Wales U20 head coach Richard Whiffin has confirmed his match day squads to face Cardiff RFC at Cardiff Arms Park on Friday, 16 January (KO 7.30pm)
The match will be a last chance for players to stake a claim in Whiffin’s Six Nations squad where Wales’ first game will be against England on Friday 6 February at Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton.
“This game provides opportunities for players to put their hand up for Six Nations selection,” confirmed Whiffin. “Some people will be putting their hands up for selection while some people will be putting their hands up to start in that first game at Northampton.
“It’s also an opportunity to build some combinations with certain players in preparation for Six Nations. Importantly we get a chance to see our game model on the field against a competitive unit in Cardiff RFC.
“To be fair a lot of the boys are used to playing at the Arms Park but it will give us an opportunity to run what would be a normal prep day for a game. The boys will get used to the changing rooms and the vibe and feel for when we get into the Six Nations.”
Ahead of Friday’s Six Nations warm-up game, Whiffin has named 31 players for the clash against Super Rygbi Cymru outfit, Cardiff.
“We picked a big squad intentionally – some guys will get 40-40, some guys will play a little longer but we wanted to get as many players opportunities as possible to play our game model.
“We’ve been training for a couple of weeks so it is a good opportunity for those guys to show what they have been working on in the training field and putting it out in a competitive environment.
“This game has come at the right time of our block – we can finish the first block off at the end of the game and get a feel for where we are at. And what we need to work on and improve on, on the back of it and it is a yardstick for the boys to know where they are at as well,” said Whiffin.
Wales U20 v Cardiff RFC, Cardiff Arms Park, Friday 16 Jan, 7.30pm
1st half
1 Dylan James (Ospreys)
2 Oscar Thomas (Bath Rugby)
3 Yestyn Cook (Scarlets)
4 Osian Williams (Bristol Bears)
5 Luke Evans (Exeter Chiefs)
6 Osian Williams (Scarlets)
7 Caio James (Gloucester)
8 Dom Kossuth (Scarlets)
9 Sion Davies (Cardiff Rugby)
10 Lloyd Lucas (Cardiff Rugby)
11 Dylan Scott (Cardiff Met)
12 Seffan Emanuel (Cardiff Rugby – Capt)
13 Osian Darwin-Lewis (Cardiff Rugby)
14 Evan Morris (Bristol Bears)
15 Jack Woods (Bath Rugby)
2nd half
1 George Tuckley (Dragons RFC)
2 Tom Howe (Cardiff Rugby)
3 Isaac Godfrey (Exeter Chiefs)/Jac Pritchard (Scarlets)
4 Oscar Rees (Gloucester Rugby)
5 Gabe Williams (Cardiff Rugby)
6 Cerris Smith (Dragons)
7 Evan Minto (Dragons)
8 Alex Ridgway (Bath Rugby)
9 Carter Pritchard (Dragons)
10 Steff Jac Jones (Scarlets)
11 Rhys Cole (Dragons RFC)
12 Luc Anfield (Bath University)
13 Bailey Cutts (Cardiff Rugby)
14 Joseff Jones (Cardiff Rugby)
15 Rhys Cummings (Cardiff Rugby)
ENTRY: £10 for adults, £5 for concession, U15s have free entry with an adult and free entry for Cardiff season members