Posted by The 2026 U20 Six Nations kicks off for Cymru D20 with a daunting trip away to face England U20 at Northampton’s Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night, as another talented group go up against familiar challenges.
Head Coach Richard Whiffin has named a 40-man squad for the tournament after training camps and warm-up games held either side of Christmas, with 11 players back for a second crack at the Six Nations as the selection balances experience with a few exciting schoolboy talents.
Of course they will be looking to build on the relative success of 2025 when statement home wins over England and Ireland, plus a battle past Italy in Treviso, saw the young men in red to a third place finish. The best return from the Championship since the same three wins and third place back in 2017.
It’s another group of eye-catching individual talents, headlined by Deian Gwynne and Tom Bowen. Back rower Gwynne has made nine appearances across all competitions for Gloucester so far this season, including two starts in the Investec Champions Cup, while winger Bowen has six tries in 10 games in United Rugby Championship and European Challenge Cup action.
Gwynne will co-captain the team alongside Cardiff centre Steff Emanuel, who starts his third year with Cymru D20 off the back of five appearances for the Blue & Blacks in the league and Europe.
Over the rest of the squad there is plenty of regular rugby being played with at least 18 turning out in Super Rygbi Cymru and 10 in BUCS Super Rugby squads, while the rest are spread out across the BUCS Prem South, WRU Championship, England’s National 1, and some of the English-based players have a handful of Prem Cup appearances between them.
Only scrum-half Luca Woodyatt and centre Bailey Cutts are not at least semi-regularly exposed to senior rugby courtesy of still being in school. Woodyatt is at Wycliffe and playing for Gloucester U18, while Cutts goes to Ysgol Glantaf and is in the Cardiff U18 squad.
There are two other schoolboys in Whiffin’s squad that may well catch the eye over the next few weeks in the form of Tom Howe and Carwyn Leggatt-Jones. Hooker Howe has been tipped as a future prospect for a few years despite only turning 18 just prior to Christmas, and comes into the Six Nations having won the WRU College League with Glantaf before making a try scoring SRC debut with Cardiff.
Leggatt-Jones has been similarly talked about since junior rugby and helped lead Llandovery College to that WRU College League last season. He made his full URC debut for Scarlets last weekend with an assured performance in tricky conditions as heavy fog came down away at Benetton.
Despite the individual talent though there is a familiar feel around Cymru D20’s prospects for the tournament once again.
With England and Ireland being played away from home this year the task will be a lot tougher. Especially in round one at Northampton where the English appear to have once again developed a formidable pack who will likely be too much physically for the young Welshmen.
Add in the removal of a fallow week, which benefits the likes of England, France and Ireland with their bigger player pool and better resources, and it is an uphill battle to return to three wins and the top half of the table.
Plus, of course, the approach of Whiffin to Cymru D20’s Six Nations campaign which tends to be used as an extended pre-World Rugby U20 Championship training camp and warm-up games with the majority of the 40-man squad in line to see some action ahead of a smaller squad travelling to Georgia this summer.
If the men in red emerge with two wins and some positive performances then it will be a successful campaign. The forging of combinations and discovery of some players perhaps lower down the pecking order emerging as a summer starter are very welcome bonuses.
Unfortunately I fear a tough night on Friday though to get things underway. Hopefully supporters stay with the 20s and turn out in good numbers at the Arms Park and Rodney Parade. There’s plenty of talent in the squad, results aren’t the be all and end all!
Cardiff Rugby Life 