It will be a proud occasion for the players involved and will provide an important milestone in their careers. It will also be a massive day for the coaches.
Coaching as we all know is not for the faint hearted. Win and you’re everyone’s friend, lose and everyone wants to know where it all went wrong. Prepare a side, do everything for them, have the tactics perfected, only for the 15 players you select to go out and play like complete strangers. It is fair to say coaching any team brings with it a fair amount of stress.
So what if you are coach to the next generation of Welsh internationals? As Wales Under 21 coaches Chris Davey and Newport’s own Dai Rees face a brutally testing international season. Not only do they have to guide Wales through the 6 Nations but also a World Cup in Argentina, that comes hot on the heels of a long domestic season. The coaches will have the double consideration of getting results against the World’s best, while nurturing and identifying future international talent. The first hurdle is one of the largest, England at home!
Dai Rees will be coaching the backs this year, after four years coaching Wales Under 19s and the Under 21s in last year’s World Cup. For him there is every reason to look forward to the England encounter with confidence rather than trepidation.
“Nineteen of last year’s World Cup squad are eligible for Wales this season, so there is a lot of experience at this level,” he said. “However, we will not be over-confident because at this level you can never be sure of the opposition’s strength.”
Within the squad there are some names with which the Welsh rugby supporter will be familiar, the Ospreys’ Matthew Jones and Aled Brew, Newport’s James Ireland and Ricky Williams and the highly-rated Gloucester flanker James Merriman. They will all be hoping to follow in the foot steps of recent Under 21 caps Huw Bennett and Richie Pugh, and make their mark at a higher level. They will certainly be encouraged when they cast an eye over the current Welsh squad, a huge majority of which have graduated through the Under 21 system.
They will also be glad to see that Mike Ruddock has continued the policy of Steve Hansen and maintained the steady trickle of players who have been directly promoted from the Under 21s, Luke Charteris being the most obvious example. This is proof, if any were needed, that the Under 21s have officially replaced the defunct ‘A’ team as the Welsh development team and springboard to a full international cap.
This is a point confirmed by Dai Rees: “The Under 21s now officially shadow the national team. We have strong links with Mike Ruddock and his staff, while I will be shadowing him personally at the International on the 5th February. This is done to ensure that we are all working in the same direction.”
Therefore, the role of Wales Under 21 coach is arguably at its most prominent and most pressurized, but what do the coaches gain from the experience: “The most important thing from a coaching perspective is managing in an elite environment…. being able to create a player-led and coach -monitored squad, developing future internationals.”
A big season and big opportunities lie ahead for all those in the Under 21 set-up and it could not get off to a better start, England, Rodney Parade, 4th February 2005.
Kick Off 7.05pm
Friday 4th February 2005
Rodney Parade, Newport
Call 01633 670 690
