Wales U20s head coach Richard Whiffin has defended the high-profile absence of Morgan Morse from his squad for the upcoming World Rugby U20 Championship — insisting the talented number eight is being “looked after” as he transitions to senior rugby.
Morse, who became the most-capped player in Wales U20s history, will miss the tournament in Italy after being left out of Matt Sherratt’s senior squad for the Japan tour.
While some observers have questioned why the 19-year-old will play no part in either campaign, Whiffin explained the decision is part of a long-term strategy.
“In terms of Morgan, he is being looked after,” said Whiffin.
“He was in the selection mix for the senior squad and Matt Sherratt has gone down the route of picking incredible experience in terms of Taulupe Faletau and Aaron Wainwright with more than 150 caps.
“In terms of the Welsh Rugby Union and Ospreys point of view, we had the conversation last year in terms of that being his last Under-20s World Cup.
“It was his third and he was already competing well in terms of URC. We had committed to that plan.
“He will probably be at home frustrated but he will come back rip-roaring.”
READ MORE: Wales U20s Will Head To Italy With Renewed Hope After Impressive Win
Whiffin believes that, after three straight seasons of age-grade involvement, Morse will benefit more from rest and a full pre-season at regional level than another U20s campaign.
“He will have a pre-season under his belt, which he has not had for the last three years, because he has been with us,” he said.
“Everybody's development is different and he was an early developer.
“He is the most capped Wales Under-20s player and certainly done his bit.
“He will benefit from having a good rest period and pre-season with Ospreys and will push his international case even further next season.”
In Morse’s absence, Wales head to Italy with a confident, well-prepared squad determined to make a statement on the world stage.
READ MORE: Carwyn Leggatt-Jones Earns Wales U20 Call-Up Ahead Of Crucial Italy Clash
Wales kick off their Pool B fixtures against Argentina on 29 June in Verona, before taking on France and Spain.
Whiffin has named a largely settled 30-man group, with Neath scrum-half Ellis Lewis the only uncapped player, and Harry Beddall continuing as captain.
Logan Franklin was unavailable after suffering an arm injury during last Friday’s warm-up win over Italy.
“I think it is a very balanced squad with some quality experience returning from last year and some added emphasis from guys who have performed well during the Six Nations,” said Whiffin.
“We’ve got a pack that we feel can really deliver at the World Cup and look to be dominant at both the scrum and line-out and as a team we fully understand how we want to play.
We’ve got some fantastic workrate in our outside backs that will not only get the ball back for us but be a real threat when we’ve got the ball.”
Wales enjoyed a productive Six Nations campaign, finishing third with wins over England and Ireland, both of whom are seeded higher in the global tournament.
Whiffin says those results have instilled genuine belief in his players.
“I think the pleasing thing is the boys are confident and they know they can go out there and compete with so-called top teams in the competition and we’re not afraid,” he said.
“We’re going out there saying we want to get into that top semi-final bracket and once you get into that bracket you never know what’s going to happen.”
READ MORE: Morgan Morse Set To Make History As The Wisest Head On Young Shoulders
That confidence was further reinforced during their recent warm-up fixtures, including a 47-14 defeat to world champions England and a 47-19 victory over Italy.
“The England game was always going to be tough on the back of what was a really tough training week, and then to challenge ourselves against the world champs was brilliant,” Whiffin explained.
“I thought it cemented a few thoughts in our heads – 14-14 at 60 minutes, I thought we had competed well and then we had a very polished performance against Italy.”
More than 40 players were involved across the two matches, giving Whiffin a wide pool to assess before selecting the final squad.
“We’re excited about the championship but we still have a week’s training ahead of us before we get on the plane for Italy,” he added.
“But we’ve done the hard work in terms of whittling down what was a really strong training squad to the 30 selected.
I want to say a huge thank you to all the players that worked their socks off during the training camp – the strength in the group is in those guys. A lot of good players haven’t made it to the plane. The tournament is very attritional and we will likely need to call on some of those players through the tournament.”
Wales U20 World Championship squad
Forwards (17)
Ioan Emanuel (Bath Rugby)
Louie Trevett (Bristol Bears)
Harry Thomas (Scarlets)
Saul Hurley (Aberavon)
Evan Wood (Pontypool)
Sam Scott (Bristol Bears)
Owain James (Dragons)
Jac Pritchard (Scarlets)
Luke Evans (Exeter Chiefs)
Kenzie Jenkins (Bristol Bears)
Nick Thomas (Dragons)
Tom Cottle (RGC)
Dan Gemine (Ospreys)
Deian Gwynne (Gloucester)
Harry Beddall (Dragons – Capt)
Caio James (Gloucester)
Evan Minto (Dragons)
Backs (13)
Sion Davies (Cardiff Rutby)
Ellis Lewis (Neath)
Harri Wilde (Cardiff Rugby)
Harri Ford (Dragons)
Steffan Emanuel (Cardiff Rugby)
Elis Price (Scarlets)
Elijah Evans (Cardiff Rugby)
Osian Roberts (Sale Sharks)
Osian Darwin-Lewis (Cardiff Rugby)
Aidan Boshoff (Bristol Bears)
Lewis Edwards (Ospreys)
Jack Woods (Bath Rugby)
Tom Bowen (Cardiff Rugby)
U20 World Rugby Championship Wales’ Pool B Fixtures
Sunday 29 June – 7.30pm – Payanini Centre, Verona
Argentina U20 v Wales U20
Friday 4 July – 2.30pm – Stadio Mario Battaglini, Rovigo
France U20 v Wales U20
Wednesday 9 July – 2.30pm – Payanini Centre, Verona
Wales U20 v Spain
