East v West rugby league junior matches in Ystrad Mynach on Saturday 

Wales Rugby League, in association with Coleg y Cymoedd, are staging East v West Boys Origin matches at U14 and U16 level at the Centre of Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach on Saturday 12th February.

The matches kick-off at 11am and noon respectively.

It’s the culmination of a fantastic three months worth of coaching at both of those levels, plus U18, that have taken place in Ystrad Mynach and Bridgend.

Before Christmas, the two hubs remained separate, before all players got together for the first time in early January.

Then last weekend, the East Wales and West Wales U16 sides travelled up to face equivalent “rising stars” training hubs run by Salford Red Devils U16s academy, achieving one win and one narrow defeat.

In the first game, East Wales ran out 10-0 winners over the Salford Black side, excelling in attack and defence. Halfway through the first half following some evasive running from hooker Dafydd Morgan, East Wales found space out wide with centre Ethan Patterson touching down for the first points of the game. With just a 4-0 lead at the break, the match was sealed with just five minutes remaining when some great play in the middle of the park led to Zak Williams touching down under the posts, with Ethan Patterson converting;

In the second game, West Wales went down fighting, losing 20-14 to a strong Salford Red side. Peter Richmond scored a try and kicked a goal for West Wales, with Corrie Westermack and Troy Shearon also touching down. Jimmy Shields scored a try and two goals for Salford, with Rylie Smith, Frank Sergent and Joshua Bentley-Hughes scoring the remaining tries to clinch their win.

Wayne Ponting, the Head of the Origin Programme, said: “The first eight-week block of the regional development performance centres have gone really well, participation numbers across all age groups have been promising and exceeded expectations. The skill levels of the players are of a good standard and have been improving as the sessions progress.

“It’s given the players a chance to develop their knowledge and understanding of rugby league whilst attending the programme, everyone was excited by the Salford occasion and rightly so, but the focus now is on the first junior origin games – East v West.”

Mark Jones, the WRL National Development Academy head coach at Coleg Y Cymoedd said: “The Origin programme has been a huge success with 100+ boys and 50+ girls attending regular sessions. We hope that many of these girls and boys now transition on to the full-time Rugby League course at Coleg Y Cymoedd.”

The Origin 16s programme is a transition for the WRL National Development Academy based at Coleg Y Cymoedd. If you are interested in applying for the full-time course for 2022-23, please go to https://www.cymoedd.ac.uk/course-detail/level-3-sport-rugby-league/?course_id=08F302YB

Saturday 12 February 2022 at Caerphilly Centre of Sporting Excellence, Ystrad Mynach
U14s East Wales vs West Wales – 11am kick off
U16s East Wales vs West Wales – noon kick-offEntry: £5 Adults, U16s free

TEAMS FOR SATURDAY BELOW

East Wales U14s
1. Sonny Ledley (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
2. Jack Matheson (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
3. Harvey Leddington-Evans (unattached)
4. Jac Jones (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
5. Alfie Pitman (Rhondda Outlaws)
6. Finlay Walker (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
7. Jake Harries (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
8. Tobie Cribb (Aber Valley Wolves)
9. Paddy Bateman (Aber Valley Wolves)
10. Cai Atkins (unattached)
11. Sam Hallett (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
12. Charlie Bennett (unattached)
13. Tom Howe (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
Subs:
14. Cerrig Day (Aber Valley Wolves)
15. Sam Kemp (Aber Valley Wolves)
16. Alex Wainwright (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
17. Connor McIlwee (unattached)
18. Dylan Shears (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
19. Kaven Phillips (unattached)

West Wales U14s (starting team TBC – from)
Leo Bonham (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Ryan Blyth (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Corey Field (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Leland Grey (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Josh Gallivan (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Morgan Jenkins (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Oscar Jones (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Juris Kesans (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Hudson Nevin (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Albie Redpath (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Isaac Thomas (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Mason Wood (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
Jay Bramwell (Cynon Valley Cavaliers)
Ben Coomer (Cynon Valley Cavaliers)
Bailey Cutts (Cynon Valley Cavaliers)
Mason Daniels (Cynon Valley Cavaliers)
Isaac Jones (Cynon Valley Cavaliers)
Tristan Rosser (Cynon Valley Cavaliers)
Kalum Stead (Cynon Valley Cavaliers)
Cellan Allcock (unattached)
Joe Davies (unattached)
Osian Thomas (unattached)

East Wales U16s
1. Tal Watkins (Aber Valley Wolves)
2. Fin Northrop (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
3. Ethan Patterson (Aber Valley Wolves)
4. Oli Ford (Aber Valley Wolves)
5. Ethan Stebbings (Aber Valley Wolves)
6. Mason Apsee (Aber Valley Wolves)
7. Henry Parker (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
8. Zak Williams (Aber Valley Wolves)
9. Carter Pritchard (Aber Valley Wolves)
10. Lewis Jones (c) (Aber Valley Wolves)
11. Dan Barlett (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
12. Kian Godwin (Aber Valley Wolves)
13. Callum Jones (Aber Valley Wolves)
Subs:
14. Harry Jago (Aber Valley Wolves)
15. Kade Woodward (Torfaen Tigers)
16. Daf Morgan (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
17. Rhodri Jones (Aber Valley Wolves)
18. Dylan Scott (Aber Valley Wolves)
19. Hudson Mathias (Aber Valley Wolves)
20. Kai Sengul (Aber Valley Wolves)
21. Evan Morse (Aber Valley Wolves)

West Wales U16s
1. Brandon Richards (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
2. Rhys Thomas (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
3. Ben Morris (c) (Swansea Stallions)
4. Jake Nottingham (Swansea Stallions)
5. Peter Richmond (Cynon Valley Cavaliers)
6. Charlie Stoddart (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
7. Leon Caviel (Aber Valley Wolves)
8. Cory Westermark (Swansea Stallions)
9. George Groves (Torfaen Tigers)
10. Jac Fuller (Swansea Stallions)
11. Ruben Ghatt (Aberavon Fighting Irish)
12. Troy Shearan (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
13. Thomas Richards (Swansea Stallions)
Subs:
14. Jac Vaughn (Gwendraeth Valley Raiders)
15. Rouge Donahue (Bridgend Blue Bulls)
16. Lewi Hartland (Aber Valley Wolves)
17. Brandon Foley (Cardiff Blue Dragons)
18. Tyler Davies (Aber Valley Wolves)
19. Tomas West (Aber Valley Wolves)
20. Ellis Butler (Aber Valley Wolves)
21. Evan Rowlands (Aber Valley Wolves)