Welsh Regions Tune Up For Start Of New Season

Dai Flanagan, Head Coach of Dragons RFC. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Welsh Regions Tune Up For Start Of New Season

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By Paul Jones

All four Welsh regions will be in action this weekend (Saturday, 31 August) as the big build-up to the new season gathers pace.

The Ospreys will welcome Aberavon, Bridgend and Swansea to the Swansea.Com Stadium for their innovative ‘Origin Series’, which will include three 30 minute matches against the new Super Rygbi Cymru teams in their region.

Scarlets will also face local opposition with their trip to Carmarthen Park to face another SRC team, Carmarthen Quins, while Cardiff Rugby head to London to face English Championship winners Ealing Trailfinders.

Meanwhile, the Dragons are at home at Rodney Parade against another English Championship outfit, Hartpury University.

Carmarthen Quins v Scarlets – 2.30pm
Dragons v Hartpury University – 2.30pm
Ospreys ‘Origin Series’ – 3.00pm
Ealing Trailfinders v Cardiff Rugby – 3.00pm

Head Coach Dai Flanagan has named a 30-man squad for the club’s opening pre-season fixture with Hartpury University at Rodney Parade on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 2.30pm).

The Dragons will parade new signings Harry Wilson, Steve Cummins and Oli Burrows against Hartpury, while Academy recruits Harri Ford, Owen Conquer, and Owain James have also been included in their matchday squad.

Dragons Squad

Forwards: Taine Basham, Oli Burrows, Brodie Coghlan, Chris Coleman, Owen Conquer, Steve Cummins, Joe Davies, Owain James, Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, Evan Minto, George Nott, Kobi Rees, Josh Reynolds, Sam Scarfe, Nick Thomas, Luke Yendle, George Young

Backs: Huw Anderson, Oli Andrew, Dane Blacker, Harri Ford, Steff Hughes, Morgan Lloyd, Aneurin Owen, Walker Price, Will Reed, Ewan Rosser, Joe Westwood, Jordan Williams, Harry Wilson

Wales U20 hooker Harry Thomas will captain the Scarlets in their opening friendly at Carmarthen Park as they help the Quins celebrate their 150th anniversary season.

The 19-year-old New Dock Stars product captains a starting line-up that includes only one player over the age of 22. Thomas packs down in between Llandovery’s Jamie Hughes and new tight-head signing Gabe Hawley in the front row.

The back division is stacked with exciting young talent with Wales U20 stars Macs Page, Rhodri Lewis and Gabe McDonald. Outside half Elis Price is the younger brother of second row Jac Price, who is on the bench, and both are products of the Quins junior ranks.

Ellis Mee, a summer signing from Nottingham, gets a run at full back, while Price is joined on the bench by three other senior squad members in Wales prop Sam Wainwright, Jarrod Taylor and Efan Jones.

Scarlets: Ellis Mee; Jac Davies, Macs Page, Gabe McDonald, Iori Badham; Elis Price, Rhodri Lewis; Jamie Hughes, Harry Thomas (captain), Gabe Hawley, Ollie Close, Will Evans, Will Plessis, Ben Williams, Carwyn Tuipulotu

Reps: Isaac Young, Tom Phillips, Sam Wainwright, Jac Price, Jarrod Taylor, Joe Denman, Efan Jones, Ellis Payne, Steff Jac Jones, Callum Woolley

Liam Belcher will lead a Cardiff Rugby side that contains seven new signings in the starting line-up for their game at Ealing Trailfinders.

Tom Bowen, who rejoined the club with Wales U20 centre Steff Emanuel in the summer, is named at full back, while Rory Jenkins and Iwan Stephens appear in the three-quarter line. Former Ospreys outside half Josh Thomas forms a new half-back pairing with South African scrum half Johan Mulder.

“We’ve had a really good off-season and the boys have trained very well, but we’re now looking forward to getting back out on the pitch for real,” said Cardiff Rugby head coach Matt Sherratt.

“By winning the Championship last year, Ealing showed they are a very strong outfit and should give us a good test as he prepare for our BKT United Rugby Championship opener.”

“We’ve gone with a blend of youth and experience for this opening game, and included plenty of the new faces who joined us in the summer. This fixture is the perfect opportunity to blood them into the team.”

Josh McNally and Dan Thomas are the new boys up front, with penty more among the 13 players named on the bench.

Cardiff Rugby: Tom Bowen; Gabriel Hamer-Webb, Harri Millard, Rory Jennings, Iwan Stephens; Josh Thomas, Johan Mulder; Rhys Barratt, Liam Belcher (captain), Rhys Litterick, Josh McNally, Teddy Williams, Ben Donnell, Dan Thomas, Alun Lawrence

Reps: Dafydd Hughes, Danny Southworth, Will Davies-King, Rory Thornton, Gwilym Bradley, Aled Davies, Tinus de Beer, Matty Young, Efan Daniel, Lucas de la Rua, Mackenzie Martin, Steff Emmanuel, Rey Lee-Lo

Ryan Conbeer has joined the Ospreys on a short-term duel and will make his debut in the ‘Origin Series’ matches at Swansea.Com Stadium.

The former Wales U20 record cap holder was released by the Scarlets in the summer after making 80 appearances for the region and scoring 30 tries.

“With Keelan Giles currently out injured, it made a lot of sense for us to bring in someone of Ryan’s calibre at the wing position.

“He’s got a proven track record and is someone we still see as having a bright future in rugby,” said Ospreys head coach Toby Booth.

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