Ryan Woodman will lead Wales Under-20s in their first match of the World Rugby U20 Championship against New Zealand at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday (6pm BST).
The Dragons’ back row missed the junior Six Nations through injury and his return is a welcome boost to Richard Whiffin’s side as they face Spain and France in Group A.
Whiffin has named the 23rd as the most experienced matchday, with just two uncapped players named on the bench – Cardiff centre Steffan Emanuel and Scarlets scrum-half Lucca Setaro.
“I think we picked a really strong team and what I thought was a very strong bench,” Whiffin said.
“We had to make some tough selection decisions on some players who had started multiple games in the Six Nations. We benched them as we thought they would make an impact in the second half.
“I’m delighted to have Woody back as captain. He gives us a physical presence and can dominate the lineout.”
Of the starting 15, only hooker Isaac Young and Woodman did not feature in the Six Nations Championship, with Young ahead of Scarlets team-mate Harry Thomas, who was named on the bench.
“He (Young) has trained really well. He’s a big guy and enjoys the physical side of the game. We think he can bring that physicality to both sides of the ball to put pressure on the New Zealand players,” Whiffin added.
“We’ve done our research on New Zealand and we know what’s going to happen.
“They are always a very good ball-moving team, quick and strong players who look to dominate clashes, but we have to focus on ourselves in terms of how we execute our own game plan.”
