Wales U20s make four changes for Italy trip
Wales Under-20s have made four changes for Friday's game against Italy with head coach Richard Whiffin insisting that the heavy opening defeat against France is behind them.Whiffin's side lost 63-19 to France in the opening round of the 2025 Under-20s Six Nations and face Italy in Treviso on Friday evening.Sale Sharks centre Osian Roberts is set to make his Under-20 debut in place of Elijah Evans while Cardiff Rugby wing Tom Bowen, a second half replacement against France, will make his first start and replaces Harry Rees-Weldon.Bristol Bears prop Louie Trevett starts in place of Ioan Emanuel and lock Nick Thomas is replaced by Ospreys' Dan Gemine."The scoreline didn't really reflect how the game was," Whiffin said of the loss against France."We felt we 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.
"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."Wales face an Italian side which beat Scotland 22-10 in their opening game, but Whiffin added: "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.
Wales Under-20s: Scott Delnevo (Aberavon), Aidan Boshoff (Bristol Bears), Osian Roberts (Sale Sharks), Steffan Emanuel (Cardiff Rugby), Tom Bowen (Cardiff Rugby), Harri Wilde (Cardiff Rugby), Logan Franklin (Dragons RFC);Louie Trevett (Bristol Bears), Harry Thomas (Scarlets), Sam Scott (Bristol Bers), Kenzie Jenkins (Bristol Bears), Dan Gemine (Ospreys), Deian Gwynne (Gloucester), Harry Beddall (Leicester Tigers – Captain), Evan Minto (Dragons RFC)Replacements: Saul Hurley (Aberavon), Ioan Emanuel (Bath Rugby), Jac Pritchard (Scarlets), Tom Cottle (RGC), Ryan Jones (Dragons RFC), Sion Davies (Cardiff Rugby), Harri Ford (Dragons), Elijah Evans (Cardiff Rugby)
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