Former Archer Called Up For Wales

Former Archer, Ellis Mee, has been called up to the Wales squad ahead of the 2025 Guinness Six Nations Championship.

Mee, who qualifies for the Welsh through his Newport-born mother, made his debut season in professional rugby, at Lady Bay, during the 2023-24 season, performances warranting a move from Championship side Nottingham, to United Rugby Championship outfit, Scarlets.

As a winger/full-back, Mee, who studies Sports Science and Management at Nottingham Trent University, had a successful debut season under the watchful eye of Nottingham rugby management pairing, Craig Hammond (Nottingham) and Dave Ross (NTU).

The season was so successful, on an individual level, that the Nottingham star walked away with three of the end of season awards – Players’ Player, Supporters Player, and the Neil Hannah Player of the Season.

Debuting for Nottingham in the pre-season game versus Ampthill, on 26 August 2023, Mee’s success would earn the move to the Welsh outfit, saying on his departure from Lady Bay, for the Parc y Scarlets Stadium that:

“My experiences at Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham rugby have been great.

“Beginning my journey at NTU, they gave me the opportunity to play university rugby and with the help from the coaching staff and other players, it allowed me to improve as a player.

“The pathway between NTU and Nottingham Rugby is outstanding and it sees a lot of student athletes have to opportunity to train and play at a championship standard.

“Nottingham rugby have supported me throughout the whole year I have been here, from the players being so welcoming to the coaching staff helping me to become a better player.

“I have enjoyed each and every moment of my time at both NTU and Nottingham and extremely proud to have represented both teams.”

The 24-year-old, 6ft 4ins winger will join another six players from Scarlets who’ve been called up to Gatland’s 34-man squad for the annual tournament which begins at the end of this month – Kemsley Mathias (prop), Henry Thomas (tighthead prop), Eddie James (centre), Blair Murray (flyhalf/winger/fullback), Joe Roberts (centre), and Tom Rogers (winger/fullback) the others.

Speaking of his decision to include Mee in his Six Nations squad this year, Gatland told Wales Online:

“He’s pretty exciting. He’s got a good presence about him. He’s quick. He’s good aerially. Even though he’s playing on the wing, he’s played a lot at full-back.

“I think he played 21 out of 22 games there. He’s an option at full-back going forward.

“The back-three has been a concern for us with strength in depth. We’ve got more options there now and it’s good to see someone like Josh Adams back and in contention.”

Wales, who’ll certainly be looking to better their performance last time out – they finished with the wooden spoon last year – claiming the Grand Slam in 2019, and the Triple Crown in 2021, play the following fixtures this time around, including the opener in France

WALES SIX NATIONS FIXTURES 2025

France vs. Wales (Stade de France, Paris) Friday 31 January; KO 20:15

Italy vs. Wales (Stadio Olimpico, Rome) Saturday 8 February; KO 14:15

Wales vs. Ireland (Principality Stadium, Cardiff) Saturday 22 February; KO 14:15

Scotland vs. Wales (Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh) Saturday 8 March; KO 16:45

Wales vs. England (Principality Stadium, Cardiff) Saturday 15 March; KO 16:45

Peter-Mann Former Archer Called Up For Wales

*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).

*Main image @NottinghamRugby Mee formerly in the green and white of Nottingham.

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