Eight members of a new girls' rugby academy have been selected for a Wales under-18 training camp.
The Grŵp Llandrillo Menai academy was launched in the summer as part of the effort to create a pathway for students to potentially play for Wales under-18s.
Those called up include Coleg Llandrillo student Cara Mercier, Coleg Menai learners Leah Stewart and Saran Griffiths, and Efa Parry, Saran Jones, Mali Thomas, Lucy Powell, and Izzy Jones—who play for the academy while studying at local schools.
Coleg Llandrillo student and rugby academy member Osian Llewelyn Woodward has also been selected for the Wales under-18 boys’ squad.
These nine students will have the opportunity to prove themselves for capped internationals in the spring, including the under-18 Six Nations festivals.
The training camp will be held this weekend at the Vale Resort in Hensol, near Cardiff.
Lucy Brown, assistant coach of the girls’ rugby academy and the Welsh Rugby Union’s player development centre lead for North Wales, said: "There are 10 girls selected overall from PDC North, with quite a few others just missing out this time around.
"Eight of those players have all been involved with the college programme that we’ve established this year—clearly a positive addition to the pathway in North Wales for girls’ rugby."
“Some of the players selected were involved for Wales U18s in the summer series and Six Nations last season, but we’ve got some new players selected as well, so it shows how key the college programme and the PDC are for their success.”
Regarding Osian’s selection, Andrew Williams, Coleg Llandrillo’s Rugby Academy Coordinator, said: "It's a reward for the continuing hard work he’s put in over the past 18 months.
"It’s a stepping stone for him with the ultimate aim of being capped in the games in March and April.
"He’s ticking all the boxes, and it’s another positive step on the path of hopefully gaining international honours before the end of the academic year."
The academies and the Player Development Centre (PDC) at Eirias Park's efforts have been rewarded by the selection of these students for the training camp.
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