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After the success of the initial WRU Reebok Regional Championship, sports giants Reebok extended their sponsorship of the age grade tournaments for a further three seasons. Rob Howley continued to act as ambassador for the sponsors in a competition which enjoyed a spectacular opening season in all featured age grades.
The Scarlets set the benchmark for the 2004–2005 season in winning all three finals at U16, U18 and U20 levels. WRU High Performance Manager Mostyn Richards said of the championships, “These competitions will provide the breeding ground for our national age grade players at U16, U18, U19 and U21 levels. All national age grade teams have extremely tough programmes this season and this competition will certainly help us prepare our players for the challenges that lie ahead.”
The 2005–2006 U16 championship commenced with the Dragons hosting the Scarlets in the opening fixture at the Welfare Ground, Newbridge. They defeated the reigning champions 13-0 through tries from fullback Ieuan Coombs and blindside flanker James Thomas. Danny Ellis added a penalty to increase the Dragons’ score as they went unanswered in the match, due mostly to the outstanding efforts of their superb defence. The Ospreys also secured a winning start to the season as they ran out 17-5 winners at Llanrumney over the Blues South. Tries from Jason Jones, Rhys Roberts and Rory Pitman aided the Osprey tally and although Ryan Moore hit back in the second half for the South they were unable to reduce the deficit any further.
Having had a bye in the opening round of matches the Blues North U16 took on the Ospreys at Corus RFC to launch their campaign. The Ospreys completed a second successive win over a Blues side as they defeated the North 25-8. Daniel Biggar, heralded by former international star Neil Jenkins as one of the bright young things of the competition, slotted over ten points for his side. Debutant Dean Williams attained a first-half try for the Ospreys and teammates Ashley Beck and Matthew Lilley added to the tally. Sam Shelley secured a try for the Blues North but it was not enough to prevent the Ospreys from taking the top spot in the U16 table. The Blues South faired better than their sister regional side as they defeated previous champions the Scarlets 13-8. Scarlet Gareth Flynn scored a try which was added to by a Daniel Etteridge penalty but a five-pointer from Cory Hearn and eight points from the boot of Luke Fear gave the South their first win of the season, whilst the Scarlets had suffered their second defeat.
The two regional Blues sides met at Aberdare in round three of the competition, resulting in an opposite result of the previous season. This time out the North overpowered the South in an 18-7 win after tries from Matthew Howells and Rhys Williams with Daniel Lewis adding the conclusive five-pointer just three minutes from time. James Loxton attained a try for the South, which was bettered by Luke Fear but they failed to add further to the scoreboard and so incurred their second defeat in three games thus far in the championship. In an enthralling game at the Welfare Ground in Newbridge the Dragons clinched a slim 13-12 win over the Ospreys. The Dragons secured an early lead through a drop goal but the Ospreys clawed back the advantage thanks to a Jason Jones try. Jamie Woods replied for the Dragons but Jones gained his second of the game; the conversion by Daniel Biggar took the Ospreys into a 12-8 lead. The Dragons bravely fought back as Rhys Jenkins touched down for a try that handed his team a second win in the championship and halted the Ospreys’ winning streak in the championship.
The Dragons, looking for a third successive victory, travelled to Rumney to take on the previous season’s finalists the Blues South in round four of the competition. The Scarlets hosted the other Blues team, the North, as they sought to end their losing streak in the competition following their hugely successful previous tournament. Yet even the home advantage of playing at Stradey Park could not help the Scarlets to an elusive first win as the North secured a 14-12 victory in a dramatic finale. Luke Price scored a try for the Blues before the half hour mark, which was bettered by Harry Allen. The Scarlets drew level twelve minutes after the restart when Ashley Stephens crossed the line; David Newton converted but the Blues North replied with a try from the impressive Sam Studley. Allen again converted and proved the decisive scorer as although the Scarlets attained another try their conversion went amiss to grant the Blues their second win of the season thus far.
The Blues South followed the winning form of the North with a 17-14 victory over the Dragons. The Dragons attained a converted try either side of the interval from Robert Grey and Stuart Maguire but Ryan Moore and man of the match Joe Xiberras helped the home side into a 12-7 interval lead. Kyle Hally's second-half try and a conversion from Joe Deacon cemented the South’s win and as Blues High Performance Manager Gafyn Cooper stated, "It's a great double for the region, I'm delighted for both sides because we have worked so hard."
The Dragons kept up their impressive form as the season progressed and neared a final berth in the U16 championship. They secured a 17-8 victory over the Scarlets to complete the double following their impressive opening game win. Although trailing 10-8 at the break a resilient second half performance saw a try in the last quarter from Aaron Coundley which secured the Dragons win and improved their position in the U16 table. After six rounds they were just a point behind the Ospreys, who retained their top spot due to a last gasp 11-9 victory over the Blues South; Daniel Biggar slotted over a penalty with the final kick of the game to win the day.
Although the Dragons had been the surprise package at U16 level the final berths remained hotly contested as the Blues South and Ospreys gained wins in the seventh round of games in February 2006. The Blues South defeated the Scarlets 21-15 at Stradey Park; six points from the boot of Joe Deacon and tries from Cory Hearn, Tom Marley and Rhys Meredith gained the South the victory. A penalty try and a try from scrum half Tom James kept the Scarlets in contention but the Blues ground out the win, and cemented the sixth Scarlet loss of the season. The Ospreys secured an impressive 30-5 victory over the Blues North at Abercynon. The Ospreys romped home due to a hat-trick of tries from centre Christian Phillips, a fourth from Ashley Beck and a fifth courtesy of Scott Hancock. Daniel Lewis scored the only Blue points with a first-half try.
The Ospreys became the first team through to the Reebok Regional U16 championship final in March as they defeated the Dragons 11-0. The first half remained scoreless but Christian Phillips attained a second half try which was added to by two penalties from the outside half and Captain Daniel Biggar. Although defeated in this match the Dragons remained in contention for the other final spot but the Blues South also remained close to berth.
The Scarlets were not included in the tightly contested culmination of the pool competition although they did secure their first victory of the season in April over the Ospreys. Four penalties from man-of-the-match Tom James secured the 12-9 win at Stradey Park with the Ospreys only able to reply with three from Ospreys Captain Daniel Biggar. The Dragons and Blues North had to battle it out at Newbridge for the remaining place in the U16 final at the close of the season. Should the North defy the form book and record a bonus point win and deny the Dragons a bonus point, they would reach the final at Rodney Parade just a week later. Ultimately the Dragons, who had had a magnificent season, secured a slender 22-21 success at the Welfare Ground. Despite scoring three tries through David Lawrence, James Howe and Marcus Lewis and all three conversions through Gary Williams, Blues North were unable to defy the fire of the Dragons. They clung onto their single point lead in a frenetic finale to claim their position opposite the Ospreys in the U16 final. Blues' High Performance Manager Gafyn Cooper commented after the loss, “It was a courageous effort from a side which has made great strides this season. Having made little impression on the competition last year, the North have shown what a lot of hard work can achieve.”
The Dragons and Ospreys U16 final encounter took place at Rodney Parade on Sunday April 30th. With the Ospreys having beaten the Dragons once in the season and the Dragons having returned the compliment in the return game, the final promised to be a tight contest. However, the Ospreys demonstrated the dominance shown throughout the pool stages to reap an impressive 36-12 victory. Ospreys captain Daniel Biggar slotted over a penalty in the fifteenth minute to take his team into the lead but the Dragons replied from the restart when centre Adam Hughes touched down at the posts; Danny Ellis converted. Ellis added a try for the Dragons before the interval but the second half proved a different story altogether. Ashley Beck notched a try that Biggar converted before Dean Williams charged down a clearance kick for his side's second try. Kristian Phillips, Beck and Biggar rounded things off for the Ospreys with three further tries, Biggar securing the three latter conversions to round off the scoring and the excellent Ospreys win.
Following in the footsteps of the Scarlets in the inaugural Reebok Regional Championships, the Ospreys had attained a clean sweep in the 2005–2006 season throughout the three age grade competitions. The season saw further success for age grade rugby as Wales U19, consisting of players from the four regional U20 sides, won a grand slam in the U19 Six Nations championship in March. Many of the U20 players also travelled to Dubai for the IRB U19 World Championship in which the Wales U19 team finished in sixth position. |
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