Rome at Easter is a favourite holiday destination for tourists from all over the world but England's U16s will have rugby uppermost in their minds when they fly out on Thursday for the Four Nations Tournament in the Italian capital.

Harlequins youngster Harry Ledger will captain the team, who face Wales, France and hosts Italy in three tough matches in the annual festival of U16/U17 rugby from April 3-10.

They will be hoping to improve on last year's three defeats but with the main aim of developing players in the youngest age-group to wear the nation's white jersey and red rose.

Ledger is joined in the squad by fellow Quins youngster Jordan Burns, of Epsom College.

Whitgift School pupil Ledger and Norwich School's George Catchpole must first get through their respective Daily Mail RBS Schools cup finals at Twickenham Stadium today (Wednesday).

Ledger and Catchpole will join up with the rest of the 26-player squad, who will be training at Cokethorpe School in Oxfordshire while those schools finals are in progress.

The Four Nations is the culmination of a season of county, inter-divisional and national trials and grading, with hundreds of hopefuls whittled down to the main squad travelling to Italy, while a further 26 will represent England U16 A in the International Festival at Wellington College next week.

In Rome, the French and Italians will field U17 teams of players born after January 1, 1993, so their players are likely to be an average eight months older than England's, who pick an U16 squad from those born after September 1 that year.

Phil Stanlake, England U16 head coach, said: "Our primary aim is for the players to enjoy themselves and feel confident to play a brand of rugby, which allows them to express themselves and see what they can achieve.

"The opposition is always difficult in this tournament, and we won't know anything about them until we see them. So we'll give our boys a loose framework and it will be up to them to decide when and where is best to attack, and to find space.

"The tournament is paramount, and there is rest and rehab the day after each match, but we also have one day free when we will explore the city and the culture, and that's an exciting propsect too for these boys taking part in an international competition in Italy."

After late changes made by the Italian Federation for logistical reasons, England's final fixture against Italy has been reconfirmed for Stadio Flaminio, well known to rugby supporters as the venue for the annual RBS 6 Nations fixtures, and where the senior England team defeated Italy 17-12 earlier this year.