Cumbria Under 16 Girls England Player Development Group (PDG)

2026/27 season details:

The timing and venue for this year’s Cumbria Under 16 Girls England Player Development Group (PDG) assessment

sessions are still being finalised. However, we are pleased to open the nomination process and share the planned

assessment dates. Assessment sessions will take place on:

 26 August 2026, 6.30–8.30pm

 5 September 2026, 10.00am–12.00pm

 11 September 2026, 6.30–8.30pm

These assessment sessions will help us identify the players who would benefit most from participating in this season’s

PDG programme. The deadline for nominations is 20 August 2026.

The Under 16 Girls PDG sits within the Foundation Phase of the England Rugby Player Pathway. The programme is

designed to recognise and support potential within our area by providing age-appropriate coaching, purposeful

challenge, and opportunities for players to develop their skills, physical capabilities, game understanding, and

confidence. The programme consists of 13 sessions, helping players strengthen their playing skills, decision-making,

and the athletic foundations needed to progress in the game. Further information is available here: https://www.englandrugby.com/play/parents-guardians/player-pathway

The focus of our assessment is based on two areas – the girls’ potential to develop and their readiness to learn.

Throughout the assessment process, we will provide activities designed to explore each

player’s attitude, aptitude, and level of game involvement. We will focus on both game

skills and core skills, including spatial awareness, decision-making, physical capacity,

movement competence, carrying, passing, catching, kicking, tackling, and contest. If you

believe a player would benefit from this programme and would value the opportunity to

be involved, please complete the existing online nomination form using the link below.

We will use the information provided to contact the player’s parent or guardian and issue

an invitation to an assessment session.

Nomination link

Team Contacts:

Steph Ratcliffe (PDG Lead Coach):             Tel: 07932 005488   Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.