The final will return to the Principality Stadium in December, a ground that has become a familiar venue for so many players who have graduated from the tournament in the recent past and made it all the way into the senior Wales side.
Coleg y Cymoedd are the reigning champions and they kick-off their campaign against Ysgol Glantaf at Sardis Road in the televised game tonight (S4C, Wednesday, 8 September, 7.30pm).
Coach Gareth Wyatt is excited to see what his players can produce after so long away from the competitive arena due to Covid-19.
“The lockdown period has been challenging for everyone, students and coaches alike. We had to find innovative ways to keep the players engaged and fit and they adapted superbly,” said the former Pontypridd, Dragons and Wales wing.
“We did a lot of work on Zoom and Teams and there were times when the players were out running with their phones in hand with coaches talking them through their sessions.
“They also did circuits at home and we had some great speakers addressing them on resilience and rugby.
“On or two players have missed out on the full Cymoedd rugby experience, but they have gone on to complete their studies and found jobs and are playing in the community game.
“We’re working very closely with Gruff Rees at the Cardiff Rugby Academy and 35 per cent of their players are from Cymoedd.
“While that is great for us, it is also a reflection on the work being done by the Rhondda, Pontypridd and Cynon Valey Schools at the younger age levels.”
As well as the game at Sardis Road, Whitchurch High School entertain Cardiff & Vale College in another match also being played in the Cardiff region.
There is a big Gwent derby at Ystrad Mynach, where Coleg Gwent meet Newport High School.
“We’ve had a great intake at Cardiff & Vale College this year with a very talented group players from the U16s. It means we have 120 players in our rugby programme this year,” said CAVC rugby director, Martyn Fowler.
“We’ve got a tough start at Whitchurch, but we just want to get going. We won’t know where we are until we’ve played a few games.
“We’ve had a couple of warm-up games, beating Beechen Hill 58-5 and Coleg Gwent 55-5. The level of enthusiasm surrounding the rugby programme is fantastic.
“Part of that is due to seeing Ben Thomas playing for Wales in the summer.
“He is our first full international, but we also had a number of players in the Wales U20 set-up this summer and have a number of Cardiff Rugby academy members. Things are building and it will be great to get back into action.”
Coleg Sir Gar kick-off with a tricky home clash with Llandovery College and director of rugby Euros Evans is unsure if his side will be pushing to get into another final.
With a reduced intake due to Covid, he is predicting it will take at least three games before he knows how the season will pan out.
“We have a pretty young side this year and our 17 years olds have only just come back. It will take a bit of time to see how the side develops,” said Evans.
“Llandovery College have improved and we know Nathan Thomas will have them well drilled, so it is going to be a difficult start. Then we play Pembrokeshire College and have a friendly after that against Millfield.
“By then we should have improved. It will be great to get into the regional semi-final and to push for a place at Principality Stadium.”
Welsh Schools & College League
Coleg Gwent v Newport HS (Ystrad Mynach)
Whitchurch HS v CAVC (Whitchurch HS)
Ysgol Glantaf v Coleg Y Cymoedd (Sardis Road)
Gower College v Bridgend College (Loughor RFC)
Coleg Sir Gar v Llandovery College (Graig Campus)
