WALES Students will be playing a Four Nations warm-up game this Sunday at Monmouth RFC when they take on South West of England Lionhearts (kick-off 2.30pm) writes Ian Golden.
The match will give their players valuable game-time before they take on England, Ireland and host Scotland this summer.
Wales will be missing five senior players for the clash – Daf Hellard, Mathew Jones, Aled Davies, Daf Jones and Lloyd Selby-Smith – due to injuries and unavailability, but head coach Paul Emanuelli believes this will give some of the younger squad members a chance to shine.
He said: “I’m really pleased we’ve managed to get this fixture over the line. It’s been in the pipeline for months but was only confirmed last week and, in fairness to Chris Chatten from South West England, he’s pushed for it and got things sorted his end.
“We’d planned a training day but now we are going to split the day into a morning session followed by a hit out against the West of England.
“As coaching staff we are real keen to see what the lads can do in as many live situations as possible so we’ve now got the best of both worlds on Sunday.
“Thanks to Monmouth RFC who are hosting us again, they’ve got fantastic facilities and always look after us really well.”
Meanwhile Masters Rugby League returns to South Wales on Sunday after a three-year when the Cardiff Blue Dragons Masters (also known as the Discombobulated Dragons) take on Great Britain at Glamorgan Wanderers RFC (kick-off 3pm).
Cardiff’s coach is Chris Thomas, who is a Great Britain Masters international, and the players he’s selected are from all over South East Wales.
He said: “It’s great to get a Masters team up and running in South Wales to show everyone just how much fun this form of rugby league is. The game starts at 0-0 and finishes at 0-0 meaning it’s all about the fun and new friends you make. Not to mention we raise some money for charity.”
The Discombobulated Dragons have already raised £500 for worthy charities and they plan to do more.
Cardiff have 14 players confirmed for Sunday so far but will welcome more. Those who want to be involved should call Chris on 07878 602787 or email cardiffbluedragons@hotmail.com.
Admission to both matches is free.
WALES STUDENTS v SOUTH WEST OF ENGLAND LIONHEARTS (from): Huw Parks (Cardiff University), Rowland Kaye (Cardiff Metropolitan University), James Bartlett (Cardiff and Vale College), James Wickham (Coventry University), Charlie Bodman, Jacob Lee, Matthew Morgan, Ieuan Roberts (all Coleg y Cymoedd), Rhys Gant (Educ8 Training, Ystrad Mynach), Dewi Billingham, Rhys Davies, Cobi Green, Macauley Harris, Ellis Simon, Fraser Stroud (all Leeds Beckett University), Connah Harding, Henri Roberts (both Coleg Llandrillo), Joel Hopkins (Oxford Brookes University), William Lynch (Rydal Penrhos School), Sam Baker (Swansea University), Max Hendy (University of Worcester).
CARDIFF BLUE DRAGONS MASTERS v GREAT BRITAIN MASTERS: Dave Harris, David Castle, Steve Harris, Marc Devine, Jamie Iles (all white), Nobby Styles, Chris Thomas, Idris Evans, Shaun Gustard (all black), Russell Gardner, Alf Harvey, Neil Williams, Andy Harris-Jones (all red), Andrew Wallace (gold).