The changing faces of Wales... so who’s left as McBryde plots win over Samoa?

WALES showed grit and determination to win a game that looked beyond them for large parts to claim seventh spot in the World Rugby U20 Championship with a 25-24 victory against Italy at Avchala Stadium, writes Anthony Woolford.

Jason Strange’s side looked like they were heading for a humiliating defeat when 24-15 down but replacement centre Connor Edwards hauled his side back into the game with a block- busting run with his first touch of the championship, which ultimately led to Phil Jones scoring out wide.

Arwel Robson’s conversion brought Wales to within two points with 13 minutes remaining.

The game swung in Wales’ favour five minutes from time when Italy flanker Jacopo Bianchi saw red for a high shot on Robson.

Jones stepped up to take the penalty and he showed nerves of steel to give Wales the lead – an advantage they somehow managed to keep until the final whistle to secure their second scalp of the campaign.

Italy opened the scoring in the seventh minute when fly half Antonio Rizzi eased over a penalty.

He then made Owen Lane pay for a tackle that didn’t involve any arms and he landed a penalty from inside his own half with ease to double his tally.

Robson halved the deficit three minutes later when centre Marco Zanon was yellow carded for pulling the fly half back from a quick tap.

Robson was to the fore in the 29th minute when he danced his way through a posse of Italian defenders on the halfway mark. Jones linked up well and sent long striding second row Callum Bradbury to the try-line unopposed.

Robson’s conversion put Wales 10-6 ahead and with their noses in front for the first time of the match.

Rizzi clawed back three more points with his third penalty of the afternoon before Wales scored the try of the tournament.

Winger Ryan Conbeer put Wales 15-9 ahead at the break but Italy stunned Wales with a try within two minutes of the restart.

Robson has a clearance kick charged down and winger Giovanni D’Onofrio picked up the pieces and dived over. AMID the furore and acrimony surrounding Warren Gatland’s contentious decision to call up four of Wales’ touring squad as bench-warmers for his Lions midweek match against the Chiefs, spare a thought for Robin McBryde as he and his depleted party head to Samoa.

While the names of Kristian Dacey, Cory Hill and Tomas Francis may be relative unknowns to those not up to speed on the Welsh game, the trio represented three of the more experienced forwards in McBryde’s freshfaced summer squad.

All three, as well as Scarlets scrumhalf Gareth Davies, started in the gritty 24-6 win over Tonga in Auckland last Friday and it means Wales will take on their next assignment in Apia having to field one of the most inexperienced line-ups they have ever had put on an international rugby field.

There were fewer caps on show four years ago in Japan, but the presence of double British Lion Jamie Roberts, who now has 92 Welsh appearances to his name, skews the overall figure for the class of 2017.

Take out the combined midfield tally — Scott Williams has 47 caps — and the rest of the likely starting side boasts a mere 56 Wales appearances between them, that’s an average of just over four each.

Up front, the pack could have less than 30 caps between them and the front five just 16, with 23-year-old loose-head Nicky Smith carrying 13 of those.

To compound matters, wing Alex Cuthbert, a Lions Test wing four years ago and along with Roberts one of the old heads of the group, has been ruled out of the remainder of the trip with a shoulder injury.

ROB LLOYD looks at the kind of rookie side McBryde could put out in Apia.