The Carmarthen Quins and Scarlets academy forward, who has switched from No. 8 to his preferred blindside flank role for this Pool C decider, says it will be the group’s team spirit and the hard work they put in before travelling to France that will help them against their toughest opponents so far in the tournament.
The Welsh youngsters beat Samoa 42-3 and Scotland 26-21 in the earlier Pool games, but with Argentina also undefeated, they must win this clash in order to be guaranteed a semi-final spot.
“We are really excited about the game, for most of the boys it’s the biggest we’ve played in with the most at stake so we’re just looking forward to the challenge now,” said Bennett, who played his junior rugby at Narberth.
“With two wins out of two, both sides are going into this game with momentum so it may well come down to who can tough it out in the final minutes. We put a lot of hard work in before coming out to France, and we are a very tight knit group but it’s going to be that mental toughness and fitness that will make the difference in the end.
“We have shown already in this tournament against Scotland – and last year against New Zealand and Argentina, that we can dig in and step up a gear to win close games when we need to.
“The boys did so well last year so the pressure is on but we are determined to go through to the semis ourselves.”
Head coach Danny Wilson has made seven changes and two positional to the side ahead of this clash and that’s a mark of the strength in depth in the squad according to Bennett.
“As the tournament has moved on there have been some tough choices for the coaches and that can only be a good thing,” added the New Zealand born forward.
“As players, you push yourselves when there is competition for places and we all want to show what we can do.”
