The U17 and U18 Academy Festival takes place this week at Malvern College, with games on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Ordinarily split U16 and U18, this year the U17s replace the U16s in order to allow players that completely missed out last year to show their skills, development, and potential. For some academies this will mean inflated squads across the age-groups that will then be trimmed, given that often U17s and U18s are combined together, but nonetheless it allows players that may not otherwise have had the opportunity.
The 14 academies, the 13 Gallagher Premiership clubs plus the Yorkshire Academy, are split into two groups. A Group of 8 who play their games on Tuesday at U17 level and Wednesday at U18 level, and a Group of 6 who will play their U17 games on Friday and their U18 games on Thursday.
Wasps, Bristol Bears, Worcester Warriors, London Irish, Yorkshire Academy, Bath, Newcastle Falcons, and Gloucester are the eight team grouping, with Exeter Chiefs, Harlequins, Saracens, Northampton Saints, Sale Sharks, and Leicester Tigers the six team grouping.
Tuesday 10th August
The 8 team U17 games take place on Tuesday, with each team playing three half hour games over four pitches.
| Pitch 1 | Pitch 2 | Pitch 3 | Pitch 4 | |
| 1pm | Newcastle Falcons v Wasps | Worcester Warriors v London Irish | Bath v Bristol Bears | Yorkshire Academy v Gloucester |
| 1.55pm | Yorkshire Academy v Bristol Bears | Bath v Gloucester | Worcester Warriors v Wasps | Newcastle Falcons v London Irish |
| 2.50pm | Bath v London Irish | Yorkshire Academy v Wasps | Newcastle Falcons v Gloucester | Worcester Warriors v Bristol Bears |
Wednesday 11th August
The 8 U18 games take place on Wednesday, again with each side playing three half hour games spread across four pitches.
| Pitch 1 | Pitch 2 | Pitch 3 | Pitch 4 | |
| 1pm | Yorkshire Academy v Bristol Bears | Gloucester v Bath | London Irish v Wasps | Newcastle Falcons v Worcester Warriors |
| 1.55pm | Newcastle Falcons v Wasps | London Irish v Worcester Warriors | Gloucester v Bristol Bears | Yorkshire Academy v Bath |
| 2.50pm | London Irish v Bath | Newcastle Falcons v Bristol Bears | Yorkshire Academy v Gloucester | Worcester Warriors v Wasps |
Thursday 12th August
The 6 team groupings take over, beginning with the U18s who also play three games of half an hour each, but spread across just three pitches.
| Pitch 1 | Pitch 2 | Pitch 3 | |
| 1pm | Exeter Chiefs v Sale Sharks | Harlequins v Leicester Tigers | Northampton Saints v Saracens |
| 1.55pm | Saracens v Leicester Tigers | Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints | Sale Sharks v Harlequins |
| 2.50pm | Harlequins v Northampton Saints | Saracens v Sale Sharks | Leicester Tigers v Exeter Chiefs |
Friday 13th August
The week is rounded off by the 6 team U17 grouping, which like their U18 counterparts is split across three pitches with three games each of half an hour.
| Pitch 1 | Pitch 2 | Pitch 3 | |
| 1pm | Sale Sharks v Northampton Saints | Saracens v Leicester Tigers | Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins |
| 1.55pm | Harlequins v Leicester Tigers | Sale Sharks v Exeter Chiefs | Northampton Saints v Saracens |
| 2.50pm | Saracens v Exeter Chiefs | Harlequins v Northampton Saints | Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks |
