Nathan Earle

Top rugby players are backing the coaching masterclass being held at the University of Essex to launch its plans to discover the sports future stars.

England Rugby Under 20 World Cup winner and Saracens star Nathan Earle and Ireland international and Saracens women's player Kerrie Ann Craddock will be joining Saracens Academy Manager Don Barrell for the event at the Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall on Wednesday 10 December.

The talk is open to coaches, players, students and fans and will give a unique insight into Saracens’ innovative approach to coaching and reveal some of the secrets of the club’s success.

Doors open at 7pm with the event starting at 7.30pm. Tickets can be booked online at: https://essexmasterclass.eventbrite.co.uk

The University of Essex hopes to confirm further guests in the coming week.

Saracens are helping the University of Essex launch its plans to make rugby sevens a ‘focus sport’ and to develop the next generation of top players within the men’s and women’s game.

• Read more about our plans for rugby sevens as a focus sport at the University of Essex

The University is launching rugby sevens as a focus sport from October 2015 with scholarships and extensive support packages up for grabs.

Saracens is officially endorsing the University’s rugby sevens programme and is also interested in developing further links with Essex due to its reputation in elite sport performance research - including working with the England Sevens team. Other partners will include Colchester Rugby Club and Colne Rugby Academy.

The event will also feature talks from researchers within the Centre for Sports and Exercise Science. Centre Director Dr Gavin Sandercock will discuss how your birthday impacts on your sporting performance and Dr Paul Freeman will explain how athlete support networks make a difference to youth athletes.