The group is representative of all of Wales, with 15 Ospreys, 14 Blues, ten Scarlets, eight Dragons and five players from the North Wales Development Region called up to the first training session.
Rees said, “We have developed a very inclusive programme for January when we will deliver four on and off-the-field sessions for this larger Under 18 group to benefit from the coaching and expertise. It is a national programme to develop a wider group of players than just the 32 required for our games. We hope all of the selected 52 will benefit greatly from the programme, improving them as players for their clubs and Regions and even those not selected in this season’s Wales Under 18 squad will have things to work on and could well come back stronger for next year’s Wales Under 18 or Under 20 squads.
“The sessions will include skills workshops, with Rob Appleyard and Andrew Millward passing down the themes and practices of the other National Squads when it comes to defence and the set-piece, while I will be able to do the same with kicking and attacking. We will also cover off-the-field education such as dietary advice, some psychological work and conditioning information.”
George North and Tom Prydie played a full part in last season’s Under 18 programme and Rees added:
“A lot of the analysis of players at this age centres around how they deal with the pressures of the game, both on and off the field. If players develop quickly both in a rugby sense and mentally, there is no reason they can’t progress through the ranks as others have done in recent years.”
Wales Under 18 training squad:
Backs: Rhodri Williams (Scarlets), Sam Davies (Ospreys), Alex Schwartz (North Wales), Ben Thomas (Ospreys), Josh Davies (Dragons), Rhys Patchell (Blues), Luke O’Brien (Blues), Lewis Barker (North Wales), Josh Guy (Dragons), Dominic Franchy (Dragons), Thomas Pascoe (Blues), Ryan Evans (Blues), Corry Allan (Blues), Aaron Evans (Scarlets), Jordan Williams (Scarlets), Ben Roberts (Ospreys), Ryan Evans (Ospreys), Luke Treharne (Scarlets), Rhys Williams (Ospreys), Jack Randell (Scarlets), Adam Wellington (Ospreys), Thomas Ashmead (Dragons), Owen Jenkins (Blues), Dion Jones (North Wales).
Forwards: Gareth Thomas (Scarlets), Evan Yardley (Ospreys), Daniel Suter (Ospreys), Nicky Smith (Ospreys), Elliot Dee (Dragons), Nicky Thomas (Ospreys), Tom Owen (Ospreys), Thomas Davies (Blues), Jack Dando (Blues), Daniel Goode (Dragons), Joe Simpson (North Wales), Jack Hopkins (Blues), Bradley Thyer (Blues), Rhodri Hughes (Ospreys), Jack Jones (Ospreys), Sion Bennett (Scarlets), Daniel Thomas (Scarlets), Matthew Jenkins (Ospreys), Benjamin Roach (Blues), Jordan Seinawaski (Blues), Ellis Jenkins (Blues), Ieuan Jones (Dragons), James Benjamin (Dragons), Lewis Young (Blues), Emyr Wililams (Ospreys), Jamie Grundy (North Wales), Dyfed Morgan (Scarlets), Carwyn Jones (Scarlets)
