Wales have named their squad for the forthcoming World Rugby U20 Championships in South Africa, which kick off on Saturday 24th June.
Interim Head Coach Mark Jones has named a 30-man squad for the tournament, which sees Wales drawn in Pool A alongside New Zealand, Japan, and France.
Dragons’ Ryan Woodman has been named as the skipper of the squad, one of six Dragons players in the thirty, with Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths and Sam Scarfe alongside him in the forwards, while Joe Westwood, Huw Anderson, and Che Hope represent the region in the backs.
Ospreys are by far and away the most represented team in the squad, which has 17 forwards and 13 backs, with a remarkable 11 players in the squad. They have 7 in the pack, Lewis Lloyd, Louis Fletcher, Ellis Fackrell, Kian Hire, Liam Edwards, Evan Hill, and Morgan Morse, and four further players in the backline, Llien Morgan, Harri Houston, Tom Florence, and Dan Edwards.
There are five Cardiff players in the squad, Mackenzie Martin, Lucas De La Rua, and Gwilyn Evans up front and Harri Wilde and Cameron Winnett in the backs, while Scarlets have four players, two in the pack, Josh Morse and Lewis Morgan, and two in the backs, Archie Hughes and Harri Williams.
There are four non-Welsh based players in the squad, and incredibly three of those are from Harlequins, former Seaford College skipper Jonny Green, ex Whitgift man Seb Driscoll, and former Epsom College star Bryn Bradley, meanwhile the other English based player is Bath’s star centre Louie Hennessey, a player to look out for.
Wales’ campaign kicks off on Saturday 24th June against New Zealand before they take on Japan on Thursday 29th June and France on Tuesday 4th July, after which the knockout games begin.
Looking ahead to the tournament, Mark Jones said: “It’s a very mixed team in terms of youth and experience, there are a lot of exciting players in there particularly around our backline and back row. There is also a lot of potential in the front five moving forward.”
“Historically they (New Zealand) have been pretty strong in this competition over the years. Someone mentioned the last three times we have played them we have actually won twice. It’s not a game we are fearful of – we see it as a real opportunity, we’re very respectful of New Zealand rugby particularly at U20s level. Their school system is phenomenal, I’ve experienced it first-hand. When you are playing a New Zealand team it’s a good measure of where you are – your potential as an individual and as a team.”
“We also know the French are very strong in the Six Nations. They picked up some terrific victories, they gave us a good hiding in that tournament and Japan is one of the fasting rising nations in world rugby so they are going to be a very difficult opponent as well.”
“We just want to be better than what we were in the Six Nations around our performance levels, if we get the improvements in the areas we have targeted then I think the results will reflect that. We’re looking to improve individually and collectively and that will hopefully give us the best chance of results. None of us are going out there not to win games of rugby.”
Many of the players that played in that U20 Six Nations campaign are involved again in South Africa, the first World Rugby U20 Championships since 2019, with just five uncapped players in the squad; Evan Hill, Kian Hire, Seb Driscoll, Harri Wilde, and Huw Anderson.
Wales U20 Squad for 2023 World Rugby U20 Championships:
Forwards
Josh Morse (Scarlets)
Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths (Dragons)
Lewis Lloyd (Ospreys)
Sam Scarfe (Dragons)
Lewis Morgan (Scarlets)
Louis Fletcher (Ospreys)
Ellis Fackrell (Ospreys)
Kian Hire (Ospreys)
Liam Edwards (Ospreys)
Evan Hill (Ospreys)
Mackenzie Martin (Cardiff)
Jonny Green (Harlequins)
Ryan Woodman (Dragons, captain)
Morgan Morse (Ospreys)
Lucas De la Rua (Cardiff)
Seb Driscoll (Harlequins)
Gwilym Evans (Cardiff)
Backs
Archie Hughes (Scarlets)
Harri Williams (Scarlets)
Che Hope (Dragons)
Dan Edwards (Ospreys)
Harri Wilde (Cardiff)
Bryn Bradley (Harlequins)
Joe Westwood (Dragons)
Tom Florence (Ospreys)
Louie Hennessey (Bath)
Harri Houston (Ospreys)
Huw Anderson (Dragons)
Llien Morgan (Ospreys)
Cameron Winnett (Cardiff)
