Following on from the recent South West county matches where Berkshire RFU played two assessment matches and came away with two wins against Dorset & Wilts and followed by a match Gloucestershire RFU. (They also played Gloucestershire RFU in a third fixture and were defeated).
From the assessed matches two players namely, Jordan Telia (Oxford AASE and formerly Maidenhead RFC) and Mikey Duda (Reading Abbey RFC) were selected to represent the South West U18 squad.
They attended South West regional full squad training sessions (held at Hartpury College) on the 30th January and the 6th February 2022. Following this the squad was selected to play fixtures against London & South East U18 and the North U18 teams.
SOUTH WEST COUNTIES U18 SQUAD
The players in the England South West are from the following counties; Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire so to make the SW England team is a great achievement.
SATURDAY 19TH FEBRUARY 2022
The South West team had their first game on the 19th Feb at London Irish playing the London and South East in he aftermarket of Storm Eunice in absolute driving rain and blustery conditions.
The boys played really well but made a few little mistake for which they got punished but still played some wonderful free flowing rugby and scrummaged really well. With the weather the lineout was a real issue for both sides.
Final Score London & SOUTH EAST 30 – SOUTH WEST 10 (No kicks we taken)
Jacob Atkins from London Irish gave the boys a pre match talk and our sponsor from Motorola came along and presented the boys with their shirts.
SATURDAY 26TH & SUNDAY 27TH FEBRUARY 2022
This last weekend the players attended Warwick University where they were located for a full training weekend experience. As part of the weekend on the Saturday there were a number of different classes for the players, from video analysis to media behaviour, they also had training carousels with the England coaches, finishing the day with some team building and group training sessions.
The South West team were also sent some good look messages from several Premiership players on the Saturday night in advance of the match to be played on the Sunday.
BEST WISHES FROM SEVERAL PREMIERSHIP PLAYERS
Paddy Jackson
LONDON IRISH
Nemani Nadolo
LEICESTER TIGERS
On Sunday the South West played the North in a truly epic game, which finished NORTH 26 – 26 SOUTH WEST.
The South West boys were fantastic in their skillset and attitude and behaviour on the pitch.
From everybody involved in the South West this year, we really wanted to pass on to the CBs what a fantastic group of young men you sent us this year, there ability on the pitch, their eagerness to learn, the way they came together and bonded in a very short period of time.
We should be very proud of them, please can you make sure that the older boys names get passed on to the U20s group for next year, we have some very special players in this squad that we need to keep playing.
After the two matches the South West selectors provided feedback to the two players who were selected into SW U18s this season. The two players stood up very well, Jordan was a solid performer on both weekends and Mikey was recognised as one of the most versatile and energetic players of the whole tournament being mentioned regularly by all assessors.
Thanks to all the volunteers, coaches, managers and support personnel who have given their time to help support these young men on their rugby journey.
#onecounty #royalcounty #bestofberkshire #berkshirerugby
