Wales have named their side to take on England in Round 3 of the U20 6 Nations championship.
Wales have won one and lot one from the opening two rounds ahead of Friday night’s 7.05pm kick off at Zip World Stadium (Live on S4C), losing to France in the opening round before a strong win over Italy last time out.
Head Coach Gareth Williams makes three changes to that side that beat Italy. Two of those changes coming in the backline, with Ospreys’ Dewi Cross coming in on the left wing to link up with Scarlets Tomi Lewis and Cardiff Blues’ Ioan Davies in the back three, Dragons’ Dean Smith moves to the bench.
Infield Dragons scrum half Dafydd Buckland earns a start, replacing the injured Jamie Hill. Buckland links up with Ospreys Cai Evans in the half backs, with Dragons’ Aneurin Owen and Cardiff Blues’ Max Llewellyn the centre partnership.
The final change is in the forwards, where Scarlets’ Iestyn Rees comes in at number 8 in place of Taine Basham, who will be playing for his region. Scarlets’ Jac Morgan and Dragons’ Lennon Greggains will pack down on the flanks either side of him.
The second row sees Dragons’ Ed Scragg and Cardiff Blues’ Teddy Williams link up, while in the front row Ben Warren of Cardiff Blues is at tighehead, with Ospreys’ Rhys Davies at loosehead, with his teammate Dewi Lake captaining the side from hooker.
The bench sees four further Dragons join the aforementioned Smith, Will Griffiths, Tom Devine, Max Ayling, and Dan Babos, alongside Scarlets’ Kemsley Mathias and Llanelli’s Ellis Thomas.
Completing the bench is Leicester Tigers’ fly half/centre Sam Costello, whose outstanding performance on Sunday helped his club to the U18 Academy League title against Gloucester.
Speaking to www.wru.wales ahead of the game, Gareth Williams said:
“We’re really excited to be home again, and the support of North Wales has been amazing over the years, so we can’t wait to get out there and continue our growth as a squad.”
Wales U20 XV v England – Friday, 7.05pm, Zip World Stadium (Live on S4C):
15 Ioan Davies (Cardiff Blues), 14 Tomi Lewis (Scarlets), 13 Max Llewellyn (Cardiff Blues), 12 Aneurin Owen (Dragons), 11 Dewi Cross (Ospreys), 10 Cai Evans (Ospreys), 9 Dafydd Buckland (Dragons), 1 Rhys Davies (Ospreys), 2 Dewi Lake (Ospreys, captain), 3 Ben Warren (Cardiff Blues), 4 Ed Scragg (Dragons), 5 Teddy Williams (Cardiff Blues), 6 Lennon Greggains (Dragons), 7 Jac Morgan (Aberavon/Scarlets), 8 Iestyn Rees (Scarlets).
Replacements: 16 Will Griffiths (Dragons), 17 Tom Devine (Dragons), 18 Kemsley Mathias (Scarlets), 19 Max Ayling (Dragons), 20 Ellis Thomas (Llanelli), 21 Dan Babos (Dragons), 22 Sam Costello (Leicester Tigers), 23 Deon Smith (Dragons).
Wales U20 6 Nations Fixtures:
Round 1: France 32-10 Wales
Round 2: Italy 12-42 Wales
Round 3: England – Friday 22nd Feb, Stadiwm Zip World, 7.05pm (Live on S4C)
Round 4: Scotland – Friday 8th Mar, Galashiels, 7.30pm
Round 5: Ireland – Sunday 15th Mar, Stadiwm Zip World, 7.05pm
