Posted by There’s some players who fly through the Cardiff Rugby development pathway with a lot of fanfare, they are talked about from U16 right the way through to academy contracts, national age grade representation, the Rags and then hopefully into the first team.
However, some slide under the radar. They go about their business away from the spotlight but quietly check all the boxes until experiencing their breakout moment and taking those of us outside the bubble of the pathway by surprise.
Matty Young definitely falls into the latter of those categories for me.
His time with the U16s coincided with the covid pandemic, before his two years at U18 level saw him battle with Jac Davies, now at Scarlets, in his first season, and then Scott Delnevo, now at Aberavon and capped by Wales U20 this year, as well as academy colleagues Tom Bowen and Kodie Stone in his second season.
I’ve seen reference to him being a Wales U18 international but can’t obviously find when that happened, and in his year with Wales U20 he had to wait for illness to strike down Huw Anderson of the Dragons before getting his chance. Since that moment last summer at the World Rugby U20 Championship though, he hasn’t looked back.
Young is a tall and rangy full-back. To my eyes he’s somewhere just over six foot tall with a wiry build. Basics-wise he’s good under the high ball, quick and with good hands. What we’ve seen from him since coming in and starting the final two pool games and both knockout games in South Africa last summer is his confidence grow-and-grow.
The 20-year-old, who missed out on playing for Wales U20 again this season by just 11 days, has taken that experience and focused it fully on the Rags, making 13 appearances in all competitions and scoring nine tries, as well as popping up with two conversions.
While Young might be wiry build-wise, what he has shown in Super Rygbi Cymru this season is the ability to make line breaks from very little. His 56 defenders beaten in the league is third overall in the competition.
That comes from his pace and some excellent footwork, but also good upper body strength, getting those long levers out and demonstrating a particularly vicious fend off both hands which can free him on an outside shoulder to either cut free of the defence or go over for a try.
Possessing that height and having a physical edge is something that should stand him in good stead across the game in Wales currently where full-backs like the aforementioned Anderson, and the present battle for the 15 jersey in the national team of Cam Winnett v Blair Murray, are on the smaller end of the size scale.
On top of that high ball and line breaking ability, Young has a vision and feel for the attacking game that has resulted in him getting a number of try assists this season. It’s not a stat that I can see recorded anywhere in the SRC, but I’ve got clips of five saved and there’s almost certainly one or two more I’ve missed.
The timing on when to hit the line, particularly on the shoulder of Mackenzie Martin for the offload in the second clip, is sublime and then the cool head to draw the final man and deliver the pass has certainly benefitted the lethal Dewi Cross over the course of the campaign, always on hand to score like the poacher he is.
Young is clearly a talented player. Having watched him a number of times for the Rags this season there’s no concerns with his defence, but it should be acknowledged that, in a team that has topped the league, it’s not an area of his game that has been tested in the way it would be in the first XV. However, the time is rapidly approaching where he will need those United Rugby Championship minutes to take the next step.
How he gets those remains to be seen. Winnett hardly missed a minute for Cardiff last year, while Jacob Beetham remains on the hunt for more senior level exposure. It could that Beetham is switched into different positions opening up a gap as Winnett’s understudy, or perhaps Young could slot in on the right wing in the absence of Gabriel Hamer-Webb.
He has the attributes for that, albeit has never played the position that I can see. Ultimately though it’s another talented back three player coming through the pathway at the Arms Park, and supporters should be excited about the potential of Matty Young.
Cardiff Rugby Life 