The Blues take on the Ospreys tonight (Wednesday) in the final of the WRU Reebok Regional Under 20 Championship (kick-off 7.15pm) at St Helens, Swansea.
In a repeat of the U18 final which the Ospreys clinched 22-15 at Llandovery two weeks ago, the Ospreys will bid to hold onto the second of their three WRU Reebok Regional trophies.
Garin Jenkins, head coach of the Ospreys Under 20 side said, This is the third season I have been involved with the Ospreys Under 20 set-up and we are lucky to be in a third consecutive final. This is a great competition because it bloods our elite young talent two seasons ago when we narrowly lost in the final to the Scarlets, James Hook, Alun Wyn Jones and Martin Roberts were all in our Ospreys U20 side. Along with those players who have broken into the regional and national sides, many others are playing quality rugby in the Principality Premiership.
This season, ours is a workman-like side, a good team without too many individual stars. We have come up against a great standard of competition this season, especially the Blues who we meet again in the final tonight. The Blues side are very strong in the set-piece and around the tackle area.
However, St Helens is one of the best surfaces in Wales and as long as we can compete with the Blues in the possession stakes, we will be looking to try to put some width on our game.
The most important is that these young players enjoy the game and the chance of playing in a final this evening.
The Blues have come out on top of both group meetings between the sides this season, winning 25-19 at home and 31-24 away.
Eight members of the recently announced Wales Under 20 squad and eleven Wales Under 19 squad members are named in the finalists squads.
Danny Wilson, Blues coach said, This should be the hardest game so far. We managed narrow wins over the Ospreys but at that time they were in a phase of development and are now on top of their form and with the home advantage to boot I would say the Ospreys will be hard to beat.
St Helens is a wide pitch which should play to the Ospreys advantage but our whole squad and coaches are looking forward to the game and Im sure we will also put a good performance in.
Mostyn Richards, WRU Elite Performance Manager added, Along with the Principality Premiership, the WRU Reebok Regional Under 20 Championship provides an excellent springboard for players to step up to the Wales Under 19, Under 20 and Wales Sevens squads.
The Under 20 Reebok Regional Championship in particular affords the opportunity for players to pit themselves in direct competition with their age group peers. While the Wales Under 19 and Under 20 squad have been selected for the forthcoming matches, the door is always open for players who perform well at this level.
Ospreys: J Howells; J Pike, A Wilkins, N Harwood, L Halfpenny; T Cole, C Morgan; P Price, M Breeze, D Matthews, J Griffiths, N White, J Jones, Lee Simms, S Kiley (Capt).
Replacements: R Lewis, N Roberts, M Jones, R Lawrence, M Jeffreys, R Bevington, J Richards
Blues: K Baller; J Egan, L Thomas, T Cooper, G Jones; L Ford, T Isaac; N Eaves, A Fowler, P Palmer, M Al-Azzawi, J Down, J Groves (Capt), J Cullen, M Larson
Replacements from:
S Thomas, H Dowden, K Jenkins, M Gardner, A Wilson, L Scarfe, Michael Schropfer, T Daley