Rugby League U19 European Championship Website

[deluded pom?]

https://rugbyleagueu19euro.com/

Looks like some actual thought has gone into this concept for once. A rarity in RL.

[deluded pom?]

http://www.rlif.com/article/8395/rlef-gears-up-for-euro-under--championships

[DoubleD]

U19 Qualifier - Italy vs Ukraine. Exciting to see this sort of development and progression in Europe

http://www.totalrl.com/italy-and-ukraine-prepare-for-historic-match/

On the 19th of May, Ukraine U19s will cross the north-east Italian border to Fogliano di Repuglia, to play a qualification match for the right to be the eighth side in the 2018 U19 European Championships, to be staged in Belgrade this August.

It will be the first time that either of these two nations has participated in a Rugby League youth competition, and the first-ever qualification match in Europe at this level.

To enable a selection process for their train-on squad, the Federazione Italiana Rugby League established a series of camps, and as a result the squad has already played against a Var region (adult) selection in Toulon, with the U19 Azzurrini losing 20-6. They are also discussing the possibility of playing Serbia U19s at home, a week before the Ukrainian clash.

“We really want to qualify for the full European championship,” commented coach of the Italy U19’s, Salvatore Pezzano.

“We are working hard to prepare the boys in the best possible way in order to make the most of this opportunity. We are committed to working with the next generation to further progress and solidify the foundations of the sport here.”

Ukraine U19s coach, Viktor Melnychuk’s preparations begin on Sunday, with the first of his planned training camps. His initially selected 30 players will ultimately be reduced to 18 who will travel to Italy.

“This is a very important step for the development of rugby league in our country,” said Melnychuk. “We are very positive that we can get a result.”

[DoubleD]

So Italy have qualified with a comprehensive win over Ukraine. Am looking forward to the finals

http://www.totalrl.com/italy-qualify-for-u19s-european-championship/

Itali overcame Ukraine in comprehensive fashion to qualify for the U19s European Championship in Belgrade in August, with a 50-0 win in the 25 degree heat at the Stadio Fogliano.

Clearly aided by winning a warm up game with Serbia and having spent ten days in camp together, in the run up, the Azzurrini  scored nine tries.  Antony Virzi and stand out loose forward Fabio Morosi both bagged a brace, as the hosts built a 22-0 lead at the break.

“Today my team put in a very good performance,” said Italy U19 head coach, Salvatore Pezzano. “They concentrated for the whole game and our defensive structure was excellent. We had a young team; we had one excellent week in camp and one day in France before playing against a French regional selection in Toulon, and that all contributed to our performance.

“I hope we will perform well in the European Championship. Our young squad contains plenty of good prospects. They will play in the Italian championship next, and we hope we will have the resources to prepare in a camp one week before we travel to Belgrade this August.”

Morosi was superb throughout, making seven clean breaks and tying up three or four defenders in the tackle, and still, invariably, getting the ball away. On four occasions the hosts broke up the middle for tries and the visitors struggled to control the play the ball area, their mounting frustration seeing Vitalii Kovach sinbinned for throwing a punch.

“Obviously, I’m not very happy but I believe in my team,” commented Ukraine U19 head coach Viktor Melnychuk. “The biggest problem is that we had no experience in international games. This was the first time for all these players and it was a big challenge for us.

“I believe next time we will be stronger. We don’t have a physical problem, just a mental one. The boys don’t have enough rugby league experience as there’s no youth competition older than U16 in Ukraine and it’s a big gap to seniors. We must start with the younger players to prepare for the 2020 U19 European Championship and play a minimum of two U19 games per year.”

ITALY U19s – 50
Giovanni Sciacca, Gianluca Priviterà, Antony Virzì, Stefano Dalmasso, Alfio Laudani, Giordano Arena, Francesco Mendosa, Leonardo Artale, Antonio Cacopardo, Giovanni Rizzo, Mario Di Sano, Fabio Morosi.  Subs: Stefano Cenci , Salvatore Liperia, Nicholas Ferrero, Simone Leotta.

Tries: Alfio Laudani (5), Giovanni Sciacca (23), Antony Virzi (8, 39), Simone Leotta (47), Antonio Cacopardo (51), Fabio Morosi (20, 60), Nicholas Ferrero (63).  Goals: Francesco Mendosa 7/9

UKRAINE U19s – 0
Daniil Hapon, Volodymyr Brodovskyi, Taras Serafin, Dymytro Bedulia, Dmytro Vasilishin, Liubomyr Beznoschuk, Vitalii Puchkov, Daniil Chervinskyi, Vladislav Rudov, Anton Pyatnytskyi, Vitalii Kovach, Maksym Shvets, Oleksandr Petrenko
Subs: Mykyta Ivchenko, Andrii Shelepovskyi, Oleksandr Moroz, Oleksandr Petrenko

Goal attempt: Liubomyr Beznoshchuk 0/1
Sin bin: Vitalii Kovach, Ukraine (53)

Half time:  22-0

[MatthewWoody]

Full video of the game: 
 

 

[MatthewWoody]

6 days before this match, the young Azzurri – fully made of homegrown players – had beaten the Serbians in a Friendly game. 

 

[DoubleD]

I thought I’d keep this thread going for the U19’s European Championship, rather than start a new one.......

Wales Under-19s coach Anthony Walker has selected his 21-man squad that will compete in the European Championships in Serbia this August.

The Welsh side recently held an extensive two-day camp at Wales Rugby League’s official training base at Deeside Leisure Centre where the final squad was confirmed from a 30-man training squad.

Walker said: “The training camp was really successful. All the boys come with a great attitude and they were a pleasure to work with.

“We tried to make the camp something that they may have not experienced before and making it as professional as possible. Phil Joseph had a real big emphasis on prehab and recovery, he arranged for masseurs to come to the hotel on the evening and brought in supplementation.

“Picking the squad was hard, I’d love to take everyone who trained but we couldn’t and the way the tournament is set out there are no easy games, they get tougher and tougher as we go on, so we have to take the right balance of players.

“The guys we have selected to be captain and vice captains oozed quality and respect from the rest of the team. They may not be the loudest and biggest talkers but when they did speak everyone listened and they play with leadership.”

The 2018 Under-19s European Championship will be contested in Belgrade, Serbia between the August 5-11, with Wales taking on Russia in the first round of the eight-team knockout tournament.

If Wales beat Russia then they are likely to face England in the semi-finals and ten of the Wales squad have recent experience of beating the old enemy. Billy Glover, Finn Swift, Lewis Hall, Adam Young and Matthew Jones starred for Wales Under-16s when they beat England last year, while captain Cobi Green, Macauley Harris and vice-captain Aneurin Walker starred in the win over England in the Commonwealth Championships in Australia in February.

Wales won this trophy when it was last contested as Under-18s competition in 2008, beating Czech Republic, England and France and a number of those Wales players went on to win full Wales caps.

Wales Under-19s 21-man squad: Adam Young (Aber Valley Wolves), Cobi Green (Bradford Bulls), James Bartlett, Morgan Rowlands (Cardiff Blue Dragons), Will Lynch (Leigh Miners Rangers), Cai Ellis, James McGurk (Newcastle Thunder), Jacob Hitchcox (North Wales Crusaders A), William Mills (North Wales Crusaders A & Salford Red Devils), Finn Swift (Pilkington Recs & St Helens), Elliot Jenkins (St Helens), Matthew Jones (Salford Red Devils), Jake Cannon (South Wales Rabbitohs), Ben Hunter (unattached), Lewis Hall (Warrington Wolves), Macauley Harris, Ellis Simon, James Smith, Fraser Stroud, Aneurin Walker (West Wales Raiders), Billy Glover (Widnes Vikings).

[deluded pom?]

http://www.rlif.com/article/8440/teams-gearing-up-for-european-under--championship

[MatthewWoody]

Some very promising players will be in the Italy squad. Maybe they could catch the eye of some English or French club. 

I wonder if the tournament is being livestreamed.

[DoubleD]

3 hours ago, MatthewWoody said:

Some very promising players will be in the Italy squad. Maybe they could catch the eye of some English or French club. 

I wonder if the tournament is being livestreamed.

What’s the youth structure in Italy Woody? 

[glossop saint]

Is Jake Cannon who is in the Welsh squad and with South Sydney a heritage player? If he is then it is very impressive that he is coming back for a training weekend and to represent Wales in the competition. If not, it is incredibly impressive that he has managed to catch the eye of an NRL club.

Also, it would be great if clubs used it as a scouting opportunity. It would be great it a few rough diamonds could be spotted and be playing in the super league in 5 years.

[kiwis 13 6]

5 Years? if good enough any signing could be playing in the super league next year or the year after.

[londonrlfan]

18 hours ago, glossop saint said:

Is Jake Cannon who is in the Welsh squad and with South Sydney a heritage player? If he is then it is very impressive that he is coming back for a training weekend and to represent Wales in the competition. If not, it is incredibly impressive that he has managed to catch the eye of an NRL club.

That's South Wales Rabbitoths lol. Although I dislike it when teams just copy NRL team names, especially when it has no local significance.

[glossop saint]

8 minutes ago, londonrlfan said:

That's South Wales Rabbitoths lol. Although I dislike it when teams just copy NRL team names, especially when it has no local significance.

Whoops. 

[glossop saint]

13 minutes ago, kiwis 13 6 said:

5 Years? if good enough any signing could be playing in the super league next year or the year after.

There aren't too many 19/20 year olds running around in super league. It would surely be a massive ask to put an 18 year old without a background in a strong rugby league culture such as England or Aus into top level rugby league. Setting the bar that high really doesn't help with expansion of the game (see the 'Toronto haven't got any locals playing in the team within 2 years therefore are pointless' argument).

[MatthewWoody]

17 hours ago, glossop saint said:

There aren't too many 19/20 year olds running around in super league. It would surely be a massive ask to put an 18 year old without a background in a strong rugby league culture such as England or Aus into top level rugby league. Setting the bar that high really doesn't help with expansion of the game (see the 'Toronto haven't got any locals playing in the team within 2 years therefore are pointless' argument).

Tier 2 and 3 English or Aussie leagues could be the ideal scenario for young players coming from non rl areas. 

[glossop saint]

1 hour ago, MatthewWoody said:

Tier 2 and 3 English or Aussie leagues could be the ideal scenario for young players coming from non rl areas. 

I think you are probably right. I suppose the issue with that is would those tier 2 or 3 clubs be scouting this championship? Hopefully some of the more forward thinking super league clubs are and could maybe take control of a potential players career with the aid of dual reg?

[MatthewWoody]

9 minutes ago, glossop saint said:

I think you are probably right. I suppose the issue with that is would those tier 2 or 3 clubs be scouting this championship? Hopefully some of the more forward thinking super league clubs are and could maybe take control of a potential players career with the aid of dual reg?

Not sure about scouting, but if these clubs have the right contacts....
...They will find out who deserves a chance. 
E.g. we have some Italian homegrown playing in Australia and confirming they deserve their place there. Say, sometimes you just need to build a proper and working network of contacts. You know a player who can make it, you tell friend who is a team manager in Australia or England, ecc. 
My hope, by the way, is that these games are broadcast somehow online. This would increase the chance of the best players being "seen" by some team. 

[MatthewWoody]

On 7/21/2018 at 11:43 AM, DoubleD said:

What’s the youth structure in Italy Woody? 

At the moment, lots of young players are involved. 
Involving youngsters doesn't seem an issue, today, as they really find the game of RL entertaining. I believe they find it funnier than ru but it's still impossible to give them a full season (we lack money, facilities, ecc.), unless you are close the border like Saluzzo, who now play rl all year long. 
As I said, young players seem to like RL. In Sicily, they train at least once a week also in the winter. Plus, camps and stages expose them to the game skills, gameplay, basics. Of course, I know it's not like having a full season...
This week, 2 coaches from Australia have come to Italy and after collaborating with the Emergin team v the Lionhearts in Sicily, will have a stage with a core of players who are "fighting" for a place in the Italian squad at the Euros. I think every chance to work with professionals etc. can be crucial. 

[DoubleD]

2 hours ago, MatthewWoody said:

At the moment, lots of young players are involved. 
Involving youngsters doesn't seem an issue, today, as they really find the game of RL entertaining. I believe they find it funnier than ru but it's still impossible to give them a full season (we lack money, facilities, ecc.), unless you are close the border like Saluzzo, who now play rl all year long. 
As I said, young players seem to like RL. In Sicily, they train at least once a week also in the winter. Plus, camps and stages expose them to the game skills, gameplay, basics. Of course, I know it's not like having a full season...
This week, 2 coaches from Australia have come to Italy and after collaborating with the Emergin team v the Lionhearts in Sicily, will have a stage with a core of players who are "fighting" for a place in the Italian squad at the Euros. I think every chance to work with professionals etc. can be crucial. 

Thanks Woody, but what’s the setup - how many clubs have youth teams and what age groups etc?

[The Partisan]

Out of curiosity, any forumers actually attending the tournament ?

I'll be there as part of a larger  holiday from Oz.

Be nice to meet up with like minded Internationalists if in town.

 

 

[deluded pom?]

7 hours ago, The Partisan said:

Out of curiosity, any forumers actually attending the tournament ?

I'll be there as part of a larger  holiday from Oz.

Be nice to meet up with like minded Internationalists if in town.

 

 

I wouldn't think there will be many, if any, from the forum in attendance.

[DoubleD]

UKRAINE SQUAD
Anton Bolshakov, Daniel Cervinsky, Evgeny Chernykh, Denis Mayorov, Vitaly Puchkov, Anton Pyatnitsky, Andrei Shelepovsky, Kirill Usik (RK, Rivne), Nikita Ivchenko (Legion XIII, Kharkov), Vladimir Brodovsky, Danylo Gapon, Oleg Kuninets, Bogdan Matsyuk, Alexander Petrenko, Maxim Shvets (Sokol, Lviv), Vladislav Rudov, Dmitry Vasilishin (Burevestnik, Khmelnytsky) Lubomyr Beznoschuk, Vladislav Osipov (Stanislaviv, Ivano-Frankivsk), Vitaly Kovach, Alexander Moroz (Zakarp)

[DoubleD]

IRELAND SQUAD
Sam Cullen, Ryan Curran, Fiach Millward, Conor Smyth (Athy Sharks), James Cromie, Paul McGookin (Belfast Stags), Josh Basthill, Gareth Gardiner, Andrew Smyth (Belfast Met Scholars), Charlie Donnelly (Dublin City Exiles), Jack O’Sullivan (Eastern Rhinos), Sam O’Sullivan, John Why (Galway Tribesmen), Joe Togher (Hindley), Luke Findlow (Ince Rose Bridge), Shalun Carey, Josh MacNamee, Ronan Michael, James Mulvaney, Kevin Varga (Longhorns RL), Zack Fellows (Midland Hurricanes), Jordan McKibbin (Portadown Pumas), Callum O’Neill (Widnes Vikings)

Ireland head coach, Wayne Kelly said, “Working with these lads for the last six months has been a real pleasure and tells me that Rugby League Ireland is in a good place going forward. Leading into the Euro’s everyone has a positive mentality and knows their role.”

[DoubleD]

SCOTLAND SQUAD
Elliot Campbell (Barrow Island), Liam Punton (Bradford Bulls), Frankie Armstrong, Timmy Kennedy, Jamie McCabe, Sean McKervail, Gregor Mitchell, Alex Williams (Edinburgh Eagles), Daniel May (Halifax Elite Rugby Academy), Clem Harrison (London Skolars), Charlie Emslie, Connor Terrill (Millom RLFC), Callum Kennedy, Chris Paterson (Newcastle Thunder), Fergus Simpson (Newcastle Thunder/Edinburgh Eagles), Jack McMillan (Queensbury ARLFC), Euan Caldwell, Connall McDonagh (Strathmore Silverbacks), Archie Andrade, Iain Oakley (Wakefield Trinity), Adam Hay (Wallsend Eagles)

Scotland international and U19 head coach, Danny Addy, is delighted with his young Bravehearts squad, containing six players from Edinburgh Eagles. “We can’t wait to get to Belgrade,” he noted. “We’ve got a really mixed squad, a few lads from Super League Academies, and it’s great to have a healthy number from the Scotland domestic game.”