MITCHELL TO LEAD WALES UNDER 19 AGAINST SCOTS

Ospreys tight-head prop Craig Mitchell, Dragons back row man Will Waldron and Bath centre Tom Cheeseman all figure in the 22, with the experienced Mitchell being given the honour of captaining the side in the first of their six Tests ahead of the IRB Under 19 World Cup in South Africa this summer.

Cardiff Blues provide five of the back division and three members of the pack, while the Scarlets provide three of the starting line-up and the Ospreys and Dragons two each.

Wales beat the Scots twice at this age group last season and the Scots have already played and lost to Italy Under 19 this season. But new Welsh coach Ian Jones is still expecting a very tough challenge for his new look side.

“Our main priority is to establish a settled side before the World Cup in the summer and this game is going to give the coaching staff a chance to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the side. We have a good mix of players and they are all good athletes,” said Jones.

“We don’t know much about the Scots, but we will pay them the utmost respect. You cannot afford to underestimate any team at this age group and the Scots beat us in Italy at the 2002 World Cup.

“The great thing for us is that all the Welsh players are getting regular games of high intensity in the Reebok Under 20 Championship and a lot of them are experiencing an even higher grade at club and regional level. Tom Cheeseman has played in the Zurich Premiership with Bath, Aaron Bramwell has played for Swansea, Craig Mitchell and Martin Roberts have had a number of appearances with Neath and Darren Daniel has got nine tries for Llanelli in the Welsh Premiership.

“They are all getting a good grounding and each season at this age level the players are becoming more and more professional in their outlook. They are all very ambitious to become full-time professionals, although we ensure they understand that there is a lot more that needs to go into their lives than just rugby.”

Wales will host England at Aberavon on Thursday, 3 February before travelling to Italy and France. They complete their junior Six Nations campaign against the Irish at Ebbw Vale on Friday, 4 March.

WALES UNDER 19 (v Scotland)
15. AARON BRAMWELL (Ospreys – vice-captain) 14. DARREN DANIEL (Scarlets) 13. GREGORY EVANS (Blues) 12. LLOYD RYLAND (Blues) 11. CHRISTOPHER CLAYTON  (Blues) 10. GARETH WILLIAMS-DAVIES (Blues) 9.  TOM DICKENS (Blues) 1.  NICKY DOWNS (Dragons) 2.  KEN OWENS (Scarlets) 3.  CRAIG MITCHELL (Ospreys – captain) 4.  BRADLEY DAVIES (Blues) 5.  SAM WAHDAN (Blues) 6.  WILL WALDRON (Dragons) 7.  STUART PHILLIPS (Scarlets) 8.  ADAM POWELL (Blues)

 Replacements
16. ROY JONES (Ospreys)
17. JAMES LITTLEHALES (Ospreys)
18. RICHARD WILKES (Dragons)
19. JAMES CONNERS (Blues)
20. BEN LEWIS (Ospreys)
21. MARTIN ROBERTS (Ospreys)
22. TOM CHEESEMAN (Bath)

WALES UNDER 19 LAST SEASON
Under 19 Six Nations – Beat Italy 38-0; Scotland 21-12; Ireland 32-14; Lost to France 14-25; Beat England 17-10.
IRB Under 19 World Cup – Beat Italy 52-9; Lost to France 3-27; Beat Argentina 27-15; Beat Scotland 29-16; Beat Australia 14-10 (Finished 5th).

WALES UNDER 19 FIXTURES 2005   

Thursday, 20 January: Scotland v Wales (Dalzeil RFC, Glasgow)

Thursday, 3 February: Wales v England (Aberavon)

Friday, 11 February: Italy v Wales (Parabiago)

Friday, 25 February: France v Wales (Tarbes)

Friday, 4 March: Wales v Ireland (Ebbw Vale)

1 April: IRB Under 19 World Cup (Durban)