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Elite Welsh outfit announced as seventh side to take part in World Schools Festival
By Will Stace
Cardiff and Vale College (CAVC) are the latest elite side to be announced as a part of the World Schools Festival in Thailand from December 11-18.
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Despite only setting their rugby programme up in 2016 as a partnership and development programme with Cardiff Rugby, CAVC have vast experience in the world of the highly-competitive Welsh schoolboy scene.
A notable 28 alumni have put on the Three Feathers to represent the Welsh U18s or the Welsh Senior 7s and over 100 have represented Cardiff Rugby in on an academy or professional level, including Welsh cap Ben Thomas. The facilities on offer are second-to-none, with the chance to play on the iconic Cardiff Arms Park just a regular occurrence for the boys in Blue and Black. Head Coach Martyn Fowler has a wealth of knowledge and experience, from coaching in the Principality Premiership to BUCS Super Rugby League and Cardiff RFC.
The squad from South Wales will fly to Thailand off the back of being winners of the Welsh Schools and Colleges Cup in December 2021. They emerged victorious in their final at the Principality Stadium in a tight affair, taking the spoils against a battle-hardened Llandovery College team. A number of these players now are in their final year at CAVC, and will get the opportunity to show what they can do on an even bigger stage at the World Schools Festival.
This season it has been more of the same, as CAVC have built a formidable reputation, and the hope is that they dish out a few metaphorical bloody noses to their esteemed opponents.
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They face familiar foes in the form of Millfield, Sedbergh and Trinity, and from St Michael’s from Dublin. From further afield, they will face Springbok production-line Grey College and Hamilton Boys’ High School, New Zealand.
With just one more Cup team to be announced, the task of winning the festival became that much harder, with the introduction of Cardiff and Vale College.
