Today sees the launch of the NextGenXV Spring League, which will see schools and players given the opportunity for competitive and fun fifteen-a-side rugby after Christmas.

For many the Spring/Lent term sees 7s and other sports take over, but for many others there is a limited amount of fifteen-a-side rugby, however it is quite unstructured. The NextGenXV Spring League aims to create some competitive structure within that, whilst still allowing for that sense of fun and experimentation that spring term fifteen-a-side rugby has as its calling card.

Gordon’s School, Eastbourne College, Glyn School, and Hayes are the first confirmed schools for the 2023 Spring League, with others due to be announced in the coming days, but there is still room for any sides interested to signal their interest and find out more details by contacting angus@nextgenxv.com or jharrison@gordons.school

Those four teams will all face each other in early 2023 and represent a broad range of differing schools rugby histories, styles of play, and depth of squad, but all share the desire to give competitive opportunity to their pupils through the NextGenXV Spring League.

In 2023 the league will start with those four, with others to be added soon and with strong allowances made for existing fixtures. As the league grows, there will be a number of ‘geographical mini-leagues’ followed by a finals day to sign the competition off each year.

At its core, the NextGenXV Spring League is about finding room for pupils to play rugby, embracing the use of development sides and variations for those that need to and pulling it within a competitive structure that gives those perhaps not quite in the 7s frame of mind yet a chance to get out onto the field.

Private or state, top end or not, with academy absentees or not, all are welcome, all are encouraged to get on the field, embrace the cold, and have fun!

Speaking of the new NextGenXV Spring League, NexGenXV co-founder Angus Savage said: “We’re incredibly excited to get behind the NextGenXV Spring League. To us the value and impact of school rugby cannot be overstated, including those core elements of competition, fun, and opportunity. To be able to have that competitive opportunity at fifteen-a-side level at a time in the season often shorn of that structure is going to be fantastic, and with an ethos of fun behind it that has often symbolised rugby after Christmas, it is going to be a New Year to remember.

Most of all, we hope that this will allow schools and players of all shapes, sizes, and means to be able to simply get out on the field and enjoy themselves with the carrot of a title at the end of it.”