By Paul Smith 
Two exciting prospects from local rugby have become the first players awarded fledgling professional contracts by the newly-launched Coventry Rugby Regional Academy.
Stratford-based Charlie Whorrod and Solihull-product Will Conduit, both of whom left education in June, are now in full-time training with the Championship club’s senior squad after being snapped up by head coach Alex Rae.
Cov’s academy, which was made public in June, fills the void left by firstly the collapse of Wasps and Worcester then the RFU’s decision to fold their West Midlands Academy that temporarily replaced the cash-strapped pair.
Coventry are targeting talented, ambitious youngsters aged 15 to 23 with an approach intended to complement rather than replace their current school, club, college and university rugby commitments.
When announcing the new venture, chief executive Nick Johnston confirmed the academy will accommodate both school-age players training on a Monday evening plus a small number of older full-timers as academy professionals, with teenage pair Whorrod and Conduit becoming the first of these.
Both players have already experienced senior rugby with Cov during the club’s pre-season wins over Birmingham Moseley and Chinnor, after which Rae described their signing as a landmark moment for the Blue-and-Whites.
“After leaving school, Will and Charlie initially trained with us over the summer and we’ve taken things from there,” he said.
“We’ll sit down and map out how they both are best developed, but it is so nice when you’re filling out registration forms to see ‘born in Warwickshire’ on their passports.
“It is also notable is that both of them came to us rather than the other way round and it’s great to have a parent on the phone saying they’ve heard good things about our rugby programme.
“It says lots about how far we have come and shows we are now generally considered as a viable option for any talented young players hoping to make it as a professional.
“Will has applied himself brilliantly well as like most young props the step-up into adult rugby at this level is a big one especially in the set-piece.
“He was an England U18 so he has a good pedigree; he has some brilliant attributes and hopefully with Steve Boden around we can work with him to mould him into a really good player.
“Charlie played for Italy last year and is raw and full of energy. He is comfortable in the centre or on the wing and has plenty of pace.”
Pacy winger Whorrod who has represented the Azzurri against Wales and Japan at U19 level after qualifying through his Grandfather, began playing rugby in the mini and junior sections of Leamington and Stratford Rugby Clubs.
While at Warwick School he subsequently spent a couple of seasons as part of Worcester’s junior academy and was then part of the RFU-run West Midlands Academy prior to its closure.
Loose-head prop Conduit also spent time with Worcester and the RFU West Midlands Academy from where he played three times for England U18s including an appearance against South Africa.
Prior to this he played junior rugby at Silhillians while studying at Tudor Grange School in Solihull.
Find out more about the Coventry Rugby Regional Academy here: https://www.coventryrugby.co.uk/coventry-rugby-regional-academy-fills-rfu-west-midlands-void/
For more information on joining our Regional Academy, please contact us at Academy@coventryrugby.co.uk or submit an enquiry via our form: https://forms.office.com/e/wRHUfKHuzC. A member of our Academy Team will respond as soon as possible.
Season memberships for 2024/25 are available at https://www.coventryrugby.co.uk/membership/
