South of England fall to strong Wales ‘A’ side in Merthyr

• Home side take advantage of sin-binnings to notch up 56-10 victory
• South of England rally before late Wales ‘A’ tries

 

The South of England Men’s team finished their 2026 representative program with a 56-10 loss to a very strong Wales ‘A’ side at sun-soaked Merthyr RFC on Saturday.

Coming up against a home side packed with players from Super League academies, Championship squads and Wales own national performance pathway, the South of England battled creditably and posed serious questions for their hosts for spells of the game.

Six of the tries scored by Wales ‘A’ came in two ten-minute spells – one either side of half time, the other in the closing stages of the game – were when South of England were reduced to 12 men due to sin-binnings for holding down at the play the ball.

Ultimately, South of England’s players, drawn from 13 different community clubs across the four southern regions of East, West, London and the Midlands, were unable to overcome the difference in conditioning and higher-level experience. Following their famous win over Scotland Bravehearts a fortnight ago, it showed the standards the team needs to reach in order to improve in 2027 and beyond.

Following rousing renditions of the two national anthems in front of a large crowd in the Valleys, the two teams exchanged sets of six before Wales began to build pressure. They opened the scoring after three minutes when Newcastle Thunder second-rower George Birch collected a beautifully weighted pass, slicing through the South of England defence to touch down beneath the posts. Wales Students international Mason Phillips added the extras.

South of England composed themselves and after forcing a goal-line drop-out from the home side, hit back on 12 minutes. Following good forward momentum from Bedford Tigers prop forward Max Nissinen-Li, the ball was worked wide left to Brixton Bulls centre Ben Telfer. He forced his way over to cheers from the South of England bench, though Elmbridge Eagles half-back Luke Drummond was unable to add the extras.

As the first half wore on, Wales ‘A began to wrest control of the contest. After forcing a goal-line drop-out, Wales ‘A’ repeated the play that earned them the game’s opening score, with Mason Phillips collecting a beautifully weighted pass on a diagonal before touching down for an unconverted try.

Two converted tries around the half-hour mark – the first from Leigh Leopards hooker and player of the match Fin Walker, the second from Hull FC’s Wil Mathers – stretched the home side’s lead, before Coventry Bears second-rower Harry Kaufman was adjudged to have interfered with the play-the-ball and sent to the sin-bin.

In the period either side of half time when Kaufman was off the field, Wales ‘A’ added three more tries – one converted by Mason Phillips – with Jacob Purcell (London Broncos), Evan Williams (Hull KR) and winger Issac Wheatley (North Wales Crusaders) all crossing the whitewash. When George Birch grabbed his second of the afternoon on 52 minutes – Kavan Phillips missing the tricky conversion attempt – Wales ‘A’ moved 40-4 up.

South of England did not give up and instead enjoyed their most impressive and productive spell of the contest. On 57 minutes, hard-working prop forward Max Nissinen-Li was hauled down centimetres from the line following a strong set-of-six from the visitors.

Forcing errors from their hosts through strong, disciplined and committed defence, South of England earned consecutive sets of six. In the second of these, London Chargers Will Armour made an eye- catching break that ended with him being tackled 35 metres away from the Wales ‘A’ line on the right channel. The ball was then worked left to fellow second-rower Harry Kaufman, who surged through the line and dived over for a score converted by Luke Drummond.

It seemed like South of England would finish the game the stronger of the two sides, with opportunities to reduce the arrears. With nine minutes to go, the referee once more reached for a yellow card after deciding that Telford Raiders Dylan Stone was holding down at the play the ball.

Wales ‘A’ made the most of their numerical advantage in the closing stages, grabbing three more tries, two converted by Mason Phillips. He scored twice in two minutes to notch up a deserved hat-trick, before Issac Wheatley grabbed his second of the afternoon by touching down a long grubber kick with the final play of the game.

South of England Head Coach Jamie Jones said: “We knew before kick-off how challenging the Wales ‘A’ game was going to be – we knew our conditioning and game IQ were going to be tested and for large parts of the game we were there. Full credit to Wales – they punished every mistake with points, which is a sign of a good side.

“I am proud of our efforts and am thankful to Wales, and the great Clive Griffiths in particular, for giving us the opportunity to test ourselves. Looking back on the journey we have been on over the last couple of months, I am proud that the South of England  produced a pathway system where 27 players represented their regions and the wider southern region with distinction.

“The programme and opposition reflect where we are as a region – a little behind the curve, but that’s OK because I have seen steady improvement in the five weeks we have been together. With this solid foundation we can really build future programmes that will close the gap between us and the established national teams of Wales, Scotland and Ireland. We very much look forward to kicking on next year.”

 

MATCH FACTS

WALES ‘A’ 56

T: George Birch 2 (3 mins, 52 mins), Mason Philips 3 (20, 72, 75), Fin Walker (29), Wil Mathers (32), Jacob Purcell (40), Evan Williams (44), Issac Wheatley 2 (47, 79)

G: Mason Philips 6 (from 7)

 

SOUTH OF ENGLAND 10

T: Ben Telfer (14), Harry Kaufman (64)

G: Luke Drummond 1 (from 2)

Sin-Bin: Harry Kaufman (37 – interference at the play the ball), Dylan Stone (71 – interference at the play the ball)

 

Player of the Match: Fin Walker (Wales ‘A’ – Hooker)

Match Officials: Kristoff Young, Malcolm Holmes, Ieuan Griffiths

 

WALES ‘A’

1. Ioan Herbert (London Broncos)

2. Issac Wheatley (North Wales Crusaders)

3. Mason Phillips (Wales RL Students/South Wales Jets)

4. Jake Nottingham (Lithgow Workies)

5. Jermaine Chatham (London Broncos/All Golds)

6. Llewellyn Hawkes (Wales RL Students/Bridgend Blue Bulls)

7. Henry Parker (Leigh Leopards)

8. Ashton Robinson (North Wales Crusaders)

9. Fin Walker (Leigh Leopards)

10. Matt Ross (London Broncos)

11. George Birch (Newcastle Thunder)

12. Josh Harding (Hull FC)

13. Wil Mathers (Hull FC)

 

Interchange

14. Evan Williams (Hull KR)

15. Kavan Phillips (Wales RL Students/South Wales Jets)

16. Alex Green (Wales RL Students/Bridgend Blue Bulls)

20. Jacob Purcelll (London Broncos)

 

SOUTH OF ENGLAND

1. Jimmy Lambert (Coventry Bears)

2. David Bofenda (North Herts Crusaders)

3. Ben Telfer (Brixton Bulls)

4. Leon Atheron (All Golds)

5. Callum Dockerill (Bedford Tigers)

6. Alex Deery (North Herts Crusaders)

7. Luke Drummond (Elmbridge Eagles)

8. Dom Stock (Wests Warriors)

9. Doug Chirnside (captain, London Chargers)

10. Max Nissinen-Li (Bedford Tigers)

11. Finlay Holt (Sherwood Wolfhunt)

12. Adam Dady (Medway Dragons)

13. Coryn Ward (Nottingham Outlaws)

 

Interchange

15. Dylan Stone (Telford Raiders)

16. Jake Cummins (Elmbridge Eagles)

17. Will Armour (London Chargers)

18. Harry Kaufman (Coventry Bears)

19. Leon Bird (Hammersmith Hill Hoists)

20. Ben Foskett (Telford Raiders)