Wales have named their squad for the forthcoming NatWest U20 Six Nations, kicking off against Scotland on Friday 2nd February at Colwyn Bay.
A number of English schooled players are named in head coach Jason Strange’s squad, including former Sedbergh star James Botham, Millfield leaver Rhys Davies, Leicester Tigers’ Tommy Reffell, and Gloucester’s Carwyn Penny, the former Clifton College captain.
Commenting on the squad, Strange said: “What’s good about this squad is that there are quite a lot of competitive areas, we’ve got fierce competition in the half-backs, while the back row is also a position of strength.”
Much like Wales senior side in the Autumn International, the Wales U20 side will be aiming to play with a real attacking framework, as Strange alluded to:
“That attacking philosophy is really important,” he says. “It’s the way we want to develop our players in Wales – for them to play with flair, allowing them to express themselves as much as possible.”
There are two schoolboys in the squad, both at scrum half, 17 year old Dan Babos of the Dragons, and fellow 17 year old Harri Morgan from the Ospreys, one of the stars for Wales U18 last year.
Following the 6 Nations, Wales’ attentions will then turn towards the World Rugby U20 Championships in the South West of France this June.
Wales U20 Six Nations squad:
Forwards: Taine Basham (Dragons), James Botham (Cardiff Blues), Rhys Carre (Cardiff Blues), Dan Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Davies (Bath), Lennon Greggains (Dragons), Will Griffiths (Dragons), Iestyn Harris (Cardiff Blues), Rhys Henry (Ospreys), Morgan Jones (Scarlets), Will Jones (Ospreys), Dewi Lake (Ospreys), Alun Lawrence (Cardiff Blues), Kemsley Mathias (Scarlets), Morgan Morris (Ospreys), Jack Pope (Bridgend), Tommy Reffell (Leicester), Josh Reynolds (Dragons), Sam Wainwright (RGC), Max Williams (Dragons).
Backs: Dan Babos (Dragons), Corey Baldwin (Scarlets), Callum Carson (Ospreys), Ryan Conbeer (Scarlets), Rio Dyer (Dragons), Cai Evans (Ospreys), Joe Goodchild (Dragons), Aaron Hemmings (Scarlets), Ben Jones (Cardiff Blues), Tomi Lewis (Scarlets), Harri Morgan (Ospreys), Reuben Morgan-Williams (Ospreys), Ioan Nicholas (Scarlets), Carwyn Penny (Gloucester), Tommy Rogers (Scarlets), Ben Thomas (Cardiff Blues).
