Head coach Richard Whiffin has confirmed his Wales U20 Men’s match-day squad to face Italy in round two of the 2025 U20 Six Nations (KO 7.15pm, S4C), with Scarlets hooker Harry Thomas again named in the starting XV.
New Dock Stars product Thomas, who crossed for two tries in last weekend’s round one defeat to France, is included in a side showing four changes to the starting XV which lost 63-19 in Vannes.
Up front Bristol Bears loose-head prop Louie Trevett replaces Ioan Emanuel while Ospreys lock Dan Gemine comes in for Nick Thomas.
In the backs, Osian Roberts is set for a Wales U20 debut at centre, replacing Elijah Evans with Tom Bowen getting his first start on the wing in place of Harry Rees-Weldon, after coming on as a second half replacement against France.
Scarlets Academy prop Jac Pritchard is again named among the replacements
Whiffin said the squad have already put Saturday’s defeat behind them as they now focus on getting a result against Italy.
“The scoreline didn’t really reflect how the game was. They felt they were in the game the whole time, so we’ve pushed on that and looked at the positives but obviously there are areas where we need to improve,” he said.
“We’ve gone through the game in large detail and there were lots of positives to come out of it. I thought our pack fronted up incredibly well.
“Up to 50 minutes we were right in the game but a couple of contentious decisions probably didn’t go our way. Yes, the wheels came off when trying to chase the game a little bit but I actually thought there was some really good elements from our team we can hang our hat on.
“We’re confident in every single game we go into. We’ve got a good plan that we are going after. Italy are a big physical team but there’s opportunities for us to move them around and be smart with our kicking game and try and preserve some space for our outside backs to get on top of them,” added Whiffin.
Wales U20 v Italy U20, Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Fri 7 Feb, 19.15, S4C
15 Scott Delnevo (Aberavon)
14 Aidan Boshoff (Bristol Bears)
13 Osian Roberts (Sale Sharks)
12 Steffan Emanuel (Cardiff Rugby)
11 Tom Bowen (Cardiff Rugby)
10 Harri Wilde (Cardiff Rugby)
9 Logan Franklin (Dragons RFC);
1 Louie Trevett (Bristol Bears)
2 Harry Thomas (Scarlets)
3 Sam Scott (Bristol Bears)
4 Kenzie Jenkins (Bristol Bears)
5 Dan Gemine (Ospreys)
6 Deian Gwynne (Gloucester)
7 Harry Beddall (Leicester Tigers – Capt)
8 Evan Minto (Dragons RFC)
Replacements:
16 Saul Hurley (Aberavon)
17 Ioan Emanuel (Bath Rugby)
18 Jac Pritchard (Scarlets)
19 Tom Cottle (RGC)
20 Ryan Jones (Dragons RFC)
21 Sion Davies (Cardiff Rugby)
22 Harri Ford (Dragons)
23 Elijah Evans (Cardiff Rugby)