On Friday night, the former Wales U18 and U20 captain Tommy Reffell hopes to help Leicester Tigers win the European Challenge Cup at Twickenham, while two days later the 2019 Grand Slam centre Hadleigh Parkes will aim to become the first Welsh player to win the Top League title in Japan.
The 22-year-old Reffell has featured in three of the Tigers games in Europe this season and was a started in the back row last weekend in the Premiership when they overcame Harlequins at Welford Road. His goal will be to become the 46th Welsh player to pick up a Challenge Cup winners’ medal when Leicester take on 2016 champions Montpellier.
Reffell played in Wales U20 sides that beat New Zealand and Australia, packing down in the back row with regional players such as the Dragons duo Lennon Greggains and Taine Basham, Ospreys-bound Jac Morgan and Scarlets openside Dan Davis.
Meanwhile, Parkes will have his sights set on adding to his Six Nations and PRO12 winners’ medals on Sunday when the Panasonic Wild Knights take on Suntory Sungoliath. The old Scarlets centre was in peak form as he helped his team to beat Steve Hansen’s Toyota Verblitz 48-21.
It means he will now go head-to-head with his former Hurricanes team mate Beauden Barrett, who coaxed Suntory into Japanese rugby’s biggest game with 21 points as they downed Kubota Spears 26-9 in Osaka.
The two teams will meet at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground in Tokyo with Parkes’ side hoping to regain the title they last won in 2016. Suntory were last champion in 2017 and 2018.
