Double champions Coleg y Cymoedd host Coleg Llandrillo, while new side Ysgol Glantaf travel a short distance to Cardiff & Vale College for their opening fixtures. Coleg Sir Gar v Newport High School will be shown live on www.s4c.cymru at 2.30pm this afternoon, while highlights from other games will be shown on Rygbi Pawb this evening at 10pm.
WRU National Performance Manager Gethin Watts said, “The object of this competition is to give more players more opportunities to better themselves, alongside their day-to-day education.
“We welcome Ysgol Glantaf into the competition. No doubt former winners Coleg Sir Gar and double champions Coleg y Cymoedd will be strong again and the teams to beat, but Ysgol Glantaf have a great history of producing quality rugby players and will certainly add a flavour of their own to the mix.
“The strength and profile of the competition has grown year on year and we’re thrilled with S4C’s continued live and highlights coverage of under 18 rugby in Wales.
“We now have a well-structured season with Wednesday League games taking place every week until the final in December and leading into the WRU Regional Under 18 Championship and then the international season. There’s a huge enthusiasm within the game to help young boys perform well and achieve their potential and underpin the next level of the elite game in Wales – the Principality Premiership.”
After the initial three rounds of preliminary matches, there will be a week of play-offs before the teams split into Cup and Trophy competitions. There is no planned Wednesday League action in half-term (Wednesday 26 October).
Round One fixtures (Sep 7):
Coleg y Cymoedd v Coleg Llandrillo
Cardiff & Vale College (CAVC) v Glantaf
Coleg Sir Gar v Newport High School (at Llandovery)
Gower College v Neath Port Talbot College (NPTC)
Bridgend College v Whitchurch High School
Pembrokeshire Schools Rugby Academy (PSRA) v Colege Gwent
Round Two fixtures (14 Sep)
Cymoedd v Llandrillo
CAVC v Glantaf
Gower v Newport HS
NPTC v Sir Gar
Whitchurch v Bridgend
Llandovery v PSRA
Round Three fixtures (21 Sep)
Cymoedd v CAVC
Sir Gar v Gower
Gwent v Llandovery
Llandrillo v Glantaf
Newport v NPTC