Prop Stars

Last week I summarised Cymru D20’s 2024 campaign as one that did not have the results – just two wins from 10 games – but had plenty to be optimistic about from a stylistic and individual point of view.

One particular area of positivity was the tight five. It wasn’t the most dominant or physical tight five in the competition, but that’s not where Cymru are anymore. Yet it did give hope that there is better depth in these key positions on the way if they can be nurtured and developed over the next two-to-five years. God only knows how much that is needed.

In this piece I want to focus particularly on the props, with looseheads Josh Morse, Jordan Morris and Ioan Emanuel, and tightheads Sam Scott and Kian Hire all standing out in their respective ways as players who are more than able to step up to the next level. It’s the first time I’ve ever said that of an entire Cymru D20 prop corps.

Scrummaging-wise it was an encouraging summer for Cymru D20. It wasn’t dominant but, considering the strength of opponents in the form of New Zealand, France, Australia and South Africa, it was a competitive showing, which certainly has not always been the case.

The opening game of the World Rugby U20 Championship saw Richard Whiffin’s side take on the Baby Blacks, and while there was some adjustments needed to the set piece, Josh Morse and Sam Scott were able to learn and adapt, resulting in that first clip really putting their opposite numbers under pressure.

By the time Jordan Morris and Kian Hire entered the fray they were able to provide really good ball for the backs to use and Louie Hennessey was duly able to slice through and go over for a try. Fast forward to later in the competition and Ioan Emanuel, teaming up with Hire, was driving the Wallabies backwards at a rate of knots.

Sticking with Emanuel to start the individual looks, the 19-year-old was making his Cymru D20 debut this summer and took to the level like a duck to water.

Sitting behind the experienced loosehead duo of Morse and Morris, Emanuel did see his playing time slightly restricted in South Africa, but still showed more than enough to justify some of the hype that has been around him for a few years.

After coming through the Llantwit Fardre junior section, a part of the world producing an extraordinary amount of talent currently including one other player in this piece, he played up the ages at Cardiff before heading to Millfield for sixth form and joining Bath’s Academy system.

He seems to be the full package as a loosehead prop as a good scrummager, physical in the tight and with a eye-catching skillset in the loose, and as someone who is eligible to return next season for Cymru D20 I think we can expect to see him in that number one jersey more regularly in 2025, as long as he stays fit.

However, the main focus from that side of the scrum is on Morse and Morris, starting with the former who was largely preferred as the starter this summer, likely courtesy of the nuts and bolts of his game. A seriously solid scrummaging technique, and a real physical presence outside of that.

If you look at the biography of Morse you might be mistaken that he’s the second coming of Wyn Jones. Hailing from a farming family around Llandovery he is part of the Scarlets Academy, progressed through Coleg Sir Gar’s rugby programme, has played for Ammanford and Llandeilo, and this season turned out for the Drovers in the Premiership.

The similarities do seem to extend to the pitch too where there’s nothing particularly flashy about the 19-year-old, but the fundamentals and physicality is there in abundance. The best scrummaging prop in the squad, happy to do his bit at the maul, and abrasive on both sides of the ball in open play. Of the five props covered here he’s the most pro-ready, to my eyes.

In many stylistic ways then, Jordan Morris is almost the opposite of Morse. An unexpectedly quick, seriously explosive player who, especially when released off the bench, has the ability to change a game single-handedly.

Watching Morris play you’d almost be forgiven for thinking he’s a blindside flanker if there were no jersey numbers. He gets through a huge amount of work on both sides of the ball – tackling, jackaling and carrying – and it is the carrying in particular where he has that something special.

Perhaps not surprising from someone involved in the Cardiff Met BUCS Super Rugby programme that has also spawned the likes of powerful carriers Alex Dombrandt, Tom Pearson and Max Llewellyn, the Dragons Academy man has the speed, leg drive and carry height to cause opposition teams problems, as well as the handling skills to get an offload away when it’s on.

Complementing Emanuel, Morse and Morris then is the tightheads, starting with Kian Hire. The Ospreys man is a relatively recent switch from loosehead to the tight, as documented by BBC Wales in their Ruck Stars documentary, but the progress is noticeable at the scrums above, and his game around the park continues to come on.

Tightheads, perhaps more than looseheads, are scrummagers first, and Hire has plenty of potential at the set piece, but he contributes in open play too. A solid physical presence his workrate gets him involved with repeated efforts, and particularly shows up at defensive breakdowns where his size and technique make him very difficult to shift once he’s over the ball.

As we’ve seen over the last decade there’s few better places to develop as a set piece forward than the Ospreys, and Hire will gain plenty from Duncan Jones as a coach and Tom Botha as senior player. If he can continue his all-round skillset development alongside that then there may well be a much needed extra tighthead added to the national team player pool in years to come.

Last, but by no means least, Sam Scott is arguably the player to be most excited about in this group. Still at college last season and playing domestic U18 rugby, his caps for Cymru D20 are his only experience playing 80 minute rugby but he has not looked out of place as his performances have seen plenty of clubs enquire about his plans for 24/25 and beyond.

Stepping up and scrummaging at this next level has not been an issue for Scott, and then it is his rugby IQ that has led to him catching the eye. His ability to read the game, pounce on loose possession, link play from scrum-half or first receiver, and then show off a physical edge through contact, have all been beyond the years of the 18-year-old.

Like Emanuel he hails from the Llantwit Fardre junior set up and will also be eligible to play for Cymru D20 again next season, and having signed for Bristol’s Senior Academy hopefully his game will continue to improve and he may well be one of the top rated D20 tightheads around during 2025.

On the whole it’s an exciting mix of styles and traits among a propping group that have very high individual and group ceilings. Of course, predicting the development of any players in that 18-23 age window is difficult, and that is especially true of front row forwards, but all are well placed in terms of their current ability and current situations to kick on post-Cymru D20.

With the stocks of props available to Warren Gatland currently lacking both depth and general quality, an issue not restricted to Cymru incidentally, bringing through a golden generation of front rowers would be a game changer for Welsh rugby.

It’s far too early to call these five young men a golden generation, but they’ve got the best chance to progress as a group that I have seen coming through the national age grade sides.