Wales U18s 2017
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WALES TO HOST U18 INTERNATIONAL SERIES THIS APRIL
28 March 2017 U18 International Series The Welsh Rugby Union will host the U18 International Series next month, with participation from teams from across Europe and North America. Along with the host nation, U18 sides from Canada, England, Ireland, Italy and Scotland will take part in the competition which is a continuation of last year’s successful series - also held in Wales - with a significant proportion of those players in action recently in the U20 Six Nations. “This is the second year that we have hosted this event and we can’t wait to run it again in April,” said Gethin Watts, Age Grade Manager of the Welsh Rugby Union. “It will be enhanced this year with Canada being involved bringing it to a round number of teams, so we can have all the games played back-to-back at three venues across the country. “The teams participating have been instrumental in creating a developmental culture to the series, meaning that the games will be high-paced, high-skilled and played at a great intensity. I would urge fans of open running rugby to come along as it will be a great insight into the future talent of each country.” Four Welsh venues - Taffs Well RFC, BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park (both Day One), Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli (Day Two) and Newport Gwent Dragons’ training base, the CCB Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach (Day Three) - will host back-to-back matches across three days next month. Training bases for the visiting nations will include Whitchurch High School and Cardiff International Sports Stadium (Ireland and Scotland respectively), Bonymaen RFC and Swansea University (Italy and England) and the Vale of Glamorgan’s National Centre of Excellence (Canada). “We’re extremely grateful to these venues for offering their support to the U18 International Series and the participating countries,” added Watts. “This wouldn’t be possible without their help, but with it we can now look forward to what will be a memorable three days of rugby here in Wales.” Fixtures Saturday 8th April: Taffs Well RFC England v Canada (14:30) BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park Ireland v Italy (18:00) Wales v Scotland (20:05)
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Wednesday 12th April: Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli Scotland v Italy (15:30) England v Ireland (17:15) Wales v Canada (19:35) Sunday 16th April: CCB Centre for Sporting Excellence, Ystrad Mynach Italy v Canada (12:00) Scotland v England (14:30) Wales v Ireland (16:15)
Wales were again attacking deep in the Scottish half, and wing Ioan Davies displayed all his considerable pace to soar into the corner for the second try of the night. Another terrific conversion from out wide by Evans meant Wales were now slowly but surely pulling ahead. 19-6. Evans then drilled over a penalty on 50 minutes to give Wales a 16-point buffer and from there the hosts kept the Scots scoreless for the remainder of the match, whilst occasionally threatening to add to their tally. The series moves to Parc y Scarlets this coming Wednesday, before finishing in Ystrad Mynach next Sunday. HORSMAN OPTIMISTIC AFTER VICTORY AGAINST SCOTLAND 9 April 2017 07:44By Sebastian BarrettChris HorsmanWales U18 coaches Chris Horsman and James Chapron before yesterday’s match in Cardiff.Wales U18 coach Chris Horsman says there are reasons to be optimistic after a 22-6 win against Scotland last night in their first International Series match of the season.
WALES U18 WIN SERIES OPENER AGAINST SCOTLAND 8 April 2017 21:42By Sebastian BarrettIoan DaviesWales U18 wing Ioan Davies heads for a try in the corner in the second half.Tournament hosts Wales opened their U18 International Series account with a 22-6 win against Scotland tonight at the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park.
It was the Scots who drew first blood with a three-point lead coming through the boot of fly-half Matt Davidson after Wales had infringed after two minutes of play. Marvellous work by Tomi Lewis in the Scottish 22 then saw the Welsh fullback pop the ball to outside centre Tom Hoppe for the first try of the match. With Wales unable to convert, though, Scotland retook the lead soon after with another Davidson penalty. 5-6. Wales then edged ahead shortly before the end of the half, thanks to a forward-driven effort which dragged them over the Scottish line. An excellent conversion by fly-half Cai Evans took them into half-time 12-6 ahead. Two minutes after the commencement of the second half,
“We’ve got a new group, having lost a lot of players because of a January 1st birthday cut-off,” he explains, “but it’s great to see a lot more boys exposed to international competition. I was pleased with how it panned out, with the group performing better in the second half. They took on our messages and produced a reasonable performance.: Horsman allows that there is a lot to work on after last night’s match, but adds that this is only to be expected with such a young group. “In terms of build-up, preparation in camp during the week, I think we got a lot out of it and we’ll benefit from tonight.” The physical Scots were far from walk-overs, and Horsman says he was fully aware of the threats they would pose. “They lost to England but it was quite a close game, and we know how good England can be,” he says. “They played some good stuff, challenging us early on, particularly in the first 15, 20 minutes. But we regathered our composure and were able to implement our game plan and attacking strategy.” The Welsh coaching set-up will rotate roles during the competition, and Horsman praised coach Danny Milton’s contribution to Wales’ defensive output as they kept the visitors scoreless in the second half. “The defence was excellent, and I think Danny has done a sterling job. With the role changes during the series, we’re challenging ourselves as much as the
players.” In earlier International Series action, England ran away with a 55-11 result against Canada at Taffs Well, while Ireland defeated Italy in a 39-23 thriller at the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park. Day Two of the International Series takes place this Wednesday in Parc y Scarlets, with Wales taking on Canada in the third and final match of the day. “There will be a bit of focus on improvement some of the things we did tonight, but it’s important that we not get fixated on things that didn’t go too well against Scotland or what the threats are of Canada,” Horsman says. “It’s about building and progressing and steadily towards how we want to perform and how we want the players to develop.” WALES MAKE IT TWO FROM TWO IN #INTSERIES 2017 12 April 2017 21:05By Sebastian BarrettScott LloydInside centre Scott Lloyd, who impressed with from the tee, in full flight against the Canadians at Parc y ScarletsWales U18 beat Canada 50-14 tonight at Parc y Scarlets to register their second win from as many games in this year’s International Series. It was the visitors who opened the scoring with a 13th-minute try from number eight Christoph Stangl, converted by fly-half Brennig Prevost, for a seven-point lead. Wales’ response was swift, as scrum-half Aron Hemmings wrong-footed the defence inside their 22 and found half-back partner Llew Smith, whose try was impressively converted by inside centre Scott Lloyd. It took even less time for the hosts to score their next, with the Canadians scarcely able to get a finger on the pacy Tomi Lewis as the winger touched down for a blistering solo effort. Lloyd watched as his conversion attempt rebounded off both uprights before clearing the crossbar. 14-7. Replacement Tom Hoppe had barely been on the field for more than a couple of minutes before touching down in the corner after a sweeping passage of play by his fellow Welsh backs. 19-7. Not to be denied, the combative Canadians kept themselves in the hunt when blindside Owain Ruttan powered his way over the line. Those five points became seven thanks to Prevost’s impressive conversion and Wales now only held a slim 19-14 advantage. A minute left in the first half, Wales fullback James McCarthy broke away from the chasing pack for a timely try and a tenpoint lead for the hosts at half-time. Wales then made an ideal start to the second half after a try
from elusive wing Ioan Davies; Lloyd’s conversion making it two converted scores the difference between the two sides Hoppe found himself on the scoreboard once again later on in the game, this time touching down under the posts for a simple conversion from Lloyd. It was then the turn of another young Welshman to notch up his second try of the night: this time Ioan Davies making his mark on proceedings. Lloyd’s superb conversion of the try took the scores to 45-14. Time was almost up on the clock, but not before replacement scrum-half Harri Morgan managed to make an impact with a try down the right wing for a full-time score of 50-14 to Wales. To Canada’s credit, they played with aggressive intent right to the final whistle, and the Welsh coaches will have been delighted to see their team once again keep the opposition scoreless in the second half. In other Day Two results, Scotland beat Italy 28-22, while a terrific battle between England and Ireland saw the Red Rose emerge 39-20 winners. The final day of this year’s International Series comes this Sunday, with the teams facing off at the CCB Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach. Commencing the action will be Italy v Canada (12:00), followed by Scotland v England (14:30), before a climactic clash between Wales and Ireland (16:15).
points with a powerful penalty kick to take the scores to 10-3.
WALES DENIED AFTER IRISH COMEBACK 16 April 2017 17:47By Sebastian BarrettTaine BashamWales number eight Taine Basham on his way to scoring against Ireland in Ystrad MynachA strong second-half comeback from Ireland gave the visitors a 36-38 victory against Wales in the final International Series match of the year at Ystrad Mynach this afternoon.
When Wales were penalised with fewer than ten minutes left, Ireland kicked to touch for a 5m lineout in the Welsh 22. From there they were able breach the Welsh line on a crash ball for an Eoin Barr try converted by Byrne.
Ireland took the lead after four minutes when fly-half Harry Byrne punished a Welsh indiscretion inside the hosts’ 22 with a penalty kick. Three minutes later, Wales number eight Taine Basham - the Newport Gwent Dragons prospect on familiar ground at the region’s training base - showed a winger’s pace to sprint in for a try from just inside the Irish half. Fly-half Cai Evans converted for a 7-3 advantage.
The Welsh backs started putting together some audacious phases of play, and were desperately unlucky not to convert their ambitions into points. Until around the 25th minute, that is, wing Tomi Lewis outstripped a large chunk of the Irish defence to find the supporting Harri Morgan for the scrumhalf ’s try. Evans’s conversion made it 17-3. Imperious play by the Welsh backs resulted in centre Tom Hoppe scoring under the posts. His effort was converted by Evans for a 24-10 half-time lead. The second half had just begun when good footwork from Irish replacement Craig Casey in the Welsh 22 was enough to hold the Welsh defence and put away scrum-half Cormac Foley for Ireland’s second try, converted by Byrne. Fullback James McCarthy then put Wales five points up in the 44th minute, showing too much gas for the men in green to touch down in the corner. Ireland soon reduced the deficit to 12 points when strong aerial work by Kernohan saw him take a crossfield kick at pace for a try converted by Byrne.
Wales did incredibly well in defence to hold up the Irish attacker over the line with time almost up on the clock, but the momentum had noticeably swung in the visitors’ favour and moments later they had driven the ball over the line for a try by No8 Dan O’Donovan, which Byrne converted. With the scores at 36-38, Wales were handed a last-gasp opportunity for the win when they were awarded a penalty after a high tackle. However, it wasn’t to be, as the long-range effort was marginally wide for the last action of the match.
Evans was again on hand moments later to add a further three
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Wales U18 15 Tomi Lewis, 14 Ioan Davies, 13 Tom Hoppe,12 Callum Carson, 11 Dewi Cross, 10 Cai Evans, 9 Aron Hemmings, 1 Rhys Davies, 2 Morgan Nelson, 3 Ben Warren, 4 Cian Lewis-Hughes, 5 Morgan Jones, 6 Daniel Owen, 7 Tommy Reffell, 8 Lennon Greggains, 16 Lewis Ball, 17 Tom Devine, 18 Kemsley Mathias, 19 Tane Basham, 20 Callum James, 21 Daniel Babos, 22 Harri Morgan, 23 Llew Smith, 24 James McCarthy, 25 Ben Cambriani, 26 Scott Lloyd
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