Cardiff Rugby’s young stars shone brightly as Wales Under-18s recorded a clean sweep at the Six Nations U18 Festival in Vichy. 

The Welsh youngsters kicked off the tournament with a thrilling 32-24 victory over Ireland before edging Georgia 17-10 and Italy 41-39. 

It was an impressive campaign for Richie Pugh’s side and Josh Turnbull, who was part of the backroom staff in France was delighted from both a club and country perspective. 

He said:“To go three from three was really pleasing. We went out there as underdogs and played Ireland, the number one ranked team in the world first up. With the pathway they have, the players they constantly produce and the fact that they had a really big win over England the week before, we knew it would be tough. 

“But Richie Pugh used Rocky to theme the games and the first was a match up with Apollo Creed. Then Georgia was like facing Ivan Drago – they were big, physical and confrontational, something our boys probably haven’t faced before and Italy was a shot of redemption after we lost to them before the Six Nations.

“We knew with dry conditions we could do really well against Italy but the conditions were awful. We built a really good lead but the most disappointing part of the campaign was the last 15 minutes and the way we let them back. That said, the way we then held on was really pleasing and showed the character and growth of the group. 

“They all would have learnt an enormous amount from that experience in terms of match management and closing a game out. 

“All the boys really grew in confidence through the campaign and it was great to see the boys from the different regions and the exiles come together as a group.”

Cardiff had a strong representation in the squad and the likes of Under-18s captain Alfie Prygodzicz, Tom Howe and Rhys Cummings delivering big moments.

Turnbull continued: “From a Cardiff perspective it was a really good campaign and all of our boys did will, while enjoying massive individual growth. 

“Rhys Cummings was a stand out in the backs. He was a bit of an unknown to us and wasn’t in our junior academy but he came into the RAG programme at the start of the year and has really kicked on after a strong campaign with CAVC.

“He’s an attacking fullback, who can play across the backline and has a really good left boot. He started all three games and all the opposition coaches were really complimentary about him. 

“The same about Alife Prygodzicz, who was playing a year early on the forwards. He really stood up was a leader and game driver defensively. He has a great all round game and is a real threat over the ball. He had an excellent tournament and will hopefully kick on next year. 

“But across the board it was really encouraging, Tom Howe had a really big game against Ireland before picking up an injury, Dylan Barratt also produced a big performance against Ireland before carrying a knock through the rest of the tournament. Bailey Cutts was excellent, Gabe Williams, who is the same stature as Teddy but a bit taller did really well and knows what he needs to do to from a physical development point of view to follow in his brother’s footsteps.

“Unfortunately Ben Coomer picked up a nasty injury after impressing against Georgia, but he was out there a year early to give him a taste of camp and he will come back with that experience and can kick on next year with both club and country.

“Finally there was Lloyd Lucas, who has had a really good 12 months and has enjoyed some game time with the Rags. Lloyd did well out there and will continue to put his hand up around the RFC as well as the Wales Under-19s and 20s groups as he continues to work hard.”