Wales have named their side for their World Rugby U20 Championships 5th place semi final against the holders, New Zealand.
The two sides met last week in the group stages, with a late New Zealand score breaking Welsh hearts as they came from behind to win 18-17.
The game kicks off at 15.15 at the Manchester City Academy Stadium ahead of the two main semi finals, Ireland v Argentina and England v South Africa.
Should they win tomorrow, Jason Strange’s side will play the winners of Scotland v Australia in the 5th place play off, a loss would see them play the losers of that game in the 7th place play off on Saturday.
There are four changes to the side that narrowly lost on Wednesday, with Liam Belcher coming in at hooker, Josh Macleod on the flank, Billy McBryde at inside centre, and Joe Gage at full back.
Speaking ahead of the game, Strange said to the WRU website:
“With the short turnaround between matches in this tournament, we felt Liam and Josh would freshen things up and give us some added energy up front. While it’s always disappointing to lose players through injury, especially with a small squad, we’re confident in the whole squad and I’m sure Joe and Billy will step up to the mark tomorrow as they have in training.”
“These are the high intensity matches the players require to accelerate their development and we’re really pleased with their progress so far. The players were excellent on Wednesday. Despite the loss, you couldn’t fault their collective effort and level of performance. The match was decided on a few critical decisions and hopefully we have learned from those high pressure situations.”
“The players have had a lot of success this season, however it’s also important to go through this process of losing and learning from your mistakes. It will be interesting to see how both teams approach the game tactically after last Wednesday’s match, we will attempt to continue playing the game with skill and passion.”
Wales U20 v New Zealand U20 – Monday, 15.15, Manchester City Academy Stadium, Live on Sky Sports
Wales U20 XV
15 Joe Gage (Ospreys)
14 Tom Williams (Ospreys)
13 Joe Thomas (Ospreys)
12 Billy McBryde (Scarlets)
11 Jared Rosser (Newport Gwent Dragons)
10 Dan Jones (Scarlets)
9 Reuben Morgan-Williams (Ospreys)
1 Corey Domachowski (Cardiff Blues)
2 Liam Belcher (Cardiff Blues)
3 Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues)
4 Shane Lewis-Hughes (Cardiff Blues)
5 Seb Davies (Cardiff Blues)
6 Tom Phillips (captain, Scarlets)
7 Josh Macleod (Scarlets)
8 Harrison Keddie (Newport Gwent Dragons)
Replacements:
16 Dafydd Hughes (Scarlets)
17 Rhys Fawcett (Scarlets)
18 Leon Brown (Newport Gwent Dragons)
19 Morgan Sieniawski (Cardiff Blues)
20 Shaun Evans (Scarlets)
21 Declan Smith (Scarlets)
22 Jarrod Evans (Cardiff Blues)
23 Kieran Williams (Ospreys)
World Rugby U20 Championship Fixtures:
Monday 20th June
Semi Finals
Ireland v Argentina – Monday 17.30, Manchester City Academy Stadium
England v South Africa – Monday 19.45, Manchester City Academy Stadium
5th-8th Semi Finals
New Zealand v Wales – Monday, 15.15, Manchester City Academy Stadium
Scotland v Australia – Monday, 19.45, AJ Bell
9th-12th Semi Finals
Georgia v Italy v 11th – Monday, 15.15, AJ Bell
France v Japan – Monday, 17.30, AJ Bell
Saturday 25th June – Finals Day
World Rugby U20 Championship – Pool A Final Standings | ||||||
Pos | Team | W | D | L | BP | Points |
1 | Ireland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
2 | New Zealand | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
3 | Wales | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
4 | Georgia | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
World Rugby U20 Championship – Pool B Final Standings | ||||||
Pos | Team | W | D | L | BP | Points |
1 | England | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
2 | Scotland | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
3 | Australia | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
4 | Italy | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
World Rugby U20 Championship – Pool C Final Standings | ||||||
Pos | Team | W | D | L | BP | Points |
1 | Argentina | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
2 | South Africa | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
3 | France | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
4 | Japan | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |