THREE Hartpury students will represent England Deaf Rugby on Saturday at Cardiff Arms Park (1pm).
Cameron Roberts and Ollie Evans will face Wales in the first of two annual fixtures and will be looking to avenge last year's double defeat by Wales, with the 30-0 whitewash at St Franklin's Gardens a tough experience for the squad.
England's last win against Wales was at Fylde in 2012 making the game at the weekend a must-win. Bethany Weller, also studying at the university, will play for the Development England Deaf Women's side, who will play a short game against Penalta before the men kick-off at 2.30pm.
The match will be the first ever game for a developing women's side, having only just started training together since September.
President of the EDRU Tony Stoyles, emphasised: "It's taken five years for the women's side to get going but hopefully we will have a full international in the future and the game will help this."
He notes the men's side will have a different look compared to last year with six new caps. "The team will be fresh, hopefully Cameron Roberts will inject a bit of spark into the side but it will still be a tough game," he said.
England Deaf Rugby are a charity encouraging people with hearing losses to pick up rugby and the best are picked to represent the England side in the international fixtures against Wales held every year.
Their ambition this year is to fund the first international tour to South Africa to play a test match against South Africa Deaf Rugby and they have been raising awareness for funds and sponsorship to help fund the trip.
They also work in schools with deaf awareness sessions.
Another long-term ambition for the charity is to work with the RFU to create Deaf Rugby centres of excellence to help encourage people with hearing impairments to play.
Stoyles said: "We hope to open centres all over the country.
"It's about getting children and adults to play rugby, not only that but to raise deaf awareness as well."
