Young guns continue as Wales U20s prepare for Six Nations

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Wales U20s and Welsh Academies XV

Eight young Cardiff Rugby stars will showcase their talents on Friday night when Wales Under-20s take on a Welsh Academies XV in round two.

The Wales Under-20s were victorious in the opening fixture at the Arms Park last Friday, winning 42-21.

Sion Davies, Harri Wilde and Osian Darwin-Lewis are all named among the Under- 20s replacements.

Meanwhile, Joe Cowell captains the Under-23 academies side, with Evan Rees also starting and Fraser Jones and Kodi Stone on the bench. 

A further eight players from across the two teams have progressed through the Cardiff pathway.

Cardiff Academy Manager, Gruff Rees said: “We are delighted to support these fixtures and it’s great that a wider group of players are getting exposure whilst also pleased to support Dan and Craig’s coach development in a different environment. 

“It is also extremely pleasing to see many former pathway players progressing and getting opportunities. Many of those we continue to monitor in line with our succession planning whilst supportive of potential professional aspirations elsewhere”

The match kicks-off at 7:30pm at Church Bank, Llandovery, with adult tickets £5 and kids free.

Wales Under-20s head coach, Richard Whiffin said: “I was really pleased that a lot of players put their hands up in the first game. 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.”

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