JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE Latest news, analysis and much more<\/a><\/p>\n His performances have certainly impressed those who know the position best. During the recent championship, former Wales hooker Scott Baldwin posted on social media: \u201cTom Howe to play for Wales within three years.\u201d<\/p>\n Such predictions can often prove premature, but in Howe’s case they may simply reflect an increasingly widespread belief that Wales have unearthed a player with the potential to make a significant impact on the international stage.<\/p>\n “I was a backrower until I was 14-15,” Howe tells WalesOnline.<\/p>\n “I came into the Cardiff<\/a> U16s South and my school<\/a> teacher told me to convert to hooker. It was a tough transition at the start.<\/p>\n “I was struggling a bit, thinking is this really going to work for me and am I in the right position here but I stuck at it and it seems to be paying off.<\/p>\n “I’ve got this far and who knows maybe I wouldn’t have got this far if I’d stayed at No 8.<\/p>\n “Yes, I’m happy with how the Six Nations went for me personally but could I be better? Yes, of course.<\/p>\n “That’s the main focus. We are putting the Six Nations to one side now because that’s all done and we are just going to focus now on how good we can be going into this tournament.”<\/p>\n Tom Howe scores a try for Wales U20s v Scotland U20s(Image: Gareth Everett\/Huw Evans Agency)<\/p>\n Howe possesses all the core attributes expected of a modern hooker. He is powerful in the scrum, reliable at the lineout and brings a relentless physicality in open play, regularly carrying beyond the gainline and generating front-foot ball for his side.<\/p>\n What sets him apart, however, is a skill set that extends beyond the traditional demands of the position. The Cardiff hooker has previously been described by Llywarch ap Myrddin, director of rugby at Ysgol Glantaf, as a “unique” and “outstanding” talent; a player capable of producing moments and executing skills beyond the reach of most of his peers.<\/p>\n “When I was growing up my dad was a big rugby fan and he’d always tell me to look at certain players,” he tells WalesOnline.<\/p>\n “He’d tell me to look at Jonah Lomu for example, look at Keith Wood.<\/p>\n “Look at Ardie Savea.<\/p>\n “They all play an open style of rugby and they don’t just stick to their position. They’ll play heads up and pure rugby.<\/p>\n “That is something that I’m trying to carry into my game more: just playing that style of rugby.<\/p>\n “Yes, getting the set-piece nailed down and getting the scrum nailed down is vital but also being able to play heads up rugby and being able to throw the ball around.<\/p>\n “When the ball is actually in play we want to be playing at speed and with a shape it is undefendable, that is a key part of rugby.<\/p>\n “I just think that the more I can develop those kind of habits the more it’ll help me get noticed.<\/p>\n “It’ll add layers to my game so I’m not as predictable to other teams and I’m not just a one-trick pony. I can do those extra bits. I think every team needs that kind of player.<\/p>\n “If I can continue to develop that and prove that then hopefully it’ll benefit me in the future.”<\/p>\n Howe is a member of the senior academy at Cardiff Rugby but is still at school where he studies Biology, Psychology and PE at Glantaf.<\/p>\n He has played the majority of his rugby for Cardiff RFC but has trained with the senior squad.<\/p>\n “They’ve been really welcoming and nice to me,” he said.<\/p>\n “They’ve made it easy for me to speak to them. I’ve built good relationships with them.<\/p>\n “There’s a good connection there and I think also being in that environment I’ve picked up some good habits from players.<\/p>\n “I’ve seen players like Liam Belcher because he is very professional in his habits.<\/p>\n “Me being able to have that guidance will be crucial.”<\/p>\n Tom Howe playing for Ysgol Glantaf v Llandovery College in 2023(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)<\/p>\n In recent years, a growing number of Wales’ brightest young prospects have been lured across the Severn Bridge by the resources and opportunities offered by English Premiership clubs and prestigious rugby-playing schools such as Millfield and Clifton College.<\/p>\n Given Howe’s immense potential, it would be more surprising if there were no interest from England. Yet the teenage hooker appears in no rush to leave home.<\/p>\n “For me right now, staying in Cardiff is the best decision,” he said.<\/p>\n “I’ve got my family around me and I’ve got my friends around me.<\/p>\n “I’m still young so there’s enough time for that in the future. I don’t see a reason to leave because I’ll be training with professional players at Cardiff and the set-up is excellent here.<\/p>\n “I can integrate with Cardiff RFC and get that game time. For me it is ideal.”<\/p>\n Howe’s immediate goal is to ensure Wales U20s have a good campaign this summer, having been drawn in the same pool as hosts Georgia and defending champions South Africa.<\/p>\n “Steve Tandy came in to address us as a squad,” revealed Howe.<\/p>\n “He was just telling us there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be competing.<\/p>\n “We have the talent and we have the quality in the room.<\/p>\n “It is about having that mindset now and really turning the screw on teams. We need to believe in ourselves that we can compete.<\/p>\n “We showed glimpses of that in the Six Nations when we were playing against England and France. We were showing we could compete with the best teams and we were leading in those games.<\/p>\n “I think coming from someone like him quite high up it is important for the boys to hear that because it does motivate us a little bit more. Having that close connection with the first team and training with them as well really does motivate us.<\/p>\n “It makes us think we aren’t too far away and we can beat the bigger nations.”<\/p>\n The rest of the rugby world is about to find out why those within Welsh rugby are so excited about Howe.<\/p>\n Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here<\/a> and our WhatsApp channel here<\/a> for all the breaking news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the World Rugby U20 Championship gets under way this weekend, attention will inevitably turn to identifying the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":652340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[10579,8934,5903,101,56,54,55,13685],"class_list":["post-652339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-cardiff-rugby","tag-premium","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wales-under-20"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_-.jpg\")
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