Mostyn Richards, High Performance Manager for the WRU commented, "We have been delighted with the first two seasons of Reebok Championship rugby and having spoken to the respective coaches during the summer, it looks as though we could be in for another season of top class age grade rugby. The great thing about last season was that our national age grade sides carried on from where the regional sides left off with Wales U19 winning the Six Nations grand slam and doing well at the IRB U19 World Championships."

A new format for the 2006-2007 season saw rounds of the three age grade competitions staged on a weekly basis with all but the U16 winding up by the end of January to give way to the international season. The U16 final would be staged a month later at the end of February. Victory in the 2005–2006 season finals saw the Ospreys start as favourites in the age grade championships, but the competition promised to be fierce from the Scarlets, who won the inaugural competition, and from the Blues and Dragons who were yet to taste tournament success.

The last of all championships to get underway was the eldest age grade, with the U20 Reebok Regional Championship beginning on September 13th. The unlucky date showed its implications as the opening clash between the Ospreys and the Dragons had to be abandoned. The Ospreys led 10-7 just after the second half, but the officials had no choice but to call off the contest due to the time it took to secure Ospreys lock Richard Kelly’s broken leg and take him to hospital. Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Lawrence scored tries for the home region with Jason Tovey hitting back for the Dragons.

The other opening match for the U20 teams also resulted in a serious injury to a young age grade player. The Blues opened their campaign with an outstanding 26-23 victory over the Scarlets at Stradey Park. Yet the game was somewhat overshadowed by the injuries to the Blues’ captain Jevon Groves, who suffered a back injury, and Scarlets’ prop Hugh Gustafson, who suffered a suspected broken leg. The Scarlets had amassed an impressive 20-8 advantage at the half-time whistle courtesy of a brace from wing Gruff Jones and ten points from the boot of Jonathan Griffiths. However, the Blues valiantly fought back with tries from Tom Daly and Sam Warburton with Kristian Baller adding the extras with the boot. Notable performances from outside half Celyn Ashton and flanker James Cullen aided the Blues’ first win of the season.

WRU Regional High Performance Manager Gafyn Cooper commented after the game, "You never like to see players getting injured. As far as our performance was concerned, I thought we played well in the second half and deserved to win."

The Dragons hosted the Scarlets in the second round fixture as both sides searched for an initial win of the season in the U20 championship. The hosts were defeated 35-5 at Virginia Park by a Scarlets side still smarting from their opening night defeat at the hands of the Blues. The Scarlets took an unassailable 28-5 lead at the break, as centre Richard Thomas and fullback Daniel Evans each secured a brace of tries. Replacement scrum half Justin James finished the try-scoring rout by adding a fifth in the second half whilst Evans added five conversions to finish the night with a personal haul of twenty points.

The Blues, meanwhile, searched for a second successive victory in the U20 championship as they hosted the Ospreys at the Arms Park at the start of October 2006. They continued their early domination of the Reebok Regional Championship thanks to a 25-19 win over their visitors. Leigh Halfpenny’s brace, a try for Jason Howells and extras added by Tom Cole took the Ospreys into the lead as the game moved into injury time. However, the Blues rallied to take the victory. Gareth Jones and Tom Isaac scored tries for the Blues before a penalty try was awarded to the home side. Fullback Kristian Baller gained two penalties and as many conversions to round off another outstanding night for the region.

Mid October saw the game between the Ospreys and Dragons replayed, following its abandonment in the opening round. The Ospreys came out on top, 13-7, as the Dragons went down to their second defeat of the season. The Ospreys stretched to a 10-0 lead at the break after a try from Chris Morgan; Dane Clancy converted and added a penalty before the first half drew to a close. The second half saw the Dragons strike back with a converted try from Sean Watkins, but Ospreys’ replacement Tom Cole slotted over a penalty to seal the victory for the region.

The third round of the U20 championship saw the Ospreys travel to Narberth as they searched for their third successive win of the season. The Scarlets were likely to be in buoyant mood following their emphatic victory over the Dragons last time out. However, they incurred a 20–13 defeat at the hands of the Ospreys due to tries from Nick Roberts and James Pike. Leigh Halfpenny kicked two conversions and as many penalties to guarantee the victory. A try from centre Rhys Williams plus a conversion and two penalties from fullback Daniel Evans kept the Scarlets in touch, but they were held out in the second half as the Ospreys closed off a significant victory.

The other round three match saw the Dragons face the Blues at Abercynon, and suffer a thrashing at the hands of the Cardiff based side. The venue, originally scheduled for Rodney Parade, was reversed after the pitch was deemed unplayable and the Blues reaped the benefits of this rearranged home advantage. They raced into a 42-0 half-time lead with tries from Tom Cooper, James Egan, Aaron Fowler, Patrick Palmer and a brace from Luke Ford. Further tries from Daniel Matthews and No.8 Mathew Larsen came in the second half with Kristian Baller kicking seven of the eight conversions to further compound the Dragons’ misery. The Dragons notched a consolatory try through hooker Ben Roberts, which was converted by David Langdon, yet the visitors were outplayed for much of the match with the Blues showing why they had gained a one hundred percent record at this level thus far in the season with the 54-7 win.

The Scarlets travelled to face the Blues three weeks later hoping to succeed where the Dragons had failed miserably in the previous round. They achieved their goal of victory and in doing so put an end to the Blues’ unbeaten record in the U20 Reebok Regional Championship. A Scarlets side, boasting the likes of Lou Reed, Ken Owens and Martyn Thomas, conquered at the Leckwith Stadium, winning 21-10 with three tries and six points from the boot of Stuart Morris. Thomas, who made an impression for the senior Scarlets side earlier in the season, helped himself to a brace of tries with Owens adding a third. The Blues responded with a Gareth Jones try but were not able to come back from the 13-3 deficit at the interval and so had to wait for the penultimate round of the competition to try to attain a berth in the U20 tournament final.

The Dragons, hosting the Ospreys at Rodney Parade, would have hoped to put their home advantage to good effect and overcome their season losing streak. Yet the Dragons were powerless to stop a rampaging Ospreys side as they triumphed 45-8. Leading 24-3 at the interval, the Ospreys completed the double over the Gwent region thanks to seven tries, and five conversions from Leigh Halfpenny. James Pike began the rampage with a try in the opening ten minutes, which was followed by further efforts from Jason Howells, Liam Rice, and a brace each for Halfpenny and prop Phil Price. The Dragons replied with a try from the hugely impressive James Owen and a penalty from outside half David Langdon, yet they could not redress the deficit any further as the Ospreys recorded their second successive victory.

Regional High Performance Manager for the Dragons, Ron Schottle commented on the defeat, “It's disappointing but I felt as though our forwards went well and perhaps deserved a bit more.”

The penultimate round of the U20 Championship saw the Ospreys face the Blues looking for a victory to all but ensure a place in the final at the close of the season. Victory would take the team at least five points clear with only one round of pool games remaining. Yet a fantastic 31-24 Blues’ victory at Waterton Cross threw qualification for the pool final wide open for the regions, excluding the off-form Dragons. A brace for Gareth Jones and single efforts from Matthew Larsen and Luke Ford gave the Blues the edge as Jason Howells, Rhys Webb and Alex Wilkins scored tries for the Ospreys with Leigh Halfpenny adding three conversions and a penalty. The Blues, for whom Kristian Baller added four conversions and a penalty, led 14-10 at half-time and although the Ospreys struck twice in the second half through Webb and Wilkins, the Blues held on for the success to put them in contention for a place in the final.

The other penultimate pool match saw the Scarlets at home to the Dragons, who had yet to win a game in the season. An uncomplicated 46-13 Scarlet success at Stradey Park gave rise to a hope of qualification for the final on January 12th. In terrible conditions of high winds and heavy rain the Dragons scored a try through Tom Edwards with Gavin Ashman securing the conversion and two penalties. The Scarlets overpowered their visitors with tries from Haydn Pugh, Justin James, Emyr Phillips, Nick Cudd, Richard Thomas and a brace for Lloyd Phillips. Stuart Morris kicked four conversions and a penalty to add to the already impressive Scarlet scoreline.

In the final games of the group stage on January 3rd, the Blues were to entertain the Dragons at Llantwit Fardre whilst the Scarlets met the Ospreys at Waterton Cross. With three of the four regions still able to qualify for the final, with only the Dragons out of contention, the games promised to be tense affairs.

Dai Arthur, High Performance Manager for the Ospreys added, “It has come down to the last game and, in my eyes, that tells you how competitive this tournament really is. If we win we will go through; I am hoping that will be the case.”

The Ospreys U20 booked their place in the final with a 36-18 victory over the Scarlets. The first half was extremely tight with both sides needing success to guarantee a final berth. The Ospreys took a 14-10 lead at the interval courtesy of two tries and as many conversions from the prolific Leigh Halfpenny whilst Martyn Thomas’s try and Dan Evans’s boot kept the Scarlets close. The Ospreys were the dominant force in the second half as Morgan, Mark Breeze, Jonathan Griffiths and Jason Howells crossed for tries, securing a bonus point in the fantastic victory. The game between the Dragons and Blues, which had been switched from Ebbw Vale to Llantwit Fardre, was subsequently postponed due to the inclement weather yet the Blues were later successful in the match to secure the second finalist position opposite the Ospreys in a repeat of the U18 final.

Garin Jenkins, head coach of the Ospreys U20 side said, “This is the third season I have been involved with the Ospreys U20 set-up and we are lucky to be in a third consecutive final. This is a great competition because it bloods our elite young talent – two seasons ago when we narrowly lost in the final to the Scarlets, James Hook, Alun Wyn Jones and Martin Roberts were all in our Ospreys U20 side. Along with those players who have broken into the regional and national sides, many others are playing quality rugby in the Principality Premiership.

The Blues broke the Ospreys’ stranglehold on the WRU Reebok Regional Championship with an emphatic 22-7 victory over the reigning champions in the U20 final at St Helen’s. They took an early lead thanks to a Kristian Baller penalty before a try from John Jones, and conversion from Leigh Halfpenny, pushed the Ospreys ahead. Tom Isaac replied in kind for the Blues and as Baller added the extras, the Blues took a slender 10-7 lead into the break. After the restart Luke Ford, son of former Wales international Steve, together with centre Tom Cooper began to impress the Blues dominance. Tries for wing James Egan and Matthew Larsen extended the Blues’ lead and although the Ospreys threatened a comeback of sorts, it was the Blues who finished the stronger to attain the coveted title.

Blues Regional High Performance manager Gafyn Cooper commented, “We are delighted to have a team of players who want to play for each other, many of whom will be involved in the Wales U19 and U20 squads for the upcoming internationals. They have been terrific all season and to see them play as well as this in the final is great. Credit also goes to our excellent team of coaches across our age grade sides. I hope things continue in the same vein.”

With the Ospreys having retained two of their championship titles and the Blues enjoying a much improved season, culminating in the clinching of the U20 trophy, the 2007–2008 Reebok Regional Championships promised to create exciting battles in all three age grades. The Scarlets would be looking to return to form and regain their winning streaks, having won all three age grade titles in the inaugural competition, whilst the Dragons would hope to redress the balance of being the only region not to have gained Reebok Championship silverware in the history of the competition.