The North Wales Under 16 and Under 18 sides will this Sunday play their first games in the WRU Regional Age Grade Championship when they host Blues South and Blues respectively at Denbigh RFC.
Players such as Chris Czekaj, Alun-Wyn Jones, Rhys Priestland, Dan Biggar and Sam Warburton have stepped up to international age grade, professional regional and international rugby through the experience and competition provided by the Regional Age Grade Championships over the past four seasons and it is expected that the introduction of North Wales sides will help to unearth further talent.
WRU National Performance Manager Huw Wiltshire said: “There is a lot of good work going on in North Wales from a player and coach development perspective. The fact that North Wales is able to enter teams in the Under 16 and Under 18 competitions is indicative of the considerable effort that has gone into that area.
“North Wales is a big area of potential rugby talent and if we can maximise that potential, we will not only widen our playing base in Wales but provide more strength in depth to our regions and international set-up.
“Two of last year’s outstanding Wales Under 18 players, James King and Joel Galley, who originate from north Wales, have now joined the Ospreys and Scarlets respectively on academy contracts. There is no reason other north Wales based players can’t follow that pathway but the only way to develop and test the players is to allow them to perform against their peers in a competitive structure.
“I’m sure that creating new, elite teams in the north will throw up some quality coaches and administrators, as well as playing talent.”
Last year’s Under 16 champions Ospreys kicked off their season with a 21-17 victory over the Dragons on Tuesday, while Blues North beat Scarlets Under 16s 34-17 at Merthyr Tydfil.
Last night (Wednesday), the Under 18 Championship kicked off with current champions the Ospreys clinching a 14-7 away win over the Scarlets at Llandovery, with the other game of that round taking place on Sunday at Denbigh.
The arrival of the North Wales sides means that six sides will compete for the Under 16 title (Blues South, Blues North, Ospreys, Scarlets, Dragons and North Wales), while five side will play at Under 18 level (Blues, Dragons, Scarlets, Ospreys, North Wales). They will play each other home and away with finals taking place on January 11 2009.
Meanwhile, the Under 20 Championship will be a more streamlined competition this season, with the four south Wales regions playing each other once to determine the winner, with no final taking place. The three rounds of Under 20 regional rugby will take place on October 29, November 5 and November 19 2008.
WRU Regional Age Grade Championship – this week’s fixtures
Round 1 – Under 16
Tuesday 26 August
Blues North 34 – Scarlets 17 (Merthyr Tydfil)
Ospreys 21- Dragons 17 (Llandarcy)
Sunday 31 August
North Wales v Blues South (Denbigh RFC, 1.30pm)
Round 1 – Under 18
Wednesday 27 August
Scarlets 7 – 14 Ospreys (Llandovery, 7.15pm)
Sunday 31 August
North Wales v Blues (Denbigh RFC, 3pm)
Round 2 – Under 16
Tuesday 2 September
Scarlets v Ospreys (Narberth RFC, 7.15pm)
Wednesday 3 September
Blues South v Blues North (Taffs Well RFC, 7.15pm)
Sunday 7 September
Dragons v North Wales (Rhymney RFC, 1pm)
Round 2 – Under 18
Wednesday 3 September
Blues v Scarlets (Pontypridd RFC, 7.15pm)
Sunday 7 September
Dragons v North Wales (Ebbw Vale RFC, 1pm)
