Wales U19 to play Cardiff RFC

Burnell has lined up the fixture in order to give his Wales U19 side a stern test for their final warm-up game ahead of the IRB World Championships in Belfast next month.

The side played two matches, beating Ireland at Stradey Park before losing to France in Avignon. Their third match against England was called off due to the weather conditions.

Burnell said, “We are playing New Zealand in our opening World Cup match on April 5th so it is vital we are as physically and mentally prepared as possible.

“As we found last year in Dubai, New Zealand are a huge step up from the other sides we play outside of the World Championships and playing against Cardiff will be good preparation for that Test, and our other Pool matches against Argentina and Samoa.

“Most of our U19 side play regularly in the Premiership so we should see a competitive entertaining game of rugby on Monday night.

“We are more or less there with selection but Monday’s match will help to finalise that and will give us a final chance to see our players in a match situation before the World Championships get underway.

“I will have my Wales U19 hat firmly on for this game – but obviously I will also have a keen eye on the performance of my Cardiff players too.

“WRU Blues Academy Skills Coach Danny Wilson and Matthew Silva, who are both in the Cardiff RFC coaching team, will prepare the Cardiff side, while Patrick Horgan, who coaches Ebbw Vale, is our U19 assistant coach so it’s fair to say the Principality Premiership will be well represented.”

Tickets for the match are available on the gate at £2.