1 week Ago By [email protected] (Ben James)
Wales openside Tommy Reffell is embracing the competition heating up in the Welsh back-row ahead of the upcoming autumn campaign. The Leicester Tigers flanker will likely be named in Wales' squad later today for the autumn internationals, with last year's World Cup captain Morgan also back after missing both the Six Nations and summer tour through injury. The pair haven't played together since Wales' World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina in Marseille last year, when the two of them packed down in the same back-row after an injury to Taulupe Faletau.
Morgan had been initially named in Wales' summer squad, only to later pull out injured. As well as Morgan, Taine Basham is in fine form, pushing for a squad recall, while Dan Thomas has been impressive for Cardiff . “The competition in the seven jersey is obviously really high at the moment and it’s only going to push us all to play better and train better," said Reffell.
“There are great back rowers all across Wales and I guess all of us would like to play. Look, competition is great. Let’s be honest, the more competition we can have in Wales the better for the national team.
” SIGN UP: Get the new exclusive Inside Welsh rugby newsletter for full insight into what's really going on behind the scenes. When asked why Wales has a habit of producing such fine talent on the openside, he said: “I don’t know whether it comes from an age thing where you are thrown in there when you are younger. “Also maybe we are not the tallest of people, so that’s probably why you see a lot of 10s and 7s around!” 2024 has been a tricky year for Wales, having lost all eight Test matches so far in the calendar year.
An uncapped match against Queensland Reds in Brisbane has been their only victory in 2024. With matches against Fiji, Australia and South Africa to come next month, the pressure is on for Wales to turn their fortunes around. But Reffell, who adds he's learned a lot from the past 12 months, is ready to put in the work to help Wales get that elusive win.
“There is a lot of experience out there that can come back into the squad and keep us building to get the win,” said Reffell. “I really enjoy going into camp. There’s a good group of boys who are all willing to train as hard as possible to get the results the Welsh supporters deserve.
“It was a long year, but a good year. I enjoyed it. There were ups and downs, but that’s all part of playing rugby.
“Being another year down the line as an international player is obviously going to be a massive help for me, in terms of experience. People say is there a difference between Test rugby and club rugby and I’d say, yes, it’s probably more physical. “So a lot of what you do to prepare yourself is around your gym work.
It’s all about trying to tick boxes to get myself better. I am always learning. It feels like I’ve been in a lesson a long time and I have learned a lot already, but I still feel like I can improve my game even more, especially the attacking side of things.
I am always looking to get better.” Join the Wales Rugby WhatsApp community The Wales Rugby breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community has launched - and thousands of fans have already joined. You can expect the day's top stories and major updates sent directly to your WhatsApp from our team - allowing you to stay up to date with all the latest Welsh rugby news for free.
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