The WRU has just launched the next series of Exiles camps for young Welsh qualified players based outside Wales.
One day camps will take place in:
- Nottingham (Tuesday February 19th 2019)
- London Welsh RFC (Wednesday February 20th 2019)
- Somerset (Thursday February 21st 2019).
Players (aged 12 – 18) need to have been born in Wales or have one parent born in Wales or have one Grandparent born in Wales.
WRU National Exiles Officer Gareth Davies said: “In the last two years we have had a huge increase in the number of players involved with the Exiles and there are now hundreds involved in the programme, some based overseas. It's important that we engage with every single one of them and their families without them having to make long journeys into Wales, so the one-day camps are an important part of the programme. It's impossible to involve them all in Exiles fixtures and events which take place in Wales.
“The players will benefit from coaching sessions conducted by some of the top age-grade coaches in Wales and will have an opportunity to develop their skills and learn new techniques. Regardless of their current standard, our aim is to engage with all Welsh qualified players and help them maximise their potential.
“The Exiles programme also provides an extremely important part of our national age grade player identification pathway and a number of Exiles players impressed us last season. Nineteen Exiles were selected to take part in the Wales u18s training squad last season and seven were eventually capped during the Six Nations u18 Tournament. Several Exiles toured South Africa with Wales u18s in August.
“International rugby provides different challenges and such opportunities are very rare. These events were a great experience for the Exiles boys and it demonstrates that the Exiles programme can provide a credible pathway into national age grade rugby.
“This season a number of Exiles will again feature in the Wales u18s squad and in the last two years other Exiles have been awarded regional academy or senior contracts. Others have represented Wales u20s and taken part in international 7s events all over the world. Three products of the Exiles programme, Joe Jenkins (Queensland, Australia), Will Talbot-Davies (Warwickshire) and Dylan Moss (Buckinghamshire) have just been selected for the current senior Wales 7s World Series squad.
“The Exiles programme has very strong links with the four professional Regions in Wales as well as with the rugby playing universities in Wales where players can combine their academic progress and rugby development. It's important that we focus on their education too, it's not just about rugby “.
For further information about the forthcoming camps and the WRU Exiles programme new Exiles players are invited to register with the WRU at http://www.wru.wales/exiles. Twitter followers can find the WRU Exiles @welshexiles
