{"id":27470,"date":"2025-04-17T12:07:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T12:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/27470\/"},"modified":"2025-04-17T12:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T12:07:09","slug":"the-welsh-starlets-playing-in-england-you-are-about-to-hear-a-lot-more-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/27470\/","title":{"rendered":"The Welsh starlets playing in England you are about to hear a lot more of"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Welsh Rugby Union will be hoping to lure some of these back<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0_Jonny_Green_1.jpg\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Jonny Green in action for Wales U20s(Image: WRU\/Huw Evans)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A line in the Welsh Rugby Union&#8217;s recent One Wales strategy launch (or the second launch, depending on how you view it) happened to catch the eye of many.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">In a section titled &#8216;Areas of reduced focus&#8217; was the notion around &#8216;bringing all (marquee) male players back to Wales&#8217;. In terms of the rationale for that reduced focus, it read that the &#8220;consensus that we should be happy for some male players to pursue opportunities (monetary and performance) overseas, if there is no compelling offer in Wales&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">That might be a concern for the 25-cap rule down the line, if Welsh rugby is fairly accepting of players heading elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">However, there does still seem to be a focus on repatriating younger Welsh talent that currently plies their trade with English clubs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Getting the likes of Dafydd Jenkins and Tommy Reffell, given the nature of their deals, seems unlikely, but there&#8217;s perhaps more green talent that could be lured back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Recently, the Dragons snapped up Wales U20s captain Harry Beddall from Leicester, while they also announced deals for Wales U19s duo Codi Purnell and James Talamai from Bath and Saracens respectively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">But what other players could be lured back to Wales from over the border?<\/p>\n<p>Kane James<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Exeter Chiefs&#8217; back-rower is a player Wales would certainly like within their ranks. He also qualifies for England and New Zealand &#8211; having represented the former at U20s level &#8211; but hails originally from Haverfordwest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Despite wearing the red rose on his chest at age-grade level, it&#8217;s understood that those within the WRU are quietly confident he&#8217;ll choose Wales moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>Ioan Emanuel<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The loosehead prop is the brother of <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/cardiff\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Cardiff<\/a> and Wales U20s centre Steffan Emanuel, who recently returned from Bath to join the Arms Park side.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Ioan has chosen to remain at Bath for the time being, but the robust scrummager will likely be on the radar of Welsh clubs.<\/p>\n<p>Sam Scott<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Bristol Bears tighthead prop was seriously considered for last summer&#8217;s senior tour of Australia. However, the Wales coaches ultimately decided that participating in the U20s World Championship would be more beneficial for his growth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Looked the part in the U20s <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/six-nations\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Six Nations<\/a> and, given the lack of tightheads in Wales, he&#8217;s bound to attract interest.<\/p>\n<p>Aidan Boshoff<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Bristol Bears winger, who was raised in South Africa, is thought of highly by Wales&#8217; management. Recently, Richard Whiffin tipped him, along with Tom Bowen and Harry Rees-Weldon, to break through into the senior game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">He has already turned out for the English club in the Premiership Cup this season, scoring two tries in as many appearances.<\/p>\n<p>Jonny Green<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Harlequins lock qualifies for Wales through his mother&#8217;s Welsh heritage and has turned out for Wales U20s. Recently, he&#8217;s been turning out for London Scottish in the English Championship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Already understood to have caught the attention of Welsh sides. <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/walesrugby.substack.com\/subscribe?coupon=7b6a76da\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.Link opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Luke Evans<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Another second-row tipped for a big future. Having initially represented England U18s, Evans has since opted to play for Wales U20s, making his debut in the recent U20s Six Nations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Exeter Chiefs lock qualifies for both countries, but Wales will be hoping that snaring him at U20s level will lead to a commitment once he moves to senior international rugby.<\/p>\n<p>Osian Roberts<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Wales U20s centre was effective during the recent Six Nations. Hailing from Cardiff, Roberts is currently part of the Sale Sharks academy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">He should pique Welsh clubs&#8217; interest.<\/p>\n<p>Louie Trevett<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Clearly, the Bristol Bears prop is on the radar of Welsh clubs &#8211; having recently signed on loan with the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/scarlets\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Scarlets<\/a> as injury cover.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Having previously represented England at U18s level, but has now pledged his allegiance to his birth country &#8211; turning out for Wales U20s.<\/p>\n<p>Kenzie Jenkins<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Another at Bristol, the athletic lock made a strong impression for Wales U20s in the Six Nations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Given there&#8217;s a significant focus in Wales on nurturing more physically imposing and athletic forwards who can carry effectively, the second-row is on Welsh clubs&#8217; radars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Welsh Rugby Union will be hoping to lure some of these backJonny Green in action for Wales&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[748,393,4884,16,15,14261],"class_list":{"0":"post-27470","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-england","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-welsh-rugby-union"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114353225352989760","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}