And for the first time ever, Northampton Saints is also offering young rugby players a five-day residential camp run in partnership with the Army, the Premier Rugby Academy and O2.

The ‘Be Your Best’ camps are for 14 to 17-year-old boys and the Saints-run camp is being held at Bassingbourn barracks in Hertfordshire between August 14 and 18.

The five-day course includes:

o Master classes by top Premiership coaches
o The chance to meet and learn from Premiership players
o Team building and leadership skills taught by the British Army
o All meals and board
o Presentation of a branded t-shirt and souvenir photo
o Free entry to the O2, Kick, Pass and Run Challenge

This is the first time Saints have ventured into the residential camp arena, but the scheme was piloted by seven of the 12 Premiership clubs last year.

Saints community officer and coach Ross Stewart said: “The camps have been designed with the modern game in mind and focus on all-round player development, individual positional skills, unit skills and team strategy. Attendees are split into groups according to age, size and ability.”

The Army will provide soldiers from the local area and they will run some exciting activities off the sports pitch such as abseiling, climbing wall, paintball, assault courses, mountain biking and swimming to promote team building and leadership skills.

All coaches are RFU qualified and, along with all Army staff, are experienced in running youth activities and are CRB cleared for child safety. 

The specialist courses at Franklin’s Gardens include two master classes, a kicking course and one specifically designed for girls.

Saints head of community Sian Haynes said: “We coached 1,384 children last summer and expect to see even more this year. We have courses in all areas of Saints’ region and should be able to reach all the children who would like to spend some time with us.”

To book any of these courses, click here.