Harlequins Rugby Union : News : Harlequins Announces Three Attractive Pre-season Fixtures

PREMIERSHIP RUGBY today announced an extension of their partnership with the UK's largest insurance company, Aviva, for a further three years.The contract extension, which starts in the 2014-15 season, will cover a golden era for club rugby in England and will include a period when the country will host a Rugby World Cup and when rugby union will finally rejoin the Olympic movement.

Denzel Boatey-Agyei, Nathan Thomas and Silas-Paul Johnson have all been selected for the Harlequins Elite Player Development Groups following recent performances during the National U15 tournament.

Mike Brown will play fullback for England as they take on the Barbarians on Sunday at Twickenham Stadium. Lining up on the opposition will be prop James Johnston who has been named in the Barbarians starting XV.

The pre-season friendly with Castres will be played on Thursday August 9th at the end of a week long training camp in the south-west of France.

Neighbours London Scottish and Heineken Cup opponents Connacht will provide attractive opposition at the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday 18th August (kick-off times 12.15pm and 2.45pm respectively).

Tickets for the latter will go on sale tomorrow, (Wednesday 4th July) at 9am. Season ticket holders will receive tickets in their packages for the season.

Please be aware that seating at the Twickenham Stoop will be unreserved for the double header on the 18th August.

Commenting on the fixtures, Harlequins Director of Rugby Conor O'Shea said, "The achievements of last season are now history and we are looking forward to the challenges that the new season will bring. Preparing well for the opening match of the new Aviva Premiership campaign on 1st September is now our only focus and we believe this combination of three competitive, pre-season fixtures will enable us to deliver the performance we need."

Click here to see the fixtures

Supporters interested in attending the away match in Castres should monitor that club's website (www.castres-olympique.fr) for ticket information.