Wales Under 18s head coach Richie Pugh has named his squad to take part in a Men’s U18 Development week involving teams from Italy, Scotland and hosts Ireland next week in Clongowes Wood College and the IRFU High Performance Centre - and he names five Dragons in his set-up.
David Petrescu, Carter Pritchard, Tiehi Chatham, William Ford and Cerrig Smith are all selected from the Men of Gwent.
“It’s the start of our programme, it’s a repeat of last year when we hosted Ireland, Italy and Scotland, but this time it’s in Ireland for what is our first touch point with the boys,” said Pugh.
“The boys are coming in from some good work with the regions and the schools and colleges and with a couple of players from across the border, so it’s an early selection and a good opportunity for the boys to showcase what they are about and a chance to introduce them to the U18s programme as we look forward to another good season culminating in a Six Nations at Easter.
With a handful of players returning from last season, Pugh said it will be the first bit of exposure against quality international opposition for a lot of the squad so the coaching team are eager to see how the boys progress.
“It’s going to be a great week on the outskirts of Dublin and we’re very much looking forward as coaches to getting a first look at the boys,” said Pugh.
“We want to challenge the boys, we want them to be exposed to what the international environment is all about. We want to see how they act and react to that situation. There are a lot of boys new to this level so it’s about how we bond together and how we help each other through that challenge.”
Wales U18 Men’s development squad:
FORWARDS:
Dylan Baratt (Cardiff Rugby)
Sam Bryant (Gloucester)
Tiehi Chatham (Dragons RFC)
Ruben Cummings (Gloucester)
Nathan Davies (Scarlets)
Thomas Howe (Cardiff Rugby)
Kai Jones (Scarlets)
Dom Kossuth (Scarlets)
Sonny McCabe (Cardiff Rugby)
Alfie Prygodzicz (Cardiff Rugby)
Gruff Roberts (Ospreys)
Joe Ryder (RGC)
Cerrig Smith (Dragons RFC)
Noah Williams (Ospreys)
Osian Williams (Bristol Rugby)
Sam Williams (Scarlets)
BACKS:
Tyler Davies (Scarlets)
Calen Edwards (Cardiff Rugby)
Ben Evans (Ospreys)
Tomos Evans (Gloucester)
William Ford (Dragons RFC)
Jack Harrison (Bath Rugby)
Thomas Incledon (Exiles)
Carwyn Jones (Scarlets)
Lloyd Lucas (Cardiff Rugby)
Osian Llewelyn (RGC)
Will Moore (Bristol Rugby)
David Petrescu (Dragons RFC)
Carter Pritchard (Dragons RFC)
Harry Turner (Cardiff Rugby)
Luca Woodyatt (Gloucester)
U18 International Development Week 2024 – Fixtures:
All teams will play three conditioned matches on the 9th August 2024 in the IRFU National High Performance Centre
Match 1 – U18 Ireland Development vs. U18 Wales @ 11.30am
Match 2 – U18 Ireland Development vs. U18 Scotland @ 13.15pm
Match 3 – U18 Ireland Development vs. U18 Italy @ 14.45pm
