PREVIEW…Wales v Georgia (Today, Kick-off 3pm)
Wales U20s defence coach Craig Everett says his side are ‘chomping at the bit' for their physical battle against Georgia today.
Following a hard fought 27-26 loss to New Zealand, a 41-19 win over Japan and a 43-19 defeat to France, Wales finished third in pool A.
Meanwhile, Georgia have caught the eye in this tournament, securing wins over Italy and Argentina after pushing South Africa close in their first game, and only narrowly missed out on qualification for the semi-finals finishing second in pool C.
The two sides meet in a fifth place playo-ff semi-final and Everett says his side are prepared for a physical battle against Georgia's beefy pack.
He said: “Looking at Georgia, you know exactly what we're going to get. They are very physical and have a very good set piece.
“It's tough playing every five days. It's not a case of going every five days; you've got to recover well, do your prep on each team, so the World Cup is a lot harder mentally and physically than the Six Nations. Credit to the boys for staying on, we work hard as a group and I feel like we're delivering the best we can.
“They've been very direct and are very confrontational with their one up runners. As long as we get our mindset right and our own tackle selection right, it'll allow us to dominate the space.”
Wales endured a physical encounter just five days ago against a monstrous France side, that included 18-year-old 6ft 4in, 23st 7lb second row Posolo Tuilagi, and Everett is hoping his men learn from their bruising encounter.
He said: “Against France we came up against six of the biggest blokes you'll ever come up against at U20s level. We're confident in our set piece and firmly believe our line out will get us a lot of ball and our scrum will be strong enough for us to play off.
“If we flip the France game, we weren't quite where we wanted to be defensively as we were quite narrow, so we're focusing on ourselves making sure we get our systems and spacings right.
“Our boys are chomping at the bit and can't wait for the opportunity to put the things we didn't do right against France right against Georgia. The boys are raring to go and can't wait to represent their country again.”
Head coach Mark Jones has made three changes as Harri Houston switches from wing to full-back after Cameron Winnett took a knock against France, Llien Morgan comes in on the wing while centre Joe Westwood gets a first start The 19-year-old Bristol forward appeared in the final two pool games and added: “Mentally we're all ready to go, physically some of us are a bit battered and bruised but that's when the other players will step in when we need them. Every single one of us can do a job if needs be.
“They're one of the most physical teams in the tournament. These are my favourite games. I get more up for these games than any other, I get butterflies in my stomach because these games are the best. When you play fast teams that like to throw the ball about a bit that's more for the backs but when a physical team comes, upfront I love it. It's fight or flight and I'm a fighter.”
TEAMS
WALES: Houston, Florence, Hennessey, Westwood, Morgan, D Edwards, Hughes; Kelleher-Griffiths, Lloyd, Hire, L Edwards, Green, Woodman (c), Driscoll, M Morse
Replacements: Morgan, J Morse, Fletcher, Martin, De La Rua, Bradley, Wilde, Williams
GEORGIA: Tsirekidze, Aptsiauri, Kakhoidze, Ragoev, Khorbaladze, Khutsishvili, Jigauri; Mamaiashvili, Tohamiashvili, Aptsiauri, Ghaniashvili, Nikoladze, Zazadze, Ghaniashvili, Tsikhistavi (c)
Replacements: Khonelidze, Mamaiashvili, Mohedlidze, Gergedava, Beridze, Khuroshvili, Kheladze, Kobauri of the campaign. Wales back row powerhouse Mackenzie Martin, who's 6ft 5in and over 18 stone, is named among the replacements and is relishing the hard collisions.
