By Paul Jones Wales U20’s fell to their third successive defeat in the Six Nations with a 45-3 loss to the so far undefeated England who will now have hopes of completing the grand slam at the Arms Park next Tuesday. Wales Captain Alex Mann couldn’t fault his sides effort and is aiming to end the Six Nations campaign with a win over the so far winless Scotland. “It was really tough, I’m disappointed for the boys as I thought we deserved more but now we have got to put things right and learn from our mistakes, particularly with our discipline,” said Mann.

By Graham Thomas Ireland U20 captain Alex Kendellen will be giving it plenty of hammer when he aims to drive his team back into contention for the Six Nations title. West Ham fan Kendellen found that whatever bubbles he tried to blow against England in the last round did not see his Irish youngsters rise to the top of the age group table. But following that 24-15 defeat – which leaves Ireland in second place in the table with two rounds to go – the back row forward is convinced his team can stay in touch with the leaders by beating Italy at Cardiff Arms Park on Wednesday.

Most English eyes will be focused on Wembley tonight, but for age group rugby fans there’s another significant showdown happening at Cardiff Arms Park – Wales v England. The U20 Six Nations clash sees unbeaten England looking to take a penultimate step towards a Grand Slam and Wales aiming for their first win, nicely chilled thanks to a certain TV show as Tom Prosser reports. Wales U20 star Sam Costelow has been preparing to kick England out of their Grand Slam villa by watching Love Island. The Scarlets youngster has revealed he and the rest of the squad have relaxed ahead of their Six Nations showdown by nightly dates with the ITV show, interspersed with occasional games of table tennis.

Late call-ups Josh Navidi and Adam Beard will make their Lions debuts on Wednesday when the tourists face the Sharks in Johannesburg. The Wales pair – who replaced Justin Tipuric and captain Alun Wyn Jones after injuries in the match against Japan – will make their bows for the British and Irish Lions in their second game on South African soil. Flanker Navidi of the Cardiff Blues and Ospreys lock Beard will join Tom Curry, of Sale Sharks and  England, in wearing the Lions shirt for the first time at Ellis Park, now called Emirates Airline Park (kick off 6pm BST).

The new Cardiff Demons Women’s Super League South side had an outstanding start to life on Saturday when they stormed to an 88-6 win over Golden Ferns in Bristol. Their hosts, the female arm of the All Golds club, were on the back foot from the start after Wales captain Shaunni Davies scored in under 90 seconds. Ffion Lewis, who became Wales’ 100th dual code international rugby player last week, converted.

Growing up as a football-mad River Plate supporter in the Argentinian city of Santiago del Estero, Tomas Lezana dreamed of a career with a round ball rather than an oval one. But now the Pumas flanker is a Test rugby star, and after helping his country to a famous win over the All Blacks last autumn Lezana is now set to embark on a new chapter of his career in west Wales with the Scarlets. “The rugby in the region I come from is not strong at all,” said the 27-year-old. 

Josh Adams has made a strong early case for inclusion in the Lions Test team to face South Africa later this month. The Wales wing maintained his hot streak as he scored four tries in the British & Irish Lions’ 56-14 win over the Sigma Lions in Johannesburg. The top try scorer at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, he won the right to tour with Warren Gatland’s Lions side in South Africa by scoring tries in his last three games for Wales as he helped them secure another Six Nations title.

Leigh Halfpenny is waiting to hear how many more months he will have to spend on in the sidelines following the knee injury he suffered against Canada. The Wales full-back – whose career has been consistently interrupted by various injury setbacks over the years – is waiting for scan results after his latest blow. The Wales full-back made his 100th Test appearance in a 68-12 hammering of Canada, but what should have been a milestone match for the 32-year-old lasted just 30 seconds.

Leigh Halfpenny realised his boyhood dream 13 years ago, but today he will achieve something he never could have imagined in his wildest fantasies. Away from the spotlight of the Lions tour, before a restricted crowd at the Principality Stadium against low key opposition, Halfpenny will run out to play a Test match for the 100th time. He becomes the eighth Welsh player to reach three figures – alongside Alun Wyn Jones, Gethin Jenkins, Stephen Jones, George North, Martyn Williams, Gareth Thomas and Adam Jones.

By Tom Prosser Wales U20s head coach Ioan Cunningham stressed the importance of his players learning from their mistakes after his side lost 36-19 to France. Wales have now lost back to back games and face the so far unbeaten England at the Arms Park on Wednesday. “Frustration again, if I’m honest, especially in that first half I felt we gifted France 24 points,” said Cunningham.

Scotland coach Sean Lineen admits he has been left dismayed by his team’s 43-3 thrashing at the hands of Italy at Cardiff Arms Park in the third round of the U20 Six Nations. The Scots – who meet Wales in the final round of the tournament – were flattened by an efficient and impressive Italian outfit who rain in six tries. “Poor, very poor,” said dejected head coach Lineen.

By Paul Jones Wales forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys can’t wait for the fans to create a buzz again at the Principality Stadium when Wales take on Canada on Saturday.   This will be the first Wales home game with a crowd in 15 months, this is something that some of the players have never experienced before.   “It is sad that some people have won first caps and had massive experiences while friends and family can’t be there,” said Humphreys.  

By Tom Prosser Wales’ hopes of winning the U20s Six Nations were dealt a big blow after they fell to a 36-19 defeat to France.  Cardiff Rugby’s Jacob Beetham scored a try in each half while Morgan Richards of the Dragons also went over for Wales on a sunny afternoon at Cardiff Arms Park. But France were clinical in attack and ran in five tries to seal a bonus-point win.

Sam Riley is hoping the feelgood factor – as well as the know-how – from his Harlequins connection can fuel him all the way to a Six Nations title. The England U20 hooker has already seen his club lift the Premiership crown after their thrilling win over Exeter Chiefs last weekend. That victory was followed by the news that four Quins players were called into the senior England squad and the satisfaction has filtered through to Riley, who faces Ireland U20 on Thursday night in a match that is live on S4C Clic.

Ollie Leatherbarrow insists he and school pal Murray Redpath can lead a Scottish turnaround when they face Italy in the U20 Six Nations Championship on Thursday. The Scots have begun the tournament with two defeats, even though they showed flashes of inspiration against two powerful sides in Ireland and England. Now comes Scotland’s chance at getting off the mark at Cardiff Arms Park, where the entire tournament is being hosted, in an afternoon clash that is live on S4C Clic.

Wales U20s are back in action on Thursday at Cardiff Arms Park, when they take on France in the Six Nations. Coach Ioan Cunningham has made eight changes from the side that lost to Ireland, including drafting in scrum-half Ethan Lloyd. The Cardiff player told Tom Prosser why he’s eager to make a big impression on his home patch. Ethan Lloyd wants to put pressure on Tomos Williams and Lloyd Williams at Cardiff Blues – but for the moment he’s happy to try and turn the screw on France in the U20 Six Nations. The Wales U20 scrum-half is already making waves at Cardiff Arms Park where there are high hopes he can follow the same route as Tomos Williams from Treorchy to full senior caps.

Tom Rogers declared himself “over the moon” after learning he will win his first senior Wales cap against Canada at Principality Stadium on Saturday. Scarlets wing Rogers, 22, is one of five players who will make their Test debuts this weekend and he is joined in the starting line-up by Dragons lock Ben Carter. Wales head coach Wayne Pivac also has fresh faces Gareth Thomas, Taine Basham and Ben Thomas among his replacements for the Canada game.

By Paul Jones The British and Irish Lions are preparing for their first match in South Africa after their hosts have been cleared to return to action after three positive coronavirus tests were confirmed on Sunday.  The entire Springboks squad was placed in isolation as a precautionary measure after the positive tests, leading to the cancellation of Sunday’s training session, but were given the green light to resume training on Monday afternoon following feedback from the medical advisory group overseeing the series.  One of the players who tested positive, scrum-half Herschel Jantjies, has subsequently been cleared to join the training group, SA Rugby said in a statement. 

By Steffan Thomas  Taine Basham is hoping to use this summer’s tests against Argentina and Canada as a steppingstone towards the 2023 Rugby World Cup.  The 21-year-old Dragons openside has trained with Wales in previous squads but is expected to finally win his first cap at the Principality stadium next month.   He has long been considered one of Welsh rugby’s brightest prospects but fell down the pecking order following a broken arm suffered in January.  

Adam Beard believes getting dropped from the national squad last autumn was a blessing in disguise and insists he can fill the boots of injured Lions captain Alun Wyn Jones. The Ospreys lock – who was called into the British and Irish Lions squad on Saturday night for their tour to South Africa following Jones’ shoulder dislocation – was a regular starter for Wales during the latter part of the Warren Gatland era. But he was then dropped by Wayne Pivac and sent back to the Ospreys after a dip in form.