Leicester Tigers are among 14 regional academies involved in the 2019 Wellington Festival which kicks off on Saturday with 420 players taking part.

The week-long programme is held annually at Wellington College in Berkshire and aims to develop academy players and coaches on and off the field.

On the field, teams train and play against each other in a series of matches, challenged with law variations and a theme that has been provided for the players to interpret, while off the field they have education and guidance in areas of nutrition, anti-doping and professional sports pressures such as psychology.

Wellington Festival is the largest academy festival in English rugby and is seen as a key part of players’ development and experience.

The RFU’s head of regional academies Don Barrell said: “The purpose of Wellington Festival is to provide a unique experience where there will a combination of off-field, as well as on-field activity, which we hope will add to a player’s development journey.

“We’d like to think this is a unique experience they can’t get anywhere else. So, to live with 14 academies on one site, mix with their peers from around the country and take part in different activities is a great opportunity for them to both learn and reflect.”