MUSIC MAD KEELAN’S IN THE MIX FOR GLORY
Aspiring DJ hopes to hit high note at World U20 champs
WALES wonderkid Keelan Giles struck all the right notes during the Wales Under-20s Grand Slam success. And the 18-year-old aspiring DJ is hoping he can turn heads rather than record decks when he lines up at the Junior World Championships in Manchester this week.
Giles was one of the headline acts in the Six Nations clean sweep with three tries and two in the rout against England. But he also has interests off the field with the aspiring DJ on his Twitter handle.
“I like my music, it’s my passion away from rugby and hopefully I’ll get into that soon,” he said. “I like a bit of everything. “There’s no specific type of music I like the most.
“It’s a sort of mix, listening to separate songs and putting little ones into one big song.
“In the next two years after I finish my college work, I think I’ll try to do a course as a DJ.
“But I won’t be going to Ibiza after this tournament.
“I just want to focus on the team doing well and then have a bit of downtime.
“I’ll hopefully go away with some friends, enjoy my time off and then return and get back into the rugby.”
But before all that, there is the little matter of facing the world’s best young players and trying to at least emulate the class of 2016 by reaching the final.
Wales face Ireland (June 7), Georgia (June 11) and New Zealand (June 15) in their group games, with the knockout matches being held on June 20 and 25.
“It’s the biggest competition we can play in against players of our age, so it’s really something to look forward to,” said Giles.
“Everyone will be striving to win it and I don’t see why we should be any different.
“Our coach Jason Strange has emphasised how we want to play and it is expansively.
“This is good for me as a winger because it means I should get the ball quite a lot. “It’s a fun way to play, too.” On the order of matches, Giles added: “Ireland were good when we played them in the Six Nations and it meant a lot to beat them.
“It will be a good game first up in the World Cup. Georgia will be just as tough and they won the World Rugby Under20s Trophy last year and have since come up to the championship.
“They have big, strong forwards and will give us a test.
“Those matches should be good stepping stones towards New Zealand in our last pool game. You look at New Zealand’s senior team as well, their skill set is brilliant.
“But we have a good side here, so I don’t think we’ll fear anyone.”
Giles is regarded as the quickest in the squad and had a 40m time of 4.71secs. He is also not the biggest, standing at 5ft 8 and under 12 stone. Wales have been searching for a new Shane Williams ever since the little maestro departed the international scene in 2011.
In the modern Test game dominated by brawn, power and collisions, Welsh fans have been yearning for that little bit of X-factor to open opposition defences like only super Shane could.
Any young rising star who is on the smaller side, has pace to burn and a sizzling step has been labelled with the tag as the new Shane. Players like Harry Robinson, Jordan Williams and Eli Walker.
Robinson has been forced to retire aged just 23 with a neck injury, Williams has left the Scarlets for Bristol and while
Walker is a member of Warren Gatland’s senior squad in New Zealand, the Ospreys flier has yet to impose himself on the international stage.
Now the next candidate has emerged with teenage sensation Giles starring during the Wales Under-20s Grand Slam success.
The jet-propelled Ospreys wing has all the attributes to become one of the stars of the senior ranks.
Having only turned 18 in January, Giles has also proved he is a lethal finisher and it seems a matter of time before he breaks into the Ospreys first team where Williams once wore the No.11 jersey.
“When I was growing up Shane was my role model,” revealed Giles.
“He wasn’t the biggest player, I’m not the biggest player.
“So in that sense I suppose you could say there are similarities. “Shane went on and did it all. “But I’m not getting ahead of myself and I’m just going to try to do as well as I can.
“I’m not sure how long it will take to become an Osprey.
“My goal is to play as well as I can at the Junior World Championships and see where that takes me.
“I was only 17 when I started with Swansea.
“It was a step-up in that I was playing against senior players but I really enjoyed it.
“They’re a great club down there, on and off the pitch, and it was good to score a few tries for them.“
Giles is another player off the Gorseinon conveyor, following in the footsteps of the likes of Walker and Wales star duo Leigh Halfpenny and Dan Biggar.
“I live in one street and Eli Walker lives in the next one, so I’ve grown up knowing him,” admitted Giles.
“When I go training with the Ospreys he helps me a lot.”