Back-rower Dom Kossuth is set for his first Six Nations start as Wales U20s round off their championship campaign against Italy at Rodney Parade on Sunday (ko 1pm).
The Kidwelly product delivered a barnstorming performance off the bench against Ireland in round four and is handed the No. 8 jersey in place of Evan Minto, who injured his shoulder early on in Cork.
Kossuth is one of two changes to the starting line-up. The other sees Osprey Lewis Edwards, who has recovered from a lengthy injury lay-off, replace Rhys Cummings at full-back.
Kossuth joins tight-head prop Jac Pritchard – an ever present during the tournament – in the starting line-up, while fellow Scarlets Academy players, back-rower Osian Williams and fly-half Steff Jac Jones, are drafted onto the bench. Carwyn Leggatt-Jones is with the Scarlets senior squad and starts in the No. 10 jersey for the BKT United Rugby Championship clash with Connacht in Galway.
Head coach Richard Whiffin said “I thought Dom Kossuth was outstanding coming off the bench so he comes in for his first start of the tournament and Lewis Edwards has battled back from injury pre-Christmas and he has been training well over the last couple of weeks, so he gets an opportunity.”
Wales are looking to finish their campaign on a winning note to secure a second victory in this year’s championship, while Italy arrive seeking their first scalp so Wales are fully aware of the threat they pose.
“They contest every single breakdown and it is certainly something we need to fix from the Ireland game,” added Whiffin.
“We’ve reviewed how we can be better in that area and challenge there. They also have a strong pack and have a couple of key guys in the backline so they pose plenty of threats that we have to negate.”
Wales U20 v Italy U20 (Rodney Parade, Sun, March 15, KO 1pm)
15 Lewis Edwards (Ospreys); 14 Dylan Scott (Cardiff Met), 13 Osian Darwin-Lewis (Cardiff Rugby), 12 Steffan Emanuel (Cardiff Rugby – co-capt), 11 Tom Bowen (Cardiff Rugby); 10 Lloyd Lucas (Cardiff Rugby), 9 Siôn Davies (Cardiff Rugby); 1 George Tuckley (Dragons RFC), 2 Tom Howe (Cardiff Rugby), 3 Jac Pritchard (Scarlets), 4 Luke Evans (Exeter Chiefs), 5 Osian Williams (Bristol Bears), 6 Deian Gwynne (Gloucester – co-capt), 7 Caio James (Gloucester), 8 Dom Kossuth (Scarlets).
Replacements: 16 Oscar Thomas (Bath Rugby), 17 Dylan James (Ospreys), 18 Isaac Godfrey (Exeter Chiefs), 19 Oscar Rees (Gloucester), 20 Osian Williams (Scarlets), 21 Alex Ridgway (Bath Rugby), 22 Carter Pritchard (Dragons RFC), 23 Steff Jac Jones (Scarlets).