Siwan Lillicrap’s women’s side beat Italy 17-10 in Treviso while Richie Pugh’s men’s side were convincing 33-17 victors’ against Scotland in Newcastle.
“We played three ‘halves’ of 25 minutes in what was an invaluable experience for all the girls. We scored three nice tries and it was the perfect build up for our game at the Arms Park against Scotland,” said Lillicrap.
“That game is on the Sunday morning after Wales Women host England at Principality Stadium. It’s going to be a big weekend for the women’s game in Wales.
“The standard at this level has moved on significantly since the programme began three years ago and is an important stepping stone towards the senior set-up. These girls are now seeing players who have passed through the U18 programme before them preparing to play in the Six Nations.
“That shows them that the pathway system is there for them. After the game against the Scots we go to Wellington College for the Six Nations Festival, where we will finish with a meeting with Ireland in a full game on 19 April.”
The Welsh tries in Italy came from Shanelle Williams, Taufa Tuipulotu and Amelia Bailey, with a conversion from Ffion Williams. Tuipulotu is the younger sister of Wales prop Sisi.
There were five tries for Pugh’s side in Newcastle, with Cardiff Rugby wing Rhys Cummings scoring twice. The others came from Dragons wing Rhys Cole, Scarlets outside half Carwyn Leggatt-Jones and Cardiff flanker Alfie Prygodzicz.
Leggatt-Jones, who picked up his try with a smart interception, also knocked over four conversions for a match tally of 13 points.
“It was a good win against a strong Scottish team. There was an increase in pace and ball in play time for the boys from what they are used to,” explained head coach Pugh.
“It was a pleasing first outing for them. We took our chances in the first half and that got involved in a bit more of an arm wrestle after that.
“They had a powerful rolling maul and scored three tries from it, so that is something we will have to look at and fix up. Rhys Cole scored off a good try from a set piece play, Alfie Prygodzicz got over after sustained pressure and Rhys Cummings ran in two.
“All in all it was a decent performance and has set us up nicely for our trip to Italy. That will be another physical challenge, but these trips away are great learning curves for the players.
“We had a lot of support in Newcastle from parents and family members. It is a strong Scottish group and you really don’t know where you are until you’ve got a game under your belts, so it was a solid start for us.”
