Wales national under-20 rugby union team

Wales Under 20

Union	Welsh Rugby Union
Emblem(s)	The Prince of Wales's feathers
Ground(s)	Eirias Park, Colwyn Bay [1] Rodney Parade, Newport Liberty Stadium, Swansea Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Coach(es)	Byron Hayward
Team kit Change kit
First international
Wales 15–28 England (1 February 2008)
Largest win
Wales 74–3 Samoa (12 June 2012)
Largest defeat
New Zealand 92–0 Wales (14 June 2011)
World Cup
Appearances	6 (First in 2008)
Best result	Runners up, 2013

The Wales national Under 20 rugby team is for Welsh rugby union players aged 20 or under on January 1 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.

2008 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[5]

2010 Junior World Championships

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.

2011 Junior World Championships

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

2012 Junior World Championships

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.

Current squad

Wales Under 20 squad for the 2015 Six Nations Under 20s Championship.^[6]

Management

• Byron Hayward - Head Coach
• Mark Taylor - Team Manager
• Ioan Cunningham - Assistant Coach
• Richard Hodges - Assistant Coach
• Patrick Moran - Physiotherapist
• Ashley James - Physiotherapist
• Julian Widdowson - Team Doctor
• Marc Kinnaird - Video Analyst
• Craig Whelan - Video Analyst
• Richard Smout - Logistics Manager
• Mark Kilgallon - Strength & Conditioning
• Rhodri Williams - Strength & Conditioning

Results and Statistics

Notable former coaches

• Dai Rees (2007)
• Phil Davies (2009)
• Darren Edwards (2010)
• Richard Webster (2011)

Notable former players

• Dan Biggar (2008)
• Bradley Davies (2007)
• Jonathan Davies (2008)
• Leigh Halfpenny (2008)
• Tom James (2007)
• Sam Warburton (2008)

References