Wales U20s have named their squad to face England at Stadiwm CSM on Friday in the third round of the U20 Six Nations. (KO 7.15pm, S4C).
Scarlets flanker Luca Giannini shows as one of the changes to the pack as he replaces the injured Morgan Morse. Scrum-half Archie Hughes holds his starting position with Lewis Morgan, Josh Morse, Tomas Pritchard, and Harri Williams named among the replacements.
After two home victories against Scotland and Italy, England travel for the first time in this season’s championship where they arrive as serious challengers to Ireland’s title credentials after defeating Scotland 41-36 at the Stoop and Italy 32-25 at Kingsholm.
Despite the narrow defeat to Scotland last time out, Wales U20s head coach Hayward praised the effort his side put in.
“I was really proud of the boys,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, we made a lot of errors against Scotland. In terms of effort, commitment and pride they showed for the jersey, to keep them out just before halftime with 13 men was excellent work.
“We had a chat at halftime about a few tactical things and the execution 10 minutes after halftime was of the highest standard. They delivered exactly what we had spoken about. We scored two tries and ended up getting ahead in the second half. The game was there to be won but we just didn’t take our chance at the end.”
Wales U20 v England 20, Stadiwm CSM, Fri 24 Feb, 7.15pm (S4C)
15 Cameron Winnett (Cardiff Rugby)
14 Harri Houston (Ospreys)
13 Louie Hennessey (Bath Rugby)
12 Harri Ackerman (Dragons)
11 Oli Andrew (Dragons)
10 Dan Edwards (Ospreys)
9 Archie Hughes (Scarlets);
1 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths (Dragons)
2 Sam Scarfe (Dragons)
3 Ellis Fackrell (Ospreys)
4 Liam Edwards (Ospreys)
5 Jonny Green (Harlequins)
6 Ryan Woodman (Dragons – Capt)
7 Luca Giannini (Scarlets)
8 Mackenzie Martin (Cardiff Rugby)
Replacements
16 Lewis Morgan (Scarlets)
17 Josh Morse (Scarlets)
18 Tomas Pritchard (Scarlets)
19 Owain Evans (RGC)
20 Lucas De La Rua (Cardiff Rugby)
21 Harri Williams (Scarlets)
22 Iwan Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs)
23 Bryn Bradley (Harlequins)