photo by Mark Harris

Wales’ most successful sporting team in recent years, the Wales A rugby league side, go to Scotland this weekend in their first match of the 2006 Skanska Home Nations campaign as they look to win the trophy for a fifth successive season.

Wales have been defeated on just two occasions in the last four years and have never lost to Scotland in this competition.

Wayne Williams returns as coach after a two-year break from the position and includes eight new faces in his 18-man squad – David James, Chris Roets, Andrew Jenkins, Mark Devine, John Bowd, Lee Meredith, Lewis Culverwell and Jon Breakingbury, although the latter has played once for the full Welsh international side, ironically against the full Scottish side in last year’s European Nations Cup.

Last year’s meeting between the two sides ending in a whopping 70-8 victory for Wales at the Brewery Field with Jim Barnes and Gareth Holtham each nabbing a hat-trick of tries. Williams has included both of these players in the squad but knows things will be a lot different up in Glasgow.

Williams said: “Scotland are always tricky to beat away from home. They have a passionate home support and we’re the ones who’ll have to make the long road trip. However I’ve got confidence in the squad, we’ve had plenty of training sessions, the new players all deserve their places and I think we should push them hard for a positive result.”

Scotland, who have already kicked off their campaign, losing 38-30 to Ireland last month, have had problems in the lead up to the match which could help Wales’ cause. Winger Rob Copley and forward Brian Hendry – both of whom have yet to play this season – have had to pull out of the squad, while Edinburgh Eagles’ John Cox has joined English rugby union club Rotherham Titans on a full-time professional contract. He is expected to call-up two of in-form Scottish Conference players on stand-by for the game which kicks off at 2pm on Sunday at Strathclyde Police RFC, Lochinch Road, Pollok Park in Glasgow.            

Wales A: David James (Blackwood Bulldogs), Damien Smith (Torfaen Tigers), Jon Breakingbury (Valley Cougars), Gareth Holtham (Cardiff Demons), Chris Roets (Swansea Valley Miners), Gareth Jones (Cardiff Demons), Andrew Jenkins (Swansea Valley Miners), Mark Wheeler (Newport Titans), Tyrone Mahoney (Newport Titans), Mark Devine (Cardiff Demons), Sean Gilbertson (Cardiff Demons), John Bowd (Newport Titans), Jason Hill (Torfaen Tigers, Captain). Subs: Steve Mayley (Torfaen Tigers), Lee Meredith (Newport Titans), Wes Palmer (Cardiff Demons), Lewis Culverwell (Newport Titans), Mark Burke (Aberavon Fighting Irish).

Scotland A: Andy Brown (Fife Lions), Dene Miller (St Albans Centurions), Andy Todd (Edinburgh

Eagles), Ian Gilmour (Leicester Phoenix), Ash Carroll (Edinburgh Eagles), Niall MacDonald (Edinburgh Eagles), James Mackay (Carlisle Centurions), Scott MacGillivray (Fife Lions), John Macdonald (Edinburgh Eagles), Dave Birchall (Huddersfield Underbank), Mike Benson (Edinburgh Eagles), Nick Surtees (St Albans Centurions), Kevin Lang (Glasgow Bulls), Jamie Benn (Wetherby Bulldogs), Rob Smart (Army), Al Stewart (Liverpool Bucaneers), Tom Wild (Edinburgh Eagles), Fraser Stirling (Kingston Warriors), Bryan Aspinall (Fife Lions).

Due to the Scotland v Wales A international, just two matches are able to be played on Saturday in the Picton Jones and Costley and Partners Premier Welsh Conference. In the East, Blackwood will hope to continue their good run of form as they travel less than nine miles to face Torfaen Tigers at Pontypool United RFC.

New boys Blackwood are in fine form having won their last three matches on the bounce including being the only team to have defeated league leaders Cardiff Demons so far this season. Torfaen have not played for the last two weeks but will be hoping for a win to get their play-off attempts back on track especially in the light of their last home outing – a 70-20 defeat at the hands of old rivals Newport Titans. A win for Blackwood will see them into second place – just two points behind the Demons who they will travel to in their last match of the season.

Blackwood will miss their outstanding full-back David James, who has been picked for Wales, but Torfaen’s cause will be hampered even more as they have three travelling up to Glasgow – Damien Smith, Jason Hill and Steve Mayley.

However Tigers’ chairman Bob Bendon has shrugged all this off and is looking at this game to kick-start their season. Bendon said: “It’s going to be a struggle for us, Blackwood on form but we’re at home so that could address the balance. It’s been a hard season for us so far – we haven’t had a consistent team and we’ve had a few games postponed for one reason or another so we haven’t been able to put in a run of form like we’ve been used to. However, we should be playing every week until the end of the season now so we hope to make a late charge for the play-offs.”

In the West Conference on Saturday the West Wales Sharks host Aberavon Fighting Irish at the New Dock Stars ground in Llanelli.

The Sharks will need a miracle to qualify for next months play-offs but they could still play a major part in who does and in who gets the home advantage as they face Aberavon, Bridgend and Swansea over the next three weekends.

Aberavon and Bridgend have both lost one game this summer and a win for the Sharks over either could see the other side finish top. The Swansea Valley Miners could also benefit from a Sharks revival, the Ystalyfera based side have lost three games but could still mathematically finish second, something they are more than capable of doing after taking the Blue Bulls all the way in their last outing.

The Fighting Irish will start as firm favourites on Saturday but the Sharks are capable of pulling off a shock win if they play to their full potential and star players such as Mark Cook, Gareth Murphy and James Bannister are on top form.

article by Ian Golden & Simon Green
13 July 2006