By David Parsons
Richard Whiffin has made 10 changes to his Wales U20 starting line-up for their second clash with the Reginal Academies XV at Llandovery’s Church Bank ground on Friday 17 January (kick-off 7.30pm).
Bristol Bears wing Aidan Boshoff, Bath prop Ioan Emanuel, Bristol Bears lock Kenzie Jenkins, Bath back five man Arthur Moore (Bath) and Dragons No 8 Evan Minto are the only survivors from the side that won the first game 42-21 at the Arms Park last week.
Drafted in for round two, and hoping to make an impact ahead of the U20 Six Nations opener against France in Vannes on Saturday 1 February are Ospreys full back Lewis Edwards and wing Ieuan Cornelius, Sale Sharks centre Osian Roberts and scrum half Carwyn Edwards, Scarlets centre Elis Price and hooker Harry Thomas, and Dragons forward duo Nick Thomas and Ryan Jones.
Thomas, capped last season, will lead the side with last week’s captain, flanker Harry Beddall, dropping to the bench along with Scarlets prop Jac Pritchard and Cardiff outside half Harri Wilde.
Dragons No 10 Harri Ford moves up off the bench to take over from Wilde along with clubmate Owain James at prop.
Scarlets full back Iori Badham and Cardiff Rugby backs Osian Darwin-Lewis and Sion Davies are retained among the replacements, while Dragons prop Morgan Williams moves across from the Academies XV bench to join the Wales U20 replacements.
| Wales U20s head coach Richard Whiffin has made 1️⃣0️⃣ changes to the starting line-up for their second clash with the Regional Academies XV at Llandovery’s Church Bank on Friday night, 7.30pm KO!
▶️ https://t.co/9crXOj925s #WelshRugby pic.twitter.com/tCKewUq9mM
— Welsh Rugby Union (@WelshRugbyUnion) January 16, 2025
The Academies XV also shows wholesale changes with only Scarlets three-quarters Jac Davies and Gabe McDonald (Scarlets), Swansea outside half Josh Phillips, Cardiff flanker Evan Rees and Dragons No 8 Owen Conquer retaining their places.
Ospreys prop Freddie Chapman, Cardiff tight head Joe Cowell (Cardiff Rugby), RGC flanker Charlie Probert and Dragons full back Sam Potter graduate from the bench to the starting XV, while Scarlets scrum half Rhodri Lewis, Cardiff centre Fraser Jones and Dragons hooker Tomoya Adachi drop down.
Cowell will take over the captaincy duties from Lewis, while Ethan Phillips, Kobi Rees and Kodi Stone return as replacements.
Bridgend prop Harry Olding, RGC front row man Paddy Nelson, Bridgend wing Gabe Lacey and Ospreys wing Cori Lewis-Jenkins will join them as new recruits on the bench.
Receiving their first starts will be Carmarthen Quins centre Iestyn Gwilliam, Bridgend wing Macauley Rowley, Ospreys scrum half Lucca Setaro (Ospreys), Scarlets hooker Isaac Young, Cardiff lock Ben Roberts and RGC second row Ilan Evans.
“I was really pleased that a lot of players put their hands up in the first ame. It was a really physical performance from us and we dominated large parts of the game,” said head coach Whiffin.
“We made a few errors that allowed the Academies team to stay in the game, which they took. They went hard at our breakdown and caused us a few problems, but I was delighted we got two late tries to pull away from them.
“We’ve been working hard on our physicality and we’re developing stronger, more physical and powerful athletes on the field. We were good in that area in the first half, but we left a few tries out there and that’s something we’ll have to tidy up for this week.
“They got it back to a tight game and so we had to rebuild. It was a good warm up for us ahead of meeting France.”
Wales U20 v Regional Academies XV – Llandovery, Friday 17 January (7.30pm)
Wales U20: Lewis Edwards (Ospreys); Aidan Boshoff (Bristol Bears); Osian Roberts (Sale Sharks), Elis Price (Scarlets), Ieuan Cornelius (Ospreys); Harri Ford (Dragons), Carwyn Edwards (Sale Sharks); Ioan Emanuel (Bath), Harry Thomas (Scarlets, captain), Owain James (Dragons), Nick Thomas (Dragons), Kenzie Jenkins (Bristol Bears), Arthur Moore (Bath), Ryan Jones (Dragons), Evan Minto (Dragons)
Reps: Morgan Williams (Dragons), Lewis Jones (Carmarthen Quins), Jac Pritchard (Scarlets), Dylan Alford (Scarlets), Tom Cottle (RGC), Harry Beddall (Leicester Tigers), Sion Davies (Cardiff Rugby), Harri Wilde (Cardiff Rugby), Osian Darwin-Lewis (Cardiff Rugby), Iori Badham (Scarlets)
Regional Academies XV: Sam Potter (Dragons); Jac Davies (Scarlets), Iestyn Gwilliam (Carmarthen Quins), Gabe McDonald (Scarlets), Macauley Rowley (Bridgend); Josh Phillips (Swansea), Lucca Setaro (Scarlets); Freddie Chapman (Ospreys), Isaac Young (Scarlets), Joe Cowell (Cardiff Rugby, captain), Ben Roberts (Ospreys), Ilan Evans (RGC), Evan Rees (Cardiff Rugby), Charlie Probert (RGC), Owen Conquer (Dragons)
Replacements: Tomoya Adachi (Dragons), Harry Olding (Bridgend), Paddy Nelson (RGC), Ethan Phillips (Cardiff), Kobi Rees (Ebbw Vale) Rhodri Lewis (Scarlets), Fraser Jones (Cardiff Rugby), Gabe Lacey (Bridgend), Cori Lewis-Jenkins (Ospreys), Kodi Stone (Cardiff Rugby)
