Ventisei to captain Scotland U20 in friendly against Wales

Glasgow Warriors centre Johnny Ventisei will captain the side. Ventisei was part of the 2024 World Rugby U20 Trophy winning squad in summer and captained the Combined Academies against Ulster Development earlier this season.

Two players who were involved in Scotland U20’s development side against Wales last weekend, Keita Ando and Ollie McKenna, start in the front row. Ando will play at loosehead prop while McKenna, who started at loosehead prop last week, moves to hooker. The front three is completed by tighthead prop Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, who scored Emerging Scotland’s only try against Italy Under-23s last weekend.

Another Emerging Scotland player, Dan Halkon, starts in the second row alongside Melrose RFC prospect Dylan Cockburn. The back row has some consistency from the development fixture, with blindside flanker Christian Lindsay and number 8 Oliver Finlayson-Russell maintaining their places. They are joined by Ulster openside flanker Billy Allen.

Noah Cowan retains the scrum-half berth from the development fixture, while Matthew Urwin comes in at stand-off having come off the bench for Emerging Scotland last weekend.

Kerr Yule, entering his third season of Scotland U20 rugby, starts at inside centre, joining captain Ventisei in the midfield.

The back three is made up of Fergus Watson on the left wing and Nairn Moncrieff on the right, with Jack Brown, who recently featured for Scotland A against Chile, starting at full back.

A 14-player bench includes several players who featured for the development side last week. Jamie McAughtrie, Jamie Stewart and Ryan Whitefield are all retained and selected as front row replacements, with prop Finlay McIntosh of the University of Nottingham also included. Second row Bart Godsell and back row Zander Mactaggart are maintained in the squad, and the forward replacements are completed by University of Edinburgh’s Mark Fyffe and McIntosh’s university teammate Alfie Hoyles.

The backs replacements are scrum-half Robbie Baird, Edinburgh Rugby stand-off prospect Ross Wolfenden, wingers Guy Rogers and Cameron Van Wyk and centre Angus Hunter.

Captain Johnny Ventisei said: “It was a huge honour when Kenny asked me to be captain for this game. I’m really excited to lead the boys out. There’s a lot of other good leaders in the squad as well that will help me out, but I can’t wait for it.

“The guys who have been with other Scotland teams have probably learned a lot from coaches and players just from being in those environments, so hopefully they can bring those learnings here. They know the standard that is required at that level so it’s good to have them in our group.

“We’ve had a good week’s prep, the boys did well last week in the development match. We’ve got a couple of boys back in from the summer and we’re excited to get going.”

While tickets are not available for this fixture, a full match report and images will be available after the game.

Scotland U20 team to face Wales U20 at Hive Stadium today (kick off 2.30pm)

15. Jack Brown* (Edinburgh Rugby)
14. Nairn Moncrieff* (Edinburgh Rugby)
13. Johnny Ventisei* – CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors)
12. Kerr Yule* (Glasgow Warriors)
11. Fergus Watson* (Glasgow Warriors)

10. Matthew Urwin* (Glasgow Warriors)
9. Noah Cowan (Brunel – Trailfinders Rugby Academy)

1. Keita Ando (Exeter Chiefs)
2. Ollie McKenna* (Glasgow Warriors)
3. Ollie Blyth Lafferty* (Edinburgh Rugby)
4. Dan Halkon* (Glasgow Warriors)
5. Dylan Cockburn (Melrose RFC)
6. Christian Lindsay* (Loretto School / Edinburgh Rugby)
7. Billy Allen (Ulster Rugby)
8. Oliver Finlayson-Russell (University of St Andrews)

Replacements

16. Jamie McAughtrie (Glasgow Academicals RFC/Ayr RFC)
17. Finlay McIntosh (University of Nottingham)
18. Jamie Stewart* (Edinburgh Rugby)
19. Bart Godsell (Loughborough University)
20. Zander Mactaggart (Merchiston Castle School)
21. Robbie Baird (Ayr RFC)
22. Ross Wolfenden* (Edinburgh Rugby)
23. Guy Rogers (Harlequins/University of Surrey)
24. Ryan Whitefield (Biggar RFC)
25. Mark Fyffe (University Of Edinburgh)
26. Alfie Hoyles (University of Nottingham)
27. Cameron Van Wyk (Ayr RFC)
28. Angus Hunter (Heriots Rugby)