Richard Whiffin has confirmed his Wales squad to take on England at Franklin’s Garden, Northampton, on Friday in their opening round clash of the U20 Six Nations championship (kick-off 7.45pm) - and he includes two Dragons in his match day 23.
The starting XV contains nine players who have already represented Wales at U20 level while there are two more on the bench with Cardiff’s Tom Cottle and Dragon RFC’s Evan Minto set to make an impact from the bench.
Whiffin has gone for a 6-2 split on the bench and said some tough decisions had to be made before finalising his match day squad which sees flanker Deian Gwynne and centre Steffan Emanuel share the captaincy responsibilities.
“It was a tough selection process, we spent a while as coaches deliberating the pros and cons in terms of what we have come up with,” said Whiffin.
“We’ve got 23 players that will contribute to an 80-minute performance and that is what is going to be needed against England hence the 6-2 bench and having some real quality to impact the game later on.”
Whiffin is hoping the players returning for their second championship will step up and take some pressure on the new faces in the squad.
“The tournament is a tough tournament, and it is a big step up for the boys,” he said. “So guys who haven’t experienced firstly what the occasion will be and the crowd and secondly how tough and physical the game will be, those 11 players who have that experience will certainly help the new players out.
“We’ve got a very strong back row, a very strong back three and quality across the whole squad – there are always tough conversations, players have put their hand up and made those conversations exactly what we want.
England will be looking to make a statement after Wales denied them a grand slam in last season’s championship, but Whiffin said his side won’t be backing down from the challenge.
“They are a big physical team – they have some players coming back from the Prem. We know they will go pretty hard in and around the aerial game so there are some key facets we have to get right. Our boys will be ready for the challenge and will be looking forward to it.”
Wales U20 v England U20 at Frankln’s Gardens, Northampton, Fri 6 Feb, 19:45
1 George Tuckley (Dragons RFC)
2 Tom Howe (Cardiff Rugby)
3 Jac Pritchard (Scarlets)
4 Luke Evans (Exeter Chiefs)
5 Osian J Williams (Bristol Bears)
6 Osian Williams (Scarlets)
7 Caio James (Gloucester)
8 Deian Gwynne (Gloucester – Co-Capt)
9 Sion Davies (Cardiff Rugby)
10 Carwyn Leggatt-Jones (Scarlets)
11 Tom Bowen (Cardiff Rugby)
12 Steffan Emanuel (Cardiff Rugby – Co-Capt)
13 Osian Darwin-Lewis (Cardiff Rugby)
14 Rhys Cummings (Cardiff Rugby)
15 Jack Woods (Bath Rugby)
Replacements:
16 Oscar Thomas (Bath Rugby)
17 Dylan James (Ospreys)
18 Isaac Godfrey (Exeter Chiefs)
19 Tom Cottle (Cardiff Rugby)
20 Evan Minto (Dragons RFC)
21 Dom Kossuth (Scarlets)
22 Luca Woodyatt (Gloucester)
23 Lloyd Lucas (Cardiff Rugby)
2026 U20 Six Nations – Wales fixtures and venues
· Fri 6 Feb, 19:45 – England v Wales, cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton
· Sat 14 Feb, 20:00 – Wales v France, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff - TICKETS
· Fri 20 Feb, 19:15 – Wales v Scotland, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff - TICKETS
· Sat 7 Mar, 19:45 – Ireland v Wales, Virgin Media Park, Cork
· Sun 15 Mar, 13:00 – Wales v Italy, Rodney Parade, Newport - TICKETS
