Wales Under-18 Josh Hodson signed by London Welsh

London Welsh have confirmed the signing of Wales Under-18 international ahead of the upcoming season of Greene King IPA Championship.

Hodson, who graduated from Llandovery College has played for Llandovery RFC and Newport Gwent Dragons as well.

Having been included in the Wales Development 7s squad, Hodson was part of the The Welsh Charitables at the GB 7s and at Gemau Cymru following which he was offered a deal with Llandovery RFC.

The 19-year-old toured South Africa during his Under-18 stint with Wales against South Africa U18, South Africa Schools, Italy and South Africa 'A' after which he was part of Drovers' WRU Foster's National 7s winning team.

Even though his association in the Welsh Principality Premiership was hampered by an injury, Hodson is now looking forward to be part of the Greene King IPA Championship for the London Welsh.

Director of rugby at London Welsh Steve Lewis revealed that Hodson was included after the recommendation made by his college coach Lestyn Thomas.

Lewis also was impressed by the talent showcased by Hodson, who was coached by former London Welsh full back Gareth James during his stint in St John's School in Northwood.

"Josh was recommended to us by Iestyn Thomas, his coach at Llandovery College, and if it wasn't for the loss of game time due to his car accident we may well have heard a lot more about him.

"On Iestyn's recommendation, we invited Josh to train with us for the last couple of months of last season. He is big, powerful and quick and we saw enough in him to realise that there was substantial untapped talent.

"We have offered him a development contract and against competition from other Championship sides I am pleased to say that he has decided he likes what he sees at London Welsh and has accepted our offer.”