Wales Under-20
UnionWelsh Rugby Union
Emblem(s)The Prince of Wales's feathers
Ground(s)Eirias Stadium, Colwyn Bay[1]
Coach(es)Mark Jones
Captain(s)Ryan Woodman
Team kit
Change kit
First international
Wales Wales 15–28 England England
(1 February 2008)
Largest win
Wales Wales 74–3 Samoa Samoa
(12 June 2012)
Largest defeat
New Zealand New Zealand 92–0 Wales Wales
(14 June 2011)
World Cup
Appearances12 (First in 2008)
Best resultRunners up, 2013

The Wales national Under 20 rugby team is for Welsh rugby union players aged 20 or under on 1 January of the year during which they are selected.

Under 20 age grade rugby came into existence, as a result of the IRB combining the Under 19 Rugby World Championship and Under 21 Rugby World Championship into a single IRB Junior World Championship tournament.[2] They also compete in the Six Nations Under 20s Championship.

Six Nations Under-20 Championship

Wales finished second in the 2008 tournament, losing only to England.[3]

In 2013 Wales were denied a Grand Slam in their final match against England, and ultimately placing second on points difference.[4]

Wales finally achieved a Grand Slam and their first U20 title in 2016, defeating Italy on the final week 35–6, having been level 6–6 at half time.[5] They also secured their first Triple Crown at this age group.[6]

In 2023, the side did not win a single match, leading to their first winless tournament of the U20 era.[7]

Junior World Championships

In June 2008 Wales hosted the 2008 IRB Junior World Championship. As hosts they played all their group matches at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, starting against Italy on Friday 6 June, before further ties against Japan and France.[8] Wales won all three group matches before losing the semi-final to New Zealand and subsequently losing the 3rd place play-off to South Africa.

For the tournament the same management team remained from the 2008 U20 Six Nations; head coach Patrick Horgan and assistant coaches Rob Appleyard and Wayne Jones. Sam Warbuton remained as captain.[9]

For the next two Junior World championships, Wales alongside France will have to start the pool stages with a three-point deficit, following a brawl between the two sides in the 2008 tournament.[10]

At the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship the Welsh squad won 2 games in the preliminary round against Samoa and Fiji while losing to New Zealand. At the playoffs for the 5th–8th place they first drew with Argentina 19–19 but lost in a drop goal shootout 9–8 and then met Fiji for a second time, again winning by 39–15 to finish in 7th place.

In 2011, after winning their opening game 34–8 against Argentina they were on the receiving end of a 92–0 thrashing by New Zealand in Italy, a record defeat for the side.

In 2012 Wales beat the baby All Blacks 9–6, the first time New Zealand have ever been defeated in the competition. This was also the first Welsh win against New Zealand at any level since 1954. However, later in the tournament Wales lost 30-6 to New Zealand in the semi-final.

2013 was the sides most successful year, making it to the final, where they faced England. Wales lead 15–3 at half time, but ultimately lost 23–15.[11]

Ahead of the 2023 Junior World Championship, former international wing Mark Jones was appointed as head coach, replacing Byron Hayward.[7]

Current squad

Wales Under 20 squad for the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship.[12]

Player Position Club
Lewis Lloyd Hooker Wales Ospreys
Lewis Morgan Hooker Wales Scarlets
Sam Scarfe Hooker Wales Dragons
Ellis Fackrell Prop Wales Ospreys
Kian Hire Prop Wales Ospreys
Dylan Kelleher-Evans Prop Wales Dragons
Josh Morse Prop Wales Scarlets
Liam Edwards Lock Wales Ospreys
Jonny Green Lock England Harlequins
Evan Hill Lock Wales Ospreys
Ryan Woodman Lock Wales Dragons
Seb Driscoll Back Row England Harlequins
Gwilym Evans Back Row Wales Cardiff
Mackenzie Martin Back Row Wales Cardiff
Morgan Morse Back Row Wales Ospreys
Che Hope Scrum-half Wales Dragons
Archie Hughes Scrum-half Wales Scarlets
Harri Williams Scrum-half England Ampthill
Dan Edwards Fly-half Wales Ospreys
Harri Wilde Fly-half Wales Cardiff
Bryn Bradley Centre England Harlequins
Tom Florence Centre Wales Ospreys
Louie Hennessey Centre Wales Cardiff
Joe Westwood Centre Wales Dragons
Harri Houston Wing Wales Ospreys
Llien Morgan Wing Wales Ospreys
Huw Anderson Fullback Wales Dragons
Cameron Winnett Fullback Wales Cardiff

Management

Position Name
Head coach Mark Jones
Assistant coach Richie Pugh
Defence coach Craig Everett
Breakdown coach Shaun Connor
Set piece coach Marc Breeze
Strength & conditioning Ciaran Miller

Rhodri Williams

Team manager Andy Lloyd

Results and statistics

Junior World Championships
YearPWDLPFPADiffBPPtsPool placePlay-offsFinal position
2008 33008539+462141st(Semifinals) Lost to New Zealand 31–6
(3rd Place Final) Lost to South Africa 43–18		4th
2009 320110758+49272nd(5th–8th Semifinals) Beat Ireland 19–17
(5th Place Final) Lost to France 68–13		6th
2010 32016359+4082nd(5th–8th Semifinals) Lost to Argentina 19–19

(9–8 in drop goal shootout)
(7th Place Final) Beat Fiji 39–15

 7th
2011 3 2 0 1 90 106 -16 2 10 3rd (5th–8th Semifinals) Lost to Fiji 34–20

(7th Place Final) Beat Ireland 38–24

 7th
2012 3 3 0 0 127 27 +100 2 11 1st (Semifinals) Lost to New Zealand 30–6

(3rd Place Final) Beat Argentina 25–17

 3rd
2013 3 3 0 0 93 44 +49 1 13 1st (Finals) Lost to England 23–15 2nd
2014 3 2 0 1 82 57 +25 1 9 2nd (5th–8th Semifinals) Lost to France 19–18

(7th Place Final) Beat Samoa 20–3

 7th
2015 3 1 0 2 92 52 +40 1 5 3rd (5th–8th Semifinals) Beat Ireland 22–12

(5th Place Final) Lost to Australia 28–23

 6th
2016 3 1 0 2 52 53 -1 3 7 3rd (5th–8th Semifinals) Lost to New Zealand 71–12

(7th Place Final) Beat Scotland 42–19

 7th
2017 3 1 0 2 93 78 +15 2 6 3rd (5th–8th Semifinals) Lost to Scotland 29–25

(7th Place Final) Beat Italy 25–24

 7th
2018 3 2 0 1 54 80 -26 0 8 2nd (5th–8th Semifinals) Lost to Argentina 39–15

(7th Place Final) Beat Italy 34–17

 7th
2019 3 2 0 1 87 85 +2 1 9 3rd (5th–8th Semifinals) Beat New Zealand 8–7

(5th Place Final) Lost to England 45–26

 6th
Under 20 Six Nations Championships
SeasonPWDLPPosition
2007 511334th
2008 540182nd
2009 510425th
2010 530263rd
2011 521253rd
2012 520344th
2013 540182nd
2014 530263rd
2015 540183rd
2016 5500101st (Grand Slam)
2017 5 3 0 2 14 3rd
2018 5 2 0 3 10 5th
2019 5 2 0 3 10 4th
2020 5 2 0 3 8 Tournament suspended
2021 5 2 0 3 9 4th
2022 5 1 0 4 6 5th
2023 5 0 0 5 3 6th

Honours

References

  1. ↑ Wales Under 20 venue
  2. ↑ WRU: IRB Junior World Championships: Wales 2008: About the Tournament
  3. ↑ "Historic Under-20 Six Nations Results". Under-20 Six Nations. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  4. ↑ "Wales U20 15-28 England U20". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  5. ↑ "Wales U20 35-6 Italy U20". BBC Sport. 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  6. ↑ "England U20 16-42 Wales U20". BBC Sport. 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  7. 1 2 James, Ben (2023-06-07). "Wales name squad for World Rugby U20s Championship". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  8. ↑ WRU: IRB Junior World Championships: Wales 2008: Fixtures & Results
  9. ↑ "Horgan announces Wales U20 JWC squad". Welsh Rugby Union. 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  10. ↑ "Brawl teams given suspended fines". BBC News. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  11. ↑ "Wales U20 15-23 England Under-20". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  12. ↑ "Wales announce squad for World Rugby U20 Championship - Welsh Rugby Union". Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions. 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
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