Wales U20 appeal for support in Manchester; Martyn Phillips gives valuable advice

Wales U20 head coach Jason Strange has appealed for as much support as possible for his side at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Manchester (June 7 – 25).

Wales take on Ireland, Georgia and New Zealand in Pool A of the global tournament, with Six Nations opponents Ireland first up next Tuesday 7 June at the Manchester City Academy Stadium (5.30).

Grand Slam champions Wales benefitted from great home support during their recent Six Nations matches at Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay, and Strange hopes a strong contingent will follow the side in the North West of England over the coming weeks.

“The players were buoyed by a fantastic crowd in Eirias this year, as always, which no doubt played a part in their performances to earn them Six Nations success. With the tournament just over the border in England, we are expecting a good travelling support, and it would be fantastic to create a home from home in Manchester with vocal fans in the stand.

“It’s a fantastic honour for the players to be representing Wales and competing against the best players in the world at this age, we are all looking forward to really enjoying the tournament.
“Preparation has gone well so far, we have been together as a squad for longer than any other time and the players are in great physical and mental condition. We have continued to work on developing skills that will allow us to play an attacking style of rugby. while the group have continued to grow the togetherness that was a key factor in our Six Nations success.

“Although it was a great achievement to win the Six Nations Grand Slam, we have been gearing towards the World Rugby U20 Championship all season. The main pressure we will feel will be from ourselves to ensure we reach the high standards that we have set.

“Team spirit is high after a great period of training and a three day camp hosted by Monmouth RFC, one of our main aims is to continue to build the off-field team culture which is so important to us.”

WRU Group Chief Executive Martyn Phillips addressed the group on their final day of training before departing for Manchester.

He talked of the importance of being mentally strong, in rugby as in business. “You may or may not be the fittest and most skilful team in the tournament but one thing is for sure, every team will experience set-backs. What will set the best teams, and the winning team apart is how you deal with those disappointments, stick together and use them to make you stronger.

“From my own career, the people who make it to the top in business are those who bounce back when they are knocked down, and after seeing how tight you are as a unit, I know you will go onto achieve bigger and better things in the game. For now, you can expect that some things won’t go your way, during matches in particular, and the only thing you can control is how you cope in that situation.”

All of Wales’ Pool matches will be broadcast by S4C, Ireland and New Zealand on television, with Wales v Georgia shown online on s4c.cymru

For all Manchester match and ticket info for Manchester go to www.worldrugby.org/u20