Wales u18s played Australian Schools Wednesday the 27th November.

Wales Under 18 take on Australian Schools at the Gnoll this evening (Wednesday, 7.15pm) with head coach Allan Lewis urging his players to be adventurous and play without fear.
 
Lewis fielded an 'A' side against their Australian counterparts last Friday, the young Welsh youngsters victorious 18-15 on that occasion though Lewis insists his charges will need to step up another gear today.

"The side showed a lot of character and commitment especially in our defensive display to win last Friday's A game and that is pleasing because it reflects the spirit in the squad at the moment," said Lewis.

"It showed a clear improvement following our tour to South Africa in the summer. For example, when we were in front in the final minutes against England in August, our discipline let us down whereas on Friday our discipline and defence held up very well.

"In attack, we showed glimpses of the team's potential on Friday but we need to be more positive and creative if we are to score tries and win the full international.

"It's a huge experience for our players to come up against southern hemisphere sides and Australia in particular differ from many of the northern hemisphere sides we play against regularly. They look to play the game at a quick tempo and will always cause problems for our defence."

Lewis has developed a playing philosophy with Wales Under 18 which prioritises challenging the opposition with the ball in hand.

"International rugby at this level is not purely about winning games, it's about developing players for the future. If players are confident with the ball in hand at a young age, they will have more skills at their disposal as they move into senior rugby," he added.

"We don't have a large pool of players in Wales so we must maximise all the potential and raw talent available to us.
"Although we won on Friday, we have got to be more adventurous and play without fear of losing if we are to come out on top on Wednesday."

Wales Under 18 v Australian Schools
Wednesday 27 November, 7.15pm, The Gnoll (Tickets £3 adults, Under 16s £2)

Morgan Williams (RGC/ Llandrillo Coll/ Caernarfon); Rhys Geally (Ospreys / YG Gwyr / Pontarddulais), Garyn Smith (Blues/ Cardiff Met/ Pontypridd), Tyler Morgan (Dragons/ Caerleon/ Newport), Josh Adams (Scarlets/ Sir Gar/ Carm Ath); Luke Price (Ospreys/ Maesydderwen/ Abercrave), Tom Williams (Blues/ Treorchy Comp/ Pontypridd); Keegan Bale (Dragons/ Coleg Gwent/ Caerleon), Ryan Elias (Scarlets/ Sir Gar/ Carm Ath), Alex Jeffries (Dragons/ Coleg Gwent/ Newport), Joe Davies (Dragons/ Newport High/ Bedwas), Matthew Dodd (Ospreys/ Olchfa/ Dunvant), Jordan Viggers (Blues/ St David's / St Peter's), Ollie Griffiths (Dragons/ Newport), Jon Fox (capt, Ospreys/ Gower Coll/ Swansea).
Replacements: Liam Belcher (Blues/ Porth County / Pontypridd), Harrison Walsh (Ospreys/ Bishopgore / Mumbles), Leon Brown (Dragons/ Newport High), Seb Davies (Blues/ Coleg y Cymoedd / Pentyrch), Harri Keddie (Dragons/ Coleg Gwent / Caerleon), Dan Brooks (Ospreys/ Cardiff Uni/ Swansea), Dan Jones (Scarlets/ Sir Gar / Carm Quins), Joe Thomas (Ospreys/ Neath Port Talbot Coll / Morriston)

Australian Schools go on to play Ospreys Under 18 on Sunday (The Brewery Field, Bridgend 12.30pm) after the regional team won the right to play the touring side earlier in the season.

They played and beat them last week

That was an A team last week, so we must finally have a bit of depth. Just read that Wales won 26-12 BTW. Great to see the academies continuing to improve.

Allan Lewis' Wales Under 18 side outscored Australia Schools by four tries to two in a 26-12 victory at The Gnoll.

The success was built on a superb first half performance, Wales leading 14-0 at the break and extending that advantage to 19-0 soon after the interval.

A score from centre Garyn Smith and a penalty try, both converted by fly half Luke Price, had seen Wales pull well clear and when wing Josh Adams added a third, Wales looked to have victory in the bag.

Up till that point, Australia had shown very little with Andrew Deegan's missed penalty their only chance of points. But after going 19-0 down, they showed some fight when Wales' Jordan Viggars was yellow carded.

Captain Jack McCalman and fellow backrower Lolo Fakaosilea both touched down and with Deegan adding a conversion, Australia were back in it. After such a good first half performance, defeat would have been inconceivable for Wales and on the stroke of the final whistle, Tyler Morgan made sure of the victory, crashing over under the posts for Wales' fourth try of the day.

After a ferocious opening 10 minutes, in which both teams laid down early physical markers, it was Australia who had the first chance of points. The Welsh forwards were penalised for offside but Deegan, from 30 metres, saw his penalty effort clip the wrong side of the right hand upright.

With both teams keen to throw the ball around, the pristine surface at The Gnoll couldn't have been better suited to free-flowing rugby. And while Wales saw more of the ball in the opening 10 minutes, the final pass just didn't quite go to hand. Scrum half Tom Williams' slick service was a notable feature but aside from two superb breaks from wing Rhys Geally, Wales initially failed to breach the Wallaby defence.

While a try failed to arrive at first, Wales deserved credit for their patience in attack and they were soon rewarded when Smith opened the scoring. When it came, it was a simple but nonetheless impressive try, the Wales centre making a clean line break and showing an impressive turn of foot to touch down under the posts. Price added the simple conversion for what was a fully deserved 7-0 lead.

With the scoreboard now ticking over, the game settled down but it was the home side who continued to do all the attacking. Wales camped themselves inside the Australian half and proceeded to add a second try. Price decided to put a kickable penalty into the corner and after a huge surge from the Welsh pack, the Australian eight retreated at a rapid rate of knots. Referee David Proctor decided the Wallabies were using illegal means to stop the Welsh momentum and to some surprise, ran under the posts to award a penalty try.

Price again added the extras and with Australia offering very little in attack, Wales took their 14-0 advantage into the break.

The start of the second half was as intense as the first, but with Australia offering far more in attack. Wales though, looked like the more likely to score. From a re-set scrum on the Australian 22, Wales looked unlucky to be penalised but with captain Jon Fox and the rest of the forwards laying a solid platform, the Welsh backs did the rest. Adams added a third try, skipping through in the left corner though Price was awry with his most difficult kick of the night.

At 19-0 down, Australia needed a response and they needed it quickly. To their credit, they produced just that and in double quick time, were soon back in the game. After finally gaining some territory, the Wallabies pounded the Wales line with the pressure eventually seeing Viggars yellow carded. With a man advantage, McCalman was then bundled over from a forward drive and giant flanker Fakaosilea, who drove his side on relentlessly, made the most of a giant overlap. Deegan converted the first of those tries and after total Welsh dominance for a little less than an hour, there were now just seven points in the game.

With a fight on their hands, Wales were now on the back foot. But the sign of a good team is how they react to adversity and Lewis' men showed plenty of character to close out the game. Price put a penalty effort wide but with Wales having most of the territory, the fly half made amends.

From first phase ball, he darted through the Australian defence and found Morgan, who impressed the watching Shaun Edwards with his strong running, steaming up on his left shoulder.

And when Price made the pass, there was no stopping the Dragons man as he made his way to the line for the decisive score. The conversion was added to seal what was a hard-fought but deserved Welsh victory.

Scorers:
Wales: Tries: Smith, Penalty, Adams, Morgan; Convs: Price (3)
Australia: Tries: McCalman, Fakaosilea; Convs: Deegan

I quite surprised they're touring this time of year. School rugby finished months ago in NZ. Club rugby well before then. I can't imagine when the Aussies last played. I'd be interested to know why they've toured.

blackcanelion wrote:I quite surprised they're touring this time of year. School rugby finished months ago in NZ. Club rugby well before then. I can't imagine when the Aussies last played. I'd be interested to know why they've toured.

A lot of English schools do their tours in the summer, out of our season but in the middle of yours.

maestegmafia wrote:Lewis has developed a playing philosophy with Wales Under 18 which prioritises challenging the opposition with the ball in hand.

"International rugby at this level is not purely about winning games, it's about developing players for the future. If players are confident with the ball in hand at a young age, they will have more skills at their disposal as they move into senior rugby," he added.

"We don't have a large pool of players in Wales so we must maximise all the potential and raw talent available to us.

I read that on the Dragons website just now. It's absolutely the right philosophy. If there's an emphasis on skills at this level, they'll be second nature to them by the time they come through at regional and Test level.

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:Lewis has developed a playing philosophy with Wales Under 18 which prioritises challenging the opposition with the ball in hand.

"International rugby at this level is not purely about winning games, it's about developing players for the future. If players are confident with the ball in hand at a young age, they will have more skills at their disposal as they move into senior rugby," he added.

"We don't have a large pool of players in Wales so we must maximise all the potential and raw talent available to us.

I read that on the Dragons website just now. It's absolutely the right philosophy. If there's an emphasis on skills at this level, they'll be second nature to them by the time they come through at regional and Test level.

It is one hundred percent correct.

At schools level it is a style and confidence of skill levels that is most important. It is the way that rugby was coached back in the fifties, sixties and seventies, and it worked well for us then.

Congrats to the young lads, especially the Dragons boys, promissing stuff for the future