Two Welsh teenagers have made the bold call to head for the other side of the world to play their rugby.
Lewys Walsh, 19, and Liam Jones, 18, flew to Australia this week, where they will take up contracts with Shute Shield club Hunter Wildfires.
They will be based in the New South Wales harbour city of Newcastle, a shade over 100 miles north of Sydney.
Hooker Walsh, from Aberdare, and lock Jones, from Merthyr, have already picked up useful experience playing Welsh domestic rugby and in England.
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The pair were part of Cardiff’s age-grade system, with Walsh moving on to play for Hartpury College, Worcester Warriors U18s and Llandovery RFC, while Jones represented City of Oxford and Wasps U18s and Merthyr RFC.
Now they will further their rugby education 11,000 miles away with the ambition being to make a significant impact and possibly even break into the Super Rugby academy set-up.
“We can’t wait to get started,” said Walsh. “Sampling rugby on a different continent should be a brilliant experience and will hopefully help us develop as players and people.
“The aim from a rugby perspective is just to do as well as possible. We know the standard is good but we are keen to learn and the ultimate aim would be to do enough to make it into the Waratahs or Brumbies academy. I know that’s a big aim, but if you don’t have goals you’ll never get anywhere.
“Both of us are pushing each other to the limits. We want to excel. The aim is to play professional rugby and go as far as possible in the game.”
Press the rewind button to 1987 and then teenagers David Young and Richard Webster headed Down Under to gain experience with Sydney club Northern Suburbs. Theirs turned out to be the amazing tale of them all when it comes to globetrotting rugby youngsters. Injuries to the Wales squad at that year’s World Cup saw the pair helicoptered into the national panel with Young starting in the quarter-final against England and Webster featuring in the run-on side in the bronze medal match against Australia.
Different times. But the hope is the time away will prove beneficial again for these new youngsters.
The move came out of the blue for Walsh. “I put a rugby highlights bit on YouTube after my Premiership rugby campaign,” he said.
“I managed to get myself an agent with EAM Sports, and two weeks later I had an offer to play in Australia.
“It was a shock at first, but after some thought, I felt it was an opportunity I’d never really have again if I didn’t take it.
“So I want to see what comes of it and just try to make the best of it.
“I think my experiences so far will put me in good stead. I enjoyed my time with Llandovery.
They are doing brilliantly this season and it was a joy to play for them.” (You can read here about the young Wales international now working on a building site after rugby's turmoil left him unemployed.)
The 5ft 11, 16st 10lb Walsh Walsh has played at loosehead prop and blindside flanker but he was moved to hooker and can get around the field and scrummage. Jones is 6ft 4in and 17st 5lb, a mobile lock who does the basics and likes to have the ball in his hands.
Accommodation is in place for the pair, who will also need to find jobs to top up their incomes. “While we are not training, we’ll need to be working to keep our heads above water,” said Walsh.
“The club will be giving us work assistance, I think. I’ve worked in the construction industry until now but I’m open to anything. I think the same goes for Liam. We are just two boys from the Welsh Valleys who want to sample something different and make a success of it. Hopefully, it will go well.”
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