U20 6 Nations: Wales name side to face Italy

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Wales U20 Head Coach, Jason Strange, has named his side to face Italy on Friday night.

 

Kicking off at 7.15pm in Colwyn Bay, Strange has selected openside flanker Will Jones as captain, with the young flanker finally available after regional obligations. He replaces Leicester Tigers’ Tommy Reffell, with former Sedbergh flanker James Botham on the blindside flank.

 

Outside centre Corey Baldwin also returns from regional duty, so too Max Williams in the second row.

 

There is a fresh front row too, with Rhys Carre, Dewi Lake, and Kemsley Mathias all promoted from the bench, while Opsreys scrum half Reuben Morgan-Williams is finally available having been involved with the Ospreys for much of the championship. He is on the bench, with 17 year old Harri Morgan, also of the Ospreys, again starting.

 

Speaking ahead of the game, Jason Strange said:

 

“It’s been a boost to the side to have the experience of someone like Will Jones back, having captained the U20s very well last year, he and Reuben have acquitted themselves very well at senior level with Ospreys this season, and they’re proof of how valuable the U20 pathway is.”

 

“The fact that a lot of these boys have been playing regional rugby lately is beneficial on a number of levels: to themselves, but also for the team as a whole and the experience they bring back into the U20s environment.”

 

“The players have been working extremely hard as a group over the past few weeks, and we’ve exposed 32 different players to international rugby at U20 level, which is incredibly positive. Our ability to rotate the squad is reflected in our selection for Italy.”

 

“We played them twice last year, and both games were very tough. In fact, we only beat them by a point in the U20 Championships in the summer – in a tournament where they beat Ireland – so we need to carry the good form we showed in Dublin a fortnight ago into Friday night’s game in Colwyn Bay.”

 

Wales U20 v Italy U20 – Friday 9th March, 7.15pm, Colwyn Bay

 

Wales U20 XV:

15 Cai Evans (Ospreys), 14 Joe Goodchild (Dragons), 13 Corey Baldwin (Scarlets), 12 Callum Carson (Ospreys), 11 Tommy Rogers (Scarlets), 10 Ben Jones (Cardiff Blues), 9 Harri Morgan (Ospreys), 1 Rhys Carre (Cardiff Blues), 2 Dewi Lake (Ospreys), 3 Kemsley Mathias (Scarlets), 4 Owen Lloyd (Cardiff Blues), 5 Max Williams (Dragons), 6 James Botham (Cardiff Blues), 7 Will Jones (c) (Ospreys), 8 Taine Basham (Dragons).

Replacements: 16 Iestyn Harris (Cardiff Blues), 17 Jordan Walters (Ospreys), 18 Rhys Henry (Ospreys), 19 Alun Lawrence (Cardiff Blues), 20 Lennon Greggains (Dragons), 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams (Ospreys), 22 Max Llewellyn (Cardiff Blues), 23 Rio Dyer (Dragons).

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