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)
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)
Tickets will be available on the gate at each venue. They will priced at £5 for adults (free for U16s), for which supporters will be able to watch all three games on the day. Re-entry not permitted.
