Three borough boys in Wales’ U20s Six Nations squad

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Three players from Caerphilly County Borough have been selected in Wales squad for the upcoming Under-20s Six Nations campaign.

Wales begin their campaign against England in Northampton on Friday February 6 – the day before the senior sides face off at Twickenham.

While none of three borough players have been included in the matchday squad to face England, they could still feature later on in the tournament.

One of the three borough players involved in 40-man squad is Carter Pritchard, who came through the mini and junior sections at Caerphilly RFC before progressing into the Dragons RFC development pathway. The scrum-half has previously represented Wales at Under-18 and Under-19 level.

Also included is Rhys Cole, who started out at Blackwood RFC and now plays for Dragons RFC.
The third player with local roots is Cerrig Smith, who began his rugby at Abercarn RFC and is also part of the Dragons pathway.

The Wales Under-20s squad includes players drawn from all four Welsh regions as well as English clubs.
“It’s a strong squad where we are happy with what we have selected – it was a very tough and robust process to go through but we think we have a squad who can attack the championship,” said coach Richard Whiffin.

“What a way to start the tournament with the old enemy,” he continued. “Going up to Franklin’s Gardens, probably one of the best surfaces in the English Premiership, there will be a good partisan crowd up there so it will be a great experience for the boys – something we can get our heads around, get excited for and we will walk towards the challenge head on.”