Wales U16 announce captain and vice-captain

Wales Rugby League U16s have named Keenan McDaid as their captain and Kyle Huish as vice-captain for their 2018 international campaign.

McDaid plays his club rugby at Halton Farnworth Hornets in Widnes and has been within the St Helens RLFC Academy system since he was 14. Recently he was rewarded for his progress at St Helen’s with a two-year Academy contract for the U19s in 2019.

Wales U16s Head Coach Jason Seddon said: “Keenan is a natural leader and is remarkably consistent in his approach both on and off the field.

“He sets a very high standard in everything he does, leads by example and everyone associated with the team has a huge amount of respect for him.”

Vice-captain Kyle Huish, formerly of Ysgol Gymraeg Caerffili and Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni, hails from the Aber Valley Wolves club and is part of the West Wales Raiders and Wigan Warriors Academy systems.

Seddon believes that he has a bright future within the game: “Kyle is a remarkable young player who I brought into the squad last year as an under 14. His commitment to his own development is outstanding and he just enjoys learning and playing the game.

“As half backs go he is one of the toughest defenders I have seen at this level, he asks a lot of himself all of the time, he has a great attitude towards any challenge he faces and the players respond really well to his positivity and leadership.”

Last weekend saw a successful first performance camp take place in the North West of England for the Welsh boys as they visited the Wigan Warriors High Performance complex at Orrell and were given the opportunity to be part of a joint training session with the Wigan Warriors Scholarship Academy.

Seddon adds: “The camp is a good starting point for us as it allows the players to get to know each other whilst throwing some challenges their way and giving them a better understanding of what it is like to be involved at the elite level of the sport. Once again Wigan Warriors have been very supportive and provided great insight for the players into what training and playing at the highest level is all about and special thanks must go to Matty Peet, Darrell Goulding, Steve McCormack, Anthony Atherton and Tom Fitzpatrick for their time and effort with the players.”

Saturday 28th July will see the first international of the season for Wales U16s, when they take on Scotland at Robin Park Arena in Wigan (kick off 1pm).