There are a number of talented youngsters in England who should interest Steve Tandy
Around 50 Welsh-qualified players are currently plying their trade in the Gallagher Premiership, with many more featuring in England’s second-tier Championship.
The likes of Louis Rees-Zammit, Dafydd Jenkins, Archie Griffin, Rhys Carré, Chris Tshiunza and Louie Hennessey are already familiar names to Welsh rugby supporters.
Yet beyond that established group lies a rich seam of emerging Welsh-qualified talent many of whom are surely part of Wales head coach Steve Tandy’s long-term succession planning.
Ioan Emanuel
The 21-year-old loosehead featured prominently for Wales U20s last season and is viewed as an international rugby player in the making.
Emanuel is currently contracted to Bath but spent the season on loan at Cardiff and was outstanding in Super Rygbi Cymru.
He has since returned to Bath but will have to bide his time with the likes of Beno Obano ahead of him in the pecking order.
Emanuel is a strong scrummager but his point of difference is his explosiveness around the park with his carrying and distribution standing out.
Wales have three experienced looseheads in Rhys Carré, Nicky Smith and Gareth Thomas with the uncapped Rhys Barratt selected in Tandy’s extended summer squad.
Expect Emanuel to come into the frame post-Rugby World Cup 2027.
Aidan Boshoff
One senior Welsh rugby figure told this writer that if Aidan Boshoff were based in Wales he’d already be first choice at one of the Welsh regions and in contention for a senior Wales call-up.
The 20-year-old former Wales U20s wing has made six appearances for Bristol Bears in the Gallagher Prem this season and a further two in the Investec Champions Cup.
He is highly rated by Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam.
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Boshoff is a very direct wing with a physical edge who is strong under the high ball and is a decent finisher.
Wales have options on the wing with the likes of Rees-Zammit, Blair Murray, Tom Rogers, Gabriel Hamer-Webb and Josh Adams, among others, but Boshoff will almost certainly come into the frame at the beginning of the next World Cup cycle.
Sam Scott
The former Wales U20s tighthead is currently being mentored by England and Lions prop Ellis Genge at Bristol Bears.
Scott was outstanding during his time with the U20s and was rated so highly that Warren Gatland seriously considered taking him on the 2024 senior tour of Australia but in the end he was deemed a bit too young at the time.
The cupboard at tighthead prop is extremely empty in Welsh rugby and it is by far the weakest area, especially if you take 34-year-old Tomas Francis and Bath’s Archie Griffin out of it, as is the case this summer.
Wales need to find answers and Scott is undoubtedly the Welsh tighthead with the highest ceiling.
But he is not getting any first-team action at Bristol and has played much of his rugby for Dings in National One, although Cardiff and another Welsh club have shown an interest in signing the 20-year-old on loan.
If he signed for a Welsh club he’d make at least 10 first-team appearances and could even be fast-tracked into the Wales squad before the next World Cup.
Jonny Green
The 22-year-old Harlequins lock is a former Wales U20s international.
Standing 6ft 7in and weighing 18st 3lb, Green has the size and presence to make an impact at the highest level. Harlequins are managing his development carefully, easing him into first-team rugby.
WalesOnline understands Tandy considered selecting Green in his extended squad this summer but in the end he narrowly missed out.
Green hails from Haywards Heath in west Sussex but qualifies for Wales courtesy of his mother’s family, who all hail from west Wales.
Second-row is an area Wales need to build some extra depth in.
Dafydd Jenkins is now a serious international player, while Ben Carter stepped up impressively during the Six Nations.
The experienced Adam Beard, Gloucester’s Freddie Thomas and Cardiff’s Teddy Williams are also decent options but if a few of them get injured they are looking a bit thin on the ground.
A tighthead lock like Green is welcome and he is likely to win his first cap over the next couple of years.
Deian Gwynne
The 20-year-old backrower was Wales U20s co-captain during the Six Nations and has broken into Gloucester’s first team.
Gwynne is a serious prospect; his relentless work rate, physicality, carrying game along with his strengths at the breakdown and the lineout mark him out as a fine player.
The backrow is not an area of weakness for Wales but even so there are those within the upper echelons of the WRU who are adamant Gwynne will be a serious contender for a place in the senior World Cup squad in 2027.
This is a guy who will almost certainly win many caps for Wales and fans should expect to see him go from strength to strength over the next couple of years.
Luke Evans
The 6ft 8in second-row was outstanding for Wales U20s during the U20s Six Nations.
Evans is currently a member of the senior academy at Exeter Chiefs and while he hasn’t broken into the first team yet he is expected to do so in the near future.
The 19-year-old is exactly the type of physical specimen in short supply in Welsh rugby and is the enforcer of the Wales U20s pack.
Evans is also a very good lineout forward who has a nice blend of athleticism and raw physicality.
Realistically Evans is a player who won’t be considered for Wales until the next World Cup cycle at the earliest but should be part of Tandy’s succession planning.
Will Moore
The teenage centre is the son of former Wales lock Andy Moore and is currently on the books of Bristol Bears.
Moore is considered one of the best prospects in the English game and was recently in the England U18s squad but remains Welsh-qualified.
The South Gower RFC product is a powerful, elusive centre who combines footwork with the ability to consistently get over the gain-line; attributes that have already marked him out within the Bristol Bears system.
In an interview with WalesOnline in April Moore revealed he had met with Tandy although he has not committed to either England or Wales yet.
But it does suggest Tandy would like Moore to be part of his long-term plans with Wales.
Noah Williams
The powerful No 8 is another product of South Gower RFC and is also part of the Bristol Bears academy.
Williams is highly rated within the high performance department of the WRU and has represented Wales U18s.
Aaron Wainwright is Wales’ first-choice No 8, while former England U20s star Kane James is the coming man.
But in the long-run Williams is a player who many within the game have high hopes for and explosive No 8s who regularly make post-contact metres don’t grow on trees.
Math Jones
The former Wales U19s outside-half is leaving Harlequins but is too good of a player not to get snapped up by another club.
Jones is a talented playmaker with a terrific passing game and the peripheral vision to get the best out of his outside backs.
His game management is also good while his kicking is excellent, and he has previously been compared to England star Fin Smith.
In the future, he should be pushing Sam Costelow and Dan Edwards alongside Scarlets playmaker Carwyn Leggatt-Jones.
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