WALES Under 16s won the Quadrangular Matches against Ireland, Scotland and The Netherlands, for the first time in eight years, thanks largely to a stellar performance by the girls.

The mixed team of six boys and four girls won all their matches at Cardigan Golf Club, with the female quartet of Alicia Kelly, Morgan Bollan, Ffion Richardson and Rebecca Del Sol Gonzalez winning 22 out of a possible 24 points.

Bollan and Del Sol Gonzalez each won all six of their matches, while Richardson and Kelly won five out of six, with a final day victory over Ireland seeing off their nearest challengers and completing the clean sweep.

Every player on the team contributed at least one point, Ryan Miller also won five out of his six matches, with Gethin Lewis and Dan Rowley rallying strongly against Ireland to claim the winning points.

James Palfrey, Oliver Hulbert and Thomas MacLean also enjoyed successful weeks as the hard work of the Wales squads over winter training earned an early reward.

Gareth James was the Team Coach, Jordan Ryan was Girls Captain and Coach, with Rhys Mooney as the Boys Captain and Mindset Coach.

The performance also boosted the hopes of all four Wales girls of gaining Junior Vagliano recognition this summer, in the GB&I team to take on the Continent of Europe.

“They were fantastic, it was a great week to be fair,” said Girls Captain, Ryan. “Every single player contributed at least a point, which doesn’t always happen in these team events with young players.

“All the girls have played in three or four of these and it was the last year for Alicia, Ffion and Rebecca, so it was nice for them to go out with a win.

“We said at the start that we had the team to do well if they all performed as they can, and we could not have asked for any more. Considering how young they are, they are very professional in their approach.

“For the girls, there were only two points they did not win, and those two matches could have gone either way as well, so it is a great start to the season.

“They worked really hard through the winter in the squad programmes and training weekends, and those performances should help their hopes for this summer, such as the Junior Vagliano.

“Alicia played in that team last year, and there is no reason the other three would not be in with a shout as well if they carry on playing as they did against their Scotland and Ireland competitors.”

Wales beat Ireland 10-5 in the deciding match, with both having already been victorious against Scotland and The Netherlands. Wales beat the Netherlands 10.5-4.5, and came out on top over Scotland 9-6.

Boys captain Mooney added, “It was a fantastic win, we knew how strong the team was – especially with the experience of the girls – and there was no complacency.

“The preparation was fantastic under Gareth, and it was great to see the way we finished matches strongly.

“We knew Ireland were strong, but we won the morning foursomes 3-2, then after nine holes of the singles six of the matches were all square and it looked a little ropey.

“Gethin and Dan were both down with two or three holes to play, but both turned it round to claim a point each and get us over the line. It was nice to see the response in the face of adversity when the pressure was on.

“Then the girls came in strongly to finish it off. For Rebecca and Morgan to go six wins out of six takes some doing at any level of international golf.

“The work everyone has been doing through the winter is very pleasing, the coaching team is so aligned and the messages to the players are consistent.

“The last time Wales won the Quad was eight years ago and hopefully now these players are ready to do well through the rest of this summer, I am looking forward to seeing what this group can achieve this season.”

Next up for Team Wales will be a jam packed summer season of domestic events, leading up to the Europeans and Home Internationals in July and August respectively. The U16 Squad will also be vying for European Young Masters Selection in June.