Six Dragons ready for Spanish U20 test

Richard Whiffin has named his Wales U20 team for the second round of Pool A matches at the U20 World Cup at Athlone Sports Stadium in Cape Town (kick-off 13:00 UK time). He has named six Dragons in his matchday squad.

He has made sweeping changes to the team that narrowly lost to New Zealand in Saturday’s opening match, with only winger Harry Rees-Weldon, captain Ryan Woodman, second row Jonny Green and back row Morgan Morse returning for a second successive start.

Wales will be pleased with their thrilling second half performance against New Zealand, which saw them come back from a 21-point deficit to claim a bonus point for defeat and a bonus point for a try, keeping them in contention for a place in the semi-finals.

“We always felt we could finish the game strongly with the bench we had, so we were happy with that aspect of the game, but we were disappointed that New Zealand scored three goals for us, including a couple of long-range efforts. They had a really good skill set that we struggled with at times, but it was a really brave performance to get back into the game,” Whiffin said.

“I thought the changes we made in the second half had a real impact on the pitch.

“We took two bonus points from the match, one for a bonus of four tries and one for losing by less than seven points. That keeps us in the pool to qualify for the upper round of the semi-finals. That’s a big focus for us going forward.

“We saw that Spain had a very strong performance against France. It took a long time for France to beat them.

“They have a lot of energy and they will give us problems, but we went into the tournament with the confidence that we would challenge in every game, so we now turn our attention to Spain, who are next.

“It was always part of the plan to start as many players as possible in the first two games and I am confident that the boys selected will do a great job.”

Wales U20 v Spain U20, Thursday 4 July, Athlone Sports Stadium, Cape Town, KO 13:00 UK

1 Ioan Emanuel (Bath Rugby)
2 Harry Thomas (Scarlet)
3 Kian Hire (Ospreys)
4 Jonny Green (Harlequins)

5 Nick Thomas (Dragons RFC)

6 Ryan Woodman (Dragons RFC – Captain)
7 Morgan Morse (Ospreys)

8 Owen Conquer (Dragons RFC)
9 Rhodri Lewis (Scarlet)

10 Harri Ford (Dragons RFC)
11 Kodi Stone (Cardiff Rugby)
12 Steff Emanuel (Cardiff Rugby)
13 Elijah Evans (Cardiff Rugby)

14 Harry Rees-Weldon (Dragons RFC)
15 Matty Young (Cardiff Rugby)

Replacements

16 Isaac Young (Scarlet)

17 Jordan Morris (Dragons RFC)
18 Sam Scott (Bristol Bears)
19 Osian Thomas (Leicester Tigers)
20 Will Austin (Sale Sharks)
21 Ieuan Davies (Bath Rugby)
22 Harri Wilde (Cardiff Rugby)
23 Louie Hennessey (Bath Rugby)