As co-captains of Wales U20 Deian Gwynne and Steffan Emanuel have led by example and put in big shifts across the four games to date at the World Rugby Junior Championship in Georgia.
One more big effort will be required when they lead out the team to face Scotland in the 5th Place Final in Tbilisi on Friday to try to secure the best finish since 2013.
Both young men will graduate into the senior game after their final outings in age grade rugby, along with other stalwarts such as Tom Bowen, Sion Davies, Caio James, Jac Pritchard and Evan Minto.
For Cardiff Rugby centre Emanuel it will be a 23rd cap at U20 level, while Gwynne will pick up his 17th cap. Dragons back row man Minto is looking to move onto 18th caps, along with Cardiff scrum half Davies, while Bowen will play his 16th game, James his 15th and Pritchard his 13th.
Emanuel leads the way in minutes played to date at this year’s global tournament, his third in a row. He has played in all four games thus far and racked up 300 minutes.
Bowen comes next on 298 minutes, dented by two yellow cards against Georgia, while Gwynne has played 281, Davies 241, James 236, Minto 230 and Pritchard 202.
“You don’t get stiff if you keep going and Friday will be another opportunity to wear the shirt. What an opportunity we have to achieve something as a group that hasn’t been done since 2013,” said Gwynne.
“We’ve got a strong mindset going into the game and for many of us it will be our last chance to play together at this level.
“We’ve got a really strong group of coaches, and we’ve learned a hell of a lot working under them.
“They’ve done an excellent job in this campaign. I’ve loved playing for Wales U18 and U20 and I will probably be a bit emotional on Friday when it all comes to an end.
“But what I do know is that I’ve learned a hell of a lot in those three or four years. The challenge for us older boys who will be moving on after this tournament has been in how we can help set-up the younger boys for the rest of their U20 journey so they can hopefully do better again.”
Gwynne has already established himself as a regular player in the senior ranks at Gloucester, where he and his Wales U20 back row teammate will have a certain Jac Morgan to contend with next season following his switch to Kingsholm from the Ospreys.
“I’ll be in the deep end of senior rugby when I go back to Gloucester to prepare for next season. We’ve got Jac Morgan coming to bolster our back row and having the best players around you is the best way to learn,” added Gwynne.
“I’m just looking forward to what the men’s game has to offer. It’s a case of keeping on working hard and hopefully things will happen.”
Gwynne and James have been joined at the hip since they both opted to leave their west Wales homes in Aberystwyth and Llandysul and headed to Hartpury College. From there they moved into the Gloucester Academy.
“We know each other quite well and grew up playing against each other up to the age of 16. It always used to get quite interesting when we played against each other because he’s quite feisty and I’d always try to be the same,” said Gwynne.
“We’ve grown up together over the past four years and then someone thought it would be a good idea for us to share a room for five weeks over the course of this tournament! It’s been nice sharing the shirt with him – you play your best rugby when you know your teammates.
“That’s what we’ve got here in Georgia – a really good group of boys who want to play for each other and the coaches. It builds a strong team when you want to play for your mates.”