The junior dragons belted out their team song, ’Sweet Caroline’, after claiming Six Nations Grand Slam glory in March. And Phillips and co. will be hoping to repeat their performance after next month’s Junior World Championship in Manchester.
But they will have to negotiate a testing pool if they are to advance to the knockout rounds. Jason Strange’s side face Ireland on the opening day, fresh from their Six Nations triumph in Dublin, before a clash against Georgia. They then face the ultimate test against the All Blacks at Sale Shark’s AJ Bell Stadium in what could be a defining match. And Phillips has called on his band of brothers to up the anti before travelling to the north of England.
He said: ‘It’s great to be back with the squad, we’ve spent some time apart so it’s important we have six weeks to get back together as a team. We’re coming off the back of a big Six Nations win, but the team won’t rest on that because the level will step-up 20% and with that we will have to step our preparation up. It’s important we prepare hard.
“We know the level will increase but we have to prepare well and worry about who we face when we get closer to the tournament. We’re working on skills development and fitness development.
“We haven’t looked into what song we’re going to sing yet, I’m sure we’ll have something up our sleeves by the end! We’ll have to have a team discussion, it was a big part of our campaign, it’s a brilliant song chosen by the whole squad. I’m sure there will be another cracker.”
The last junior Wales side to beat New Zealand reached the Junior World Championships final back in 2013. Tom Prydie and Matthew Morgan booted Wales to a 9-6 victory that day, and Phillips is relishing a test against the under-20 standard bearers.
He said: “It’s a great opportunity to play against New Zealand. Growing up watching rugby, you see the haka and think that you could play against that one day. Having the opportunity to play against them at under-20 level is a fantastic honour for myself and the team.”
