After recently announcing a wider training squad for the age group’s first international fixtures of the season – Wales face England the following weekend in Ebbw Vale – head coach Geraint Lewis says he wants to give opportunities to all his players to make their mark.
“We want to give opportunities to as many of the squad as possible in order to expose them to international-level rugby,” says Lewis. “There’s a huge emphasis on development here, and this will be the players’ first proper season of international rugby. We’ll get a better understanding of their abilities through this prolonged period of training and games.”
Lewis, who is also joined in the U18 coaching set-up by fellow U20 coach Chris Horsman, says that these upcoming matches are about underlining “how we want to play. If we concentrate first on our performance, then the results will look after themselves. Everybody wants to win but we want to do it in a certain way.”
All four of the regions are well represented in the matchday squad, and Lewis is pleased with the way they have bought into the Wales U18 playing philosophy: “Observing the way the regional age grades have played leading into this weekend’s game, it’s been great to see how positive their approach is.”
Training time together as a squad may have been relatively minimal, but Lewis hopes the game plan will be on show this Sunday in France. “We want to see evidence of what we’ve practised in our sessions together, embedding how we want to play,” he says. “You only need to look at how many former U18 players are currently starring for our U20 team to recognise the importance of this phase of the players’ development.”
Wales Under 18 team to face France U18
15 Tomi Lewis (Scarlets/Llandovery College/Gwernyfed)
14 James McCarthy (Dragons/Caerleon/Newport High/NHSOB)
13 Dylan Moss (Ospreys/Wellington College)
12 Callum Carson (Ospreys/Gower College/Gowerton)
11 Corey Howells (Dragons/Newport High School/NHSOB)
10 Ben Thomas (Blues/Cardiff and Vale College)
9 Harri Morgan (Ospreys/Llangynwyd/Bryncethin)
1 Jordan Walters (Ospreys/Neath Port Talbot College/Cwmafan)
2 Will Griffiths (Dragons/Coleg Gwent/Newbridge)
3 Josh Reynolds (Dragons/Newport High/NHSOB)
4 Rhys Davies (Exiles/Millfield/Bath)
5 Will Griffiths (c) (Ospreys/Gowerton Gowerton)
6 Alun Lawrence (Blues/Coleg y Cymoedd/Llantrisant)
7 Dan Davis (Scarlets/Coleg Sir Gar/Scarlets Academy)
8 Lennon Greggains (Dragons/Newport High School/NHSOB)
Replacements
16 Morgan Nelson (Exiles/Hartpury College/Hereford)
17 Rhys Davies (Scarlets/Coleg Sir Gar/Carmarthen Quins)
18 Llyr Green (Scarlets/Coleg Sir Gar/Amman United)
19 Lewis Ellis Jones (Scarlets/Coleg Sir Gar/Aberystwyth)
20 Joe Miles (Blues/Radyr/Cardiff and Vale/Cardiff)
21 Dan Babos (Dragons/Croesyceiliog/Pontypool United)
22 Cai Evans Ospreys (Cowbridge Comprehensive/Cowbridge)
23 Ben Cambriani (Ospreys/Gower College/Gowerton)
Travelling Reserves
24 Ben Warren (Blues/Coleg y Cymoedd/Treorchy)
25 Dewi Cross (Ospreys/Neath Port Talbot College/Pencoed)
