His dad featured at fly-half for Wales, but Iwan Stephens looks to be taking a different road after being named in the England under-20s elite player squad for 2022.
Colin Stephens wore the Wales jersey four times in the early 1990s and also played with distinction for Llanelli. His time on the Test stage may have been brief, but Neil Jenkins said of him: "He had more pure talent than some of the great outside-halves in international history."
For Llanelli, Stephens senior also excelled, never more so than against then world champions Australia in 1992, when the west Walians scored a famous 13-9 win and their No. 10 that day walked off with the man-of-the-match award after crowning an imperious display with two drop-goals.
Dual-qualified Iwan, 19, has talent to spare himself but didn’t want to get ahead of himself by revealing where his international allegiance lay when WalesOnline spoke with him last spring.
But his inclusion in an England line-up for the next year offers a clear indication of his direction of travel.
The Leeds-born back-three man, who can play wing or full-back, is in Alan Dickens’ 32-man group after switching from rugby league and scoring tries in his first two games for Newcastle Falcons.
He may play in a different position from his dad but his running style — head back, chest out, legs pumping like pistons — could not be more similar and will be familiar to all who followed Welsh rugby in the early 1990s.
He could have ended up playing in Wales after exiting the 13-man code.
But despite a couple of regions showing an interest they were slow to follow it up. Gallagher Premiership outfit Newcastle, by contrast, had already done their research and wanted him immediately.
Doubtless, the Kingston Park club viewed footage of the length-of-the-field try Stephens scored for Leeds Rhinos U19s before coming to their decision to hand him a two-year contract.
The youngster had already featured for England Academy team at rugby league, helping them to a 62-0 win over Wales U19 in 2019.
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