Wales Under-20s have
named eight changes to the side that beat Samoa in the Junior World
Championships in a bid to “keep the squad fresh” against Scotland.
After handing a 42-3 defeat to the Islanders to open this
year’s tournament in Nantes on Wednesday, head coach Danny Wilson has opted to
look at some of his other players as the gruelling JWC schedule continues
tomorrow.
Scarlets full back Jordan Williams makes his JWC debut,
along with Llandovery backs Aaron Warren and Rhodri Williams and Ospreys and
Swansea prop Nicky Smith.
Pontypridd’s Thomas Pascoe, who played in three games in
last year’s tournament, returns to the starting line-up, while forwards Elliot
Dee, Sion Bennett and Jack Jones all did enough as substitutes against Samoa to
earn a starting berth – Dee and Bennett scored touchdowns in the opening
fixture.
Wilson said of his selection: “We believe we have made relevant changes to keep the squad fresh and
reward players who have earned starting places through their performances in training.
“A bonus point victory
with six tries to boot is a great start,” he added. “We didn’t pick up any
significant injuries so we have a relatively fresh squad at the moment, but there’s
still a long way to go.”
Scotland suffered a 44-13 loss to Argentina in their opening
game, but Wilson expects a better fight from our Celtic cousins tomorrow
evening.
The Scarlets forwards coach continued: “Scotland had a tough time against Argentina but they are a good side
and will no doubt raise their game tomorrow.
“They have some
dangerous players so we will have to be aware of their threats. Having said
that, if we can play as we did in the Six Nations and against Samoa, I’m
confident we can give Scotland a really good test.”
The Scotland fixture is again in Nantes at the Stade Pascal Laporte. Argentina also face Samoa tomorrow at the same venue, before the Welsh and the Argentineans prepare to clash on June 13 at Stade Henri Desgrange, La Roche-sur-Yon .
Wales Under-20 squad
to face Scotland: Jordan Williams
(Scarlets/Llanelli); Aaron Warren (Llandovery), Steffan Hughes
(Scarlets/Llanelli), Thomas Pascoe (Blues/Pontypridd), Ashley Evans
(Ospreys/Bridgend); Sam Davies (Ospreys/Swansea), Rhodri Williams (Scarlets/Llandovery);
Nicky Smith (Ospreys/Swansea), Elliot Dee (Dragons/Bedwas), Nicky Thomas
(Ospreys/Swansea), Jack Jones (Ospreys/Rovigo), Rhodri Hughes (Ospreys/Swansea),
Ellis Jenkins (captain, Blues/Cardiff), Daniel Thomas (Scarlets/Llanelli), Sion
Bennett (Scarlets/Carmarthen).
Replacements: Ethan Lewis (Blues/Cardiff), Thomas Davies
(Blues/Cardiff), Dan Suter (Ospreys/Bridgend), Carwyn Jones (Scarlets/Carmarthen),
James Benjamin (Dragons/Bedwas), Joshua Davies (Dragons/Bedwas), Owen Jenkins
(Blues/Pontypridd), Jack Dixon (Dragons).
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