Wales U19s kick off their IRB U19 World Championship campaign against New Zealand today (Thursday) and three players from The Dragons region are named in the match day 22.
Selected on the wing in the starting XV is Jimmy Norris (Bedwas) who also featured for Wales U20s against England in their Six Nations match. On the bench are Ebbw Vale duo hooker Ben Roberts and fly half David Langdon.
Looking ahead to the forthcoming championships in Belfast, U19 coach Justin Burnell said, "The team is made up of our best players picked on current form. The opening game against New Zealand is a fantastic opportunity to test ourselves against the best in the world at age group level. It is a crucial game for us – if we don't come away with at least a bonus point, it will be very difficult to progress into the top four which is where we want to be.
"We are going into the unknown with regards the opposition but we know that there is no such thing as a bad New Zealand team – at whatever level. We know that our academy system is producing players who are bigger, fitter and stronger than ever before but it is only when you play the best nations in the world that you get a real measure of where we are in the world game."
Newport fullback Luke Hathaway has suffered an ankle injury in training and a replacement has been flown out as cover.
Wales U19 Team
Daniel Evans, Jimmy Norris, Luke Ford, Rhys Williams, Leigh Halfpenny, Gareth Owen, Rhys Webb, Ryan Bevington, Huw Dowden, Patrick Palmer, Nathan White, Josh Turnbull, Sam Warburton (c), Nicolas Cudd, Lloyd Phillips
Replacements From
Ben Roberts, Lloyd Elliot, Phillip Price, Haydn Pugh, Jevon Groves, Jonathan Griffiths, Gareth Williams, David Langdon, Tom Williams, Nicholas Harwood, James Egan.
