Wales U20s vs Italy U20s: The Welsh aiming to hit par in Six Nations finale

By Sam Jackson

Wales U20s head coach Richard Whiffin says his side must beat Italy today to deliver what he believes would represent a “par” Six Nations campaign.

The Welsh youngsters welcome the Italians to Rodney Parade, chasing their second win of the tournament after a campaign that has produced encouraging performances but limited reward.

Wales pushed both England and France close before finally getting off the mark with a victory over Scotland in Cardiff in round three.

Last weekend, they again showed attacking promise in Cork, scoring five tries against Ireland, but ultimately fell to a 48-33 defeat.

Compete

Despite the mixed results, Whiffin, above, believes his team have shown enough to prove they can compete with the best sides in the competition.

“If we get the win on Sunday, it’s par, but with the anticipation of being really excited going into the World Championship knowing that we can go toe to toe with anyone,” he said.

“The players know that we can beat anyone on any given day, so we need to make sure we back up these performances.”

Wales make two changes to the starting XV that faced Ireland, with Lewis Edwards handed his first start of the campaign at full-back, while Dom Kossuth comes into the back row in place of the injured Dragons No.8 Evan Minto.

Top try scorer

The hosts opt for a six-two split on the bench, with Bath forward Alex Ridgway returning after scoring his first try for the Prem champions in last weekend’s Prem Cup semi-final defeat to Leicester.

Fly-half Carwyn Leggatt-Jones is unavailable after being released to join Scarlets for their rearranged URC clash with Connacht this weekend.

Italy are winless in the competition but do possess the joint top try scorer in the tournament in hooker Valerio Pelli, who has four, while captain Riccardo Casarin leads the championship with six turnovers won.