Forwards flourish with Wales U18

Head coach Chris Horsman would rather see a level playing field where the threat is equal from the backs and forwards. In light of this, he must be very happy with what Wales have produced so far in this year’s U18 International Series in South Africa.
 
“Everyone’s talking about style of rugby we’re playing, but we’ve always been an advocate of expansive, heads-up attacking rugby,” he says. “We’ve got that mix of a very good set piece from forwards who are also playing an expansive game. That’s something we’ve been trying to challenge the players on in the last few years, so it’s really good to see it clicking now.”
 
Indeed, Wales have now scored ten tries in two games, with an even split of touchdowns between forwards and backs. “And those forward tries have been scored in the wide channels,” adds Horsman. “Our forwards are making really good decisions: in two games they’ve hit over 100 rucks, and there have only been six occasions when a forward has been redundant in one of those rucks.”
 
The analysis shows that Wales have had a 100% scrum success rate, which is where Horsman’s credentials as an international tighthead come into play. “We pushed South Africa off their own ball in the scrum when we were down to seven men, and pushed England off their ball a couple of time too.” Considering the size of those opposition packs, that is no mean feat. 
 
To complement the potency of their scrum, Wales have had a high 90% lineout completion rate too – an area of the game overseen by Dragons’ James Chapron. Horsman says: “If you add those two things to an attacking game, you can be very effective as a team. Credit to Chappy, Geraint Lewis and Richie Rees: our coaches are clear about putting players in positions where they have to make the decisions, but also letting them understand the whys and wherefores for doing that.”
 
The Welsh coaches have already named openside flanker Jac Morgan as their Forward of the Tournament for some barnstorming displays, including one as captain against England.
 
Is playing such a hybrid game plan a straightforward task, though? “It’s not easy, because it actually puts a lot of stress on the forwards,” responds Horsman, “but if they get it right it shows how successful it can be. Our tries haven’t been from driving lineouts, they’ve been from forwards in the wide channels; Teddy Williams, Cam Lewis and Jac Morgan getting their hands on the ball. 
 
“Our forwards are passing the ball more, linking up with the backs, not wasting numbers in the contact area. The backs have only had to hit 20 rucks in two games, which is great.”
 
Regardless of what happens this Saturday morning when Wales face France in their final match, the stage has been set for the U18 pathway and beyond. “What a lot of people don’t realise is that 13 players in this group are eligible for the U18s next year,” Horsman reveals. “It’s more or less an U17s team, so it’s a very young group we’re achieving this with.”
 
Wales v France in the U18 International Series kicks off this Saturday at 11:15 BST (live stream on S4C’s website and Facebook page).