Wales and Ireland have named their sides for today’s World Rugby U20 Championship 5th place semi final at the Stadio Luigi Zaffanella in Viadana at 19.30 this evening.
Ireland finished second behind New Zealand in Group C but missed out on a semi final spot after England, who finished second above Wales in Group A, just pipped them to the best second place spot deciding the fourth main semi finalist.
Both sides make changes to their teams from the final group games, with Wales bringing in Harrison Keddie and Liam Belcher, while Ireland bring in Ciaran Gaffney, Stephen Fitzgerald, Jacob Stockdale, Conor Oliver, and Charlie Rock.
Rock replaces captain Nick McCarthy for Ireland, who is injured, with Josh Murphy taking over the captaincy. Ireland’s pain in losing a leader is matched by Wales though, they have lost captain Rory Thorton to injury too, with Ollie Griffiths taking over the captaincy.
Speaking ahead of the game, Welsh Coach co-ordinatory, Allan Lewis, said:
“Spirits are high after a very good win against Japan and it’s important the good work that’s gone on in training translates to the game. Ireland certainly offer a greater physical presence than Japan, especially defensively.â€
“Ireland have done themselves justice so far in this tournament. They showed a great deal of commitment against New Zealand on Wednesday in a very physical encounter.”
“The Japan game, and the second half against England showed what we can do with the ball in hand. We have also showed progress when it comes to the balance between kicking, passing and running with the ball. However, we have to ensure we don’t make the same mistakes as against France and England where we had such slow starts, conceding easy penalties and points.”
“That would be an achievement after losing our first two games. However, we can’t afford to look further than Ireland. We must look after our performance and if we do, the result will take care of itself.”
The winner will play either Argentina or Scotland in the 5th place final.
Wales U20 v Ireland U20 – World Rugby U20 Championship 5th place semi final – Stadio Luigi Zaffanella, Viadana, 19.30 (Live on BT Sport)
Teams
Ireland U20 XV:
15. Ciaran Gaffney (Galwegians/Connacht)
14. Stephen Fitzgerald (Shannon/Munster)
13. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)
12. Sam Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
11. Jacob Stockdale (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
10. Joey Carbery (UCD/Leinster)
9. Charlie Rock (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)
2. Sean McNulty (UCD/Leinster)
3. Oisin Heffernan (Terenure College/Leinster)
4. David O’Connor (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
5. Alex Thompson (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
6. Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster) (capt)
7. Conor Oliver (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
8. Nick Timoney (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Replacements:
16. Adam McBurney (Ballymena/Ulster)
17. Liam O’Connor (Cork Constitution/Munster)
18. Conan O’Donnell (Sligo/NUIG/Connacht)
19. Lorcan Dow (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
20. Rory Moloney (Buccaneers/Connacht)
21. Tomás Quinlan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
22. Fergal Cleary (Lansdowne/Leinster)
23. Jack Owens (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
Wales U20 XV:
15. Dafydd Howells (Ospreys/Neath)
14. Elis-Wyn Benham (Blues/Cardiff)
13. Garyn Smith (Blues/Pontypridd)
12. Owen Watkin (Ospreys/Bridgend)
11. Joshua Adams (Scarlets/Llanelli)
10. Jarrod Evans (Blues/Pontypridd)
9. Tomos Williams (Blues/Pontypridd)
1. Luke Garrett (Dragons/Cross Keys)
2. Liam Belcher (Blues/Pontypridd)
3. Dillon Lewis (Blues/Pontypridd)
4. Seb Davies (Blues/Pontypridd)
5. Adam Beard (Ospreys/Aberavon)
6. Tom Phillips (Scarlets/Llanelli)
7. Ollie Griffiths (c) (Dragons/Newport)
8. Harrison Keddie (Dragons/Ebbw Vale)
Replacements:
16. Torin Myhill (Scarlets/Llanelli)
17. Keagan Bale (Dragons/Cross Keys)
18. Joe Jones (Blues/Cardiff)
19. Lee Taylor (Carmarthen Quins)
20. Ryan Elias (Scarlets/Carmarthen)
21. Kieran Hardy (Scarlets/Carmarthen)
22. Daniel Jones (Scarlets/Carmarthen)
23. Joe Thomas (Ospreys/Swansea)
