Welsh Rugby’s Future Takes Centre Stage in Georgia - Ruck
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Welsh Rugby’s Future Takes Centre Stage in Georgia

26 June 2026
Harry Tovey

There is a well-publicised double-header taking place in south-west London on Saturday, but for many Welsh supporters, attention will be divided. 

While both Wales’ men’s and women’s sides are the main attraction at Allianz Stadium against the Barbarians, eyes will also be fixed on a former Soviet republic more than 3,000 miles away.

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Events here have far more significant implications for Welsh rugby than those at Twickenham. 

Richard Whiffin’s Wales U20s get their World Rugby Junior Championships underway as they face host nation, Georgia, in their opening match in Tbilisi. 

They head there off the back of an underwhelming Six Nations, from a results perspective, but even then, they still excite a passionate rugby nation. 

In a time of considerable turmoil in Welsh Rugby, Whiffin’s youngsters provided the perfect sanctuary of optimism for the future of the game in Wales. 

When you look back at their Six Nations, they narrowly lost to England in Northampton, put aside Scotland at the Cardiff Arms Park, and were defeated by Ireland and Italy to end their campaign. 

But in their 34-24 defeat against France on Valentine’s Day, the nation adored their gutsy displays and were richly entertained.

“The future looks bright”, so many Welsh supporters stated in the aftermath of that particular contest. 

In fact, that weekend in the Welsh capital, arguably the U20s outing was the main talking point following a nadir afternoon for the senior side the next day. 

It was a crushing, historical, record-breaking defeat against Les Bleus for Steve Tandy’s side, but hunting for some positive light during a torrid time for Welsh rugby, the U20s provided a glimmer of hope. 

That’s a great deal of pressure for so many young players to have on their shoulders, but watching those contests, they are thriving. Whiffin has done an incredible job, and the relatively new Super Rygbi Cymru competition is also helping matters massively. 

That humdrum loss to The Azzurri at Rodney Parade looks to be a distant memory as Whiffin’s side now face a tough group in this year’s World Championship. 

Preparation has gone well for his side, Tandy has provided encouragement, and they’ve demonstrated their readiness in a thrilling 53-40 victory over Scotland in an extraordinary 13-try contest at Meggetland.

Now attention rightly turns to proceedings in Georgia, as the U20s look to excite a nation yet again. It’s just what they do now. 

They head to the Georgian capital with a great deal of confidence, and, at U20s level especially, with a lot of familiar faces from last year’s World Championships in Italy. 

In fact, there are 10 players in Whiffin’s starting XV alone who played last summer. Cardiff’s Steffan Emanuel will co-captain this Wales side alongside Gloucester’s Deian Gwynne.

In a new-look second row partnership, Scarlets’ Will Evans will make his Wales debut alongside Cardiff’s Tom Cottle, while Ospreys’ Sam Morgan, who claimed a brace against the Scots, is set to make his debut from the bench. 

“It’s going to be a great occasion taking on Georgia in their home patch in front of their hostile crowd,” said Whiffin.

“We’ve got to put in place a game plan to quieten them down, and we know it is going to be a big physical challenge against what is a formidable pack; however, we feel we have got plenty of weapons which can counteract that.

“We’ve got three quick games in our pool, and the first game can really set you up nicely, considering we have got games five days after each other, but all eyes are on Georgia. We know it is going to be a very tough game.

“They are well coached and play a lot of games and enter the competition having just beaten the junior All Blacks (22-19), so they will be battle hardened for us.”

At Avchala Stadium, Wales will meet Georgia for only the second time, before then facing Uruguay and reigning world champions South Africa. 

In the three tournaments post Covid, Wales have failed to reach the semi-finals, and Whiffin wants a better return in 2026. 

“Our mantra in camp has been how can we develop a more ruthless mindset that will allow us to put teams to the sword when we are on top,” continued Whiffin. 

“There has been a big focus on game management over the past three weeks. The results in the Six Nations weren’t what we wanted, although we were competitive throughout, and our points difference at the end was our best since Covid.

“We’re putting more pressure on the boys to win as well as compete, and the challenge for the senior players in our group, many of whom have played a lot of senior rugby, is to be the stand-out performers at the tournament.”

Uruguay is next after Saturday’s encounter, before that daunting fixture against the Junior Springboks. Albeit an uphill battle, Whiffin’s side will be well and truly up for it against the current U20 Rugby Championship winners. 

“They look pretty dominant and have proved they are the reigning world champions at U20 level for a reason,” added Whiffin. 

“We play them in our final pool match, and we are challenging our boys to win the opening fixtures against Georgia and Uruguay to set up a big winner takes-all match with the Junior Springboks.

“That’s the target, although we know we will face a huge battle in the opening game against Georgia. 

“They nearly beat England in last year’s tournament and have been posting good results at U18 level in the recent Six Nations Festivals.

“They will be strong at the set-piece and have some big men playing in France who will challenge the gain line.

“Their No 8 Mikheil Shioshvili has played 11 times for Toulon in the Top 14 and Champions Cup this season.”

That’s all to come, but in what will be an emotional and passionate Georgian side first up to lift the curtain on their championship, Wales U20s this summer need to turn performances into victories. 

That’s the challenge, and Whiffin’s side will undoubtedly relish it; they’re the nation’s favourites after all. 

Wales U20 v Georgia, Sat 27th June, Avchala Stadium 15:00

15 Lewis Edwards (Ospreys)
14 Rhys Cummings (Cardiff Rugby)
13 Osian Darwin-Lewis (Cardiff Rugby)
12 Steffan Emanuel (Cardiff Rugby) Co-capt
11 Tom Bowen (Cardiff Rugby)
10 Carwyn Leggatt-Jones (Scarlets)
9 Siôn Davies (Cardiff Rugby)
1 George Tuckley (Dragons RFC)
2 Tom Howe (Cardiff Rugby
3 Jac Pritchard (Scarlets)
4 Will Evans (Scarlets)
5 Tom Cottle (Cardiff Rugby)
6 Deian Gwynne (Gloucester Rugby) Co-capt
7 Caio James (Gloucester)
8 Evan Minto (Dragons RFC)

Replacements: 

16 Oscar Thomas (Bath Rugby)
17 Dylan James (Ospreys)
18 Yestyn Cook (Scarlets)
19 Osian Williams (Bristol Bears)
20 Sam Morgan (Ospreys)
21 Cai Gealy (Bristol Bears)
22 Lloyd Lucas (Cardiff Rugby)
23 Dylan Scott (Cardiff Met)

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