downtown – Testing your length from the tee

Longest Drive – Testing your length from hand

Targeted Restarts – A test of your restarts for hang time and accuracy

Red Zone – The Big One. Testing your kicking from the tee

For full details, follow this link: Alred Trophy competition details.

Where is it held and how do I sign up?

There are seven regional events through April and Girls and Boys Finals in July. The events take place at:

Wales, Cardiff – 29^th March 2021

Midlands, Loughborough – 6^th April 2021

Scotland, Edinburgh – 7^th April 2021

North, Durham – 9^th April 2021

Ireland, Rugby Academy – 10^th April 2021

South East, Oxford – 13^th April 2021

South West, Taunton – 15^th April 2021

Girls Trophy & Boys Final – July 2021

To sign up, just follow these links:

Boys Sign Up

Girls Sign Up

Who won last year?

Trinity School’s Joshua Bellamy picked up the 2020 Alred Trophy in dramatic circumstances, missing an early kick but then coming through from behind to claim the Trophy!

A chance for competition:

School of Kicking co-founder and coach Tony Yapp says, “Part of our vision for the Alred Trophy is to provide a launch pad for young, up and coming kicking talent where they can challenge themselves against the best and where we can showcase their skills. The partnership with NextGenXV will allow us to realise that vision and give them a taste of what it’s like to perform on the professional stage with the pressures of cameras and a live audience watching on. It also enables us to create an entertaining offshoot of rugby much like the NFL Combine where we can engage a younger audience with exciting and relatable content.”

NextGenXV co-founder Angus Savage says, “We are delighted to be working alongside the School of Kicking on the Alred Trophy and hope that we can help to build on what was a superb event in 2020. After a pretty bleak year, with almost no school rugby, the Alred Trophy will give these young kickers a fantastic opportunity for some competition and fun. With an audience tuning in from around the world it is a chance for everyone to showcase the very best of their abilities and I have no doubt that we will see an enthralling competition.”

For more information about the Alred Trophy head to https://schoolofkicking.com/alredtrophy/