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South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Evan Minto: Wales can cause upsets at U20 World Championship
The Welsh youngsters get their campaign under way against Argentina tomorrow (kick-off 7.30pm) and all five Rodney Parade prospects feature in Verona. New signing Harry Beddall captains the side from openside and is joined in the back row by Minto, Nick Thomas starts at lock and Harri Ford pulls the strings from fly-half, with tighthead Owain James on the bench. Abercarn's Jack Woods and Abergavenny-born Aidan Boschoff, both former Monmouth School pupils and now with Bath and Bristol respectively, line up at full-back and wing. Towering Thomas, who made three senior Dragons appearances last season, makes a first start since suffering a serious ankle injury against France in February. 'Nick has worked hard to get back from the injury he had in Six Nations,' said head coach Richard Whiffin, who brought the lock off the bench in the warm-up win against Italy. 'He offers a level of experience in the second row against what we know is going to be a formidable Argentina pack.' Wales face the young Pumas and then take on group favourites France on Friday before a clash with Spain. Whiffin's side head into the tournament buoyed by their Six Nations displays when they edged out Italy, stunned Ireland at Rodney Parade and then denied England a Grand Slam and the title with a remarkable performance at Cardiff Arms Park. INFLUENTIAL: Evan Minto on the charge for Wales U20s (Image: Mark Lewis/Huw Evans Agency) Minto, a firm fixture in the XV, believes their togetherness will be key in a tournament that will stretch the squad with five games in 20 days. 'We are just a side that works really hard for each other and we know that, on our day, we can put in a performance to beat anyone,' he said. 'We are a group that works hard for each other and doesn't give up and the atmosphere in the camp is really good. We have a laugh together but also know when to switch on. 'I don't think that spirit is something that can be coached into a team and it's almost that we clicked as soon as we came together. 'There are no cliques, we are willing to work hard for the player next to us and we help each other even when competition is strong for places.' Minto will lead the charge for Wales at the end of a hectic season. The 19-year-old from Griffithstown made three senior Dragons cameos and featured for the development side, played for Pontypool in Super Rugby Cymru, Hartpury in the English Championship plus started all five Six Nations games and the two warm-up fixtures. 'It's been a long season but really enjoyable,' he said. 'I have been playing for a full year but I've had a smile on my face no matter who I've been playing for or what the opposition is. I've learnt so much and that is what keeps driving me on.' Wales U20: Jack Woods (Bath, 2 caps); Elijah Evans (Cardiff, 7 caps), Osian Roberts (Sale, 3 caps), Steffan Emanuel (Cardiff, 10 caps), Aidan Boshoff (Bristol, 11 caps); Harri Ford (Dragons, 14 caps), Sion Davies (Cardiff, 4 caps); Ioan Emanuel (Bath, 8 caps), Harry Thomas (Scarlets, 15 caps), Sam Scott (Bristol, 15 caps), Kenzie Jenkins (Bristol, 5 caps), Nick Thomas (Dragons, 11 caps), Deian Gwynne (Gloucester, 4 caps), Harry Beddall (captain, Dragons, 11 caps), Evan Minto (Dragons, 5 caps). Replacements: Saul Hurley (Aberavon, 2 caps), Louie Trevett (Bristol, 5 caps), Owain James (Dragons, 3 caps), Dan Gemine (Ospreys, 4 caps), Caio James (Gloucester, 3 caps), Ellis Lewis (Neath, uncapped), Harri Wilde (Cardiff, 17 caps), Tom Bowen (Cardiff, 5 caps).
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Ireland's U-20s set for ‘massive battle' with Georgia
Ireland captain Éanna McCarthy said they went back to the drawing board after finishing bottom of this year's Six Nations and he's confident they have re-aligned themselves to do well at the World Rugby U-20 Championship which kicks off tomorrow when they take on Georgia in Calvisano (5.0, Irish time).
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Munster's Tom Ahern eyes Ireland debut amid injury setbacks
Anyone who has watched the progress of Tom Ahern's rugby career will have emitted another sigh at Friday's Ireland squad update ahead of next Saturday's Test against Georgia. The Munster lock/flanker's efforts to make his Ireland debut have been repeatedly stymied by injury over the last two years and the latest news that the reason Connacht's Josh Murphy had joined Paul O'Connell's squad prior to Wednesday's departure for Tbilisi was to provide cover for Ahern's tight hamstring suggested a similar fate may befall the Waterford man's latest bid for Test recognition. The 25-year-old has not been ruled out and may well earn his first international cap over the next two Saturdays with Ireland set to face Portugal in Lisbon on July 12. Ahern has been nothing if not resilient in the past and spoke of his national squad travails earlier this week when he faced the media in camp at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Abbottstown. Named by head coach Andy Farrell as one of three uncapped training panellists alongside provincial team-mate Oli Jager and a certain Sam Prendergast ahead of the 2024 Six Nations, he was concussed against Northampton Saints in the match prior to entering camp. Then, a little more than four months after a string of strong performances for Munster had placed him in the frame for a spot in the summer touring squad to face the Springboks in South Africa, an ankle/lower leg injury against Ulster in the final round of the URC regular season scuppered his hopes of boarding the plane. 'Look, it's happened a couple of times now and obviously initially you're very disappointed but it's the nature of the game. You've got to pick yourself back up,' Ahern said. 'I've got a good support system around me and I'm going to move past that eventually and focus on the next job and try to eventually get back up here again.' Ahern did just that and is aiming to embrace his latest opportunity in the national camp. 'I'm buzzing to be honest. I've been unlucky with a couple of injuries but that's the nature of the game to be fair. 'I'm just taking these next couple of weeks in my stride and just delighted to be up here. 'I think the overall feeling is excitement. First, I'm excited to be up here and I think likewise with everybody else. A lot of lads getting their first opportunities up here and there's a great buzz around the place.' Ahern's candidacy for a place in the matchday 23 to face the Georgians remains strong and Munster's strong if ultimately disappointing end to the season has sent its 10-player contingent, led by tour captain Craig Casey, into camp in confident mood. Two big wins in their final URC league encounters secured Champions Cup rugby for next season and booked a return to play-offs, where the Sharks edged them out at the quarter-final stage in a goal-kicking shootout after the tie had finished 24-24 after extra time. 'It obviously didn't end the way that we wanted it, it's a tough way to go out but we were playing good rugby towards the end of the season and a lot of the lads that are up here were playing good ball as well,' Ahern said. 'So, we can take the confidence from everybody individually playing well and so hopefully we can bring it up here now.' With good fortune, that tight hamstring will not stand in his way, and if anyone deserved a slice of that, it is Ahern.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Western Force v British and Irish Lions: Five issues for the opening tour match
Cohesion After a less-than-fluid performance in defeat to Argentina at Dublin's Aviva Stadium last week, Andy Farrell will demand his tourists hit the ground running on Aussie soil this Saturday morning. A record contingent of eight starters from Ireland, led by captain Dan Sheehan, and with three more on the bench, should ensure a greater understanding than was seen eight days earlier from the more diverse selection which faced the Pumas. There is also an important Scottish midfield connection at 10 and 12 with chief playmaker Finn Russell at fly-half and Sione Tuipulotu at inside centre while there should be more fluency out wide with Garry Ringrose at outside centre to create opportunities for his compatriots James Lowe and Mack Hansen on the wings. Passes will need to stick for Farrell to judge this a step forward. Lineout One of the major letdowns for the Lions against Argentina was a misfiring lineout and head coach Farrell has given himself more potential variety in the set-piece menu by moving away from an all-groundhog back to row of three natural opensides with the switch of Tadhg Beirne from lock to blindside flanker. With Ollie Chessum a similar threat as a lock/flanker and Jack Conan both on the bench, the Lions can also spring some quality jumping operators for Sheehan to aim at while an extra week on the training field should also bring connectedness in the complex machine that is a Test lineout. It will be needed against a Western Force forward pack with a reputation for having one of Super Rugby's best defensive lineouts while they led the competition this season in terms of success on their own ball (88.6%). Wallaby lock Darcy Swain is missing regular partner and club skipper Jeremy Williams, kept back by the Australians, but is partnered in the second row by former Ulster and Wallaby player Sam Carter as they go up against Joe McCarthy and Scott Cummings. Youth and Experience Northampton Saints wonderkid Henry Pollock did not have the easiest of introductions off the Lions bench against Argentina but the 20-year-old with one England cap has been handed a start at No.8 alongside Ireland flankers Beirne and Josh van Flier. It caps a remarkable rise to prominence for a player who started the Six Nations for England Under-20s against the Irish in Cork on January 30. At the other end of the spectrum, tighthead prop Tadgh Furlong and full-back Elliot Daly embark on their third Lions tours having both played in all three Tests against both New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa four years ago. Englishman Daly enhanced his Test credentials for 2025 with a strong performance off the bench against Argentina while Furlong came on tour having had his season ruined by calf injuries. Yet coming on for fellow Irishman Finlay Bealham in Dublin eight days ago represented a major step forward in the tighthead's readiness for action and he passed a late HIA to earn his start against the Western Force. Old or young, this trio will be worthy of the focus on them in Perth. Finn Russell After watching from the stands in Dublin six days on from steering Bath to the English Premiership title, the Scotland fly-half gets his opportunity to stamp his authority on a Lions tour and lay claim to the Test number 10 jersey. Russell needs to bring that feel-good factor from his Twickenham tour de force onto the field in Perth and get his backline humming. He has a livewire scrum-half in Tomos Williams to feed off and a familiar foil on his outside in international team-mate Tuipulotu while the previous knocks against him in terms of a tendency for flakiness appear to be a distant memory. Russell has the chance to confirm that opinion at Optus Stadium this morning. The Wallaby factor After a week of back and forth between the Lions and Australia boss Joe Schmidt about participation agreements and the release of international players from the host nation back to their Super Rugby franchises, Western Force will have six current national squad members in their ranks to face the tourists, including their chirpy matchday captain and scrum-half Nic White. Their presence should ensure a feisty start to the tour as they look to lay down some markers ahead of the three-Test series with the Wallabies beginning in Brisbane in three weeks.
South Wales Argus
12 hours ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Lilli Ives Campion relishing opportunity of home Rugby World Cup
The Red Roses second row made her first Test start for England during the Guinness Six Nations and is part of the 42-player squad that is currently preparing for the 2025 World Cup. She is the youngest forward in the squad, with the likes of Abbie Ward, skipper Zoe Aldcroft and Rosie Galligan among those who are battling for places in her position. With that level of competition for places, the intensity in training is ferocious and Ives Campion is desperate to ensure she does everything in her power to make the final squad that will look to win the World Cup for the first time since 2014, with the final set to be held at Allianz Stadium on September 27. She said: 'It's been pretty intense, probably one of the most intense things I've done so far. But there is a real sense of togetherness so when it does get tough, it's really nice as a group that we can come together and battle through. We've been really tested a few times now, so it's been good. 'That decision (over selection) will happen but it's what can I do between now and then to put myself in the best possible position to be picked for that squad? You have to be where you are and embrace that and then that is the bigger picture. Whatever will be, will be. I need to go out there and do my best, whatever that looks like, whether it is gym or training. 'I remember watching the World Cup in Ireland in 2017 on TV at home. It was the first time I think I'd ever watched women's rugby on TV. I was playing but just for my local club, I didn't really know anything about rugby at that point. The thought of a home World Cup is so incredible and such a rare opportunity. The impact it is going to have on the game and girls going forward is incredible so I'd love to be involved in that.' Ives Campion, who plays her club rugby for Loughborough Lightning, has enjoyed a rapid rise, going from playing for England Under-20s last summer to being part of the England squad that triumphed in WXV at the end of last year. That came after she had made her Red Roses debut in a warm-up match against France, with Ives Campion then making a first start against Italy earlier this year as England won a seventh successive Six Nations title. It proved to be her only appearance in the tournament, with Ives Campion then taking on a different role of helping her teammates prepare for the remaining four matches, but she is trying to take as much as possible from every training session with her more experienced colleagues. She added: 'That (Italy game) was incredible. Coming into that week, I was super excited and I think it's actually quite nice to start a game. You have nerves with the anthem but the minute the ball is kicked, you lock into the game rather than on the bench, you can sit and watch the nerves just build up and build up. 'My role post-Italy was very much prepping the team, how can I best perform that role for the team? I really embraced that over the few weeks. I feel like I learn a lot. When you see the competition in my position, I'm still only 21 and I have so much to learn. So to have eight weeks like that, it's really important to learn.' Those lessons were learned and it is now a case of trying to put them into practice to earn a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Purchase your tickets to the Autumn Nations Series at Allianz Stadium
