RGC star Sam Wainwright will start for Wales U20s in-front of his home crowd at Stadiwm Zip World on Friday (8.15pm).

The tighthead has been named in Jason Strange’s side for their opening Six Nations clash against Scotland, which is expected to draw a bumper crowd to Colwyn Bay for the clash.

Leicester Tigers’ Tommy Reffell, who captained Wales U18 to some notable victories last season, has the honour of leading his country once again. The core of that Wales U18 backline continues this Friday, with Ospreys trio Harri Morgan (scrum-half), Callum Carson (centre) and Cai Evans (fullback) all set to run out against the Scots.

Reffell leads from an all-new back row featuring Scarlets openside Dan Davies and Dragons number eight Taine Basham – the latter having made his full regional debut for the Men of Gwent earlier this month.

There is an element of continuity, with seven of the starting line-up having featured for the U20s last season, including second row partners Max Williams (Dragons) and Jack Pope (Bridgend).

The head coach, said: “We’ve got a lot of promising youngsters in there – many of them still eligible for U18s - but we had a very young squad last season too.

“Which means we can benefit from the return of players like Ben Jones and Rhys Carre.

“We saw what a lot of these new boys are capable of during their time with the U18s last year, so it’s up to them to step up and show us what they can do in the U20s shirt in front of what is a terrific crowd in North Wales."

Wales U20 team to face Scotland: Cai Evans (Ospreys), Joe Goodchild (Dragons), Corey Baldwin (Scarlets), Callum Carson (Ospreys), Ryan Conbeer (Scarlets), Ben Jones (Cardiff Blues), Harri Morgan (Ospreys), Rhys Carre (Cardiff Blues), Iestyn Harris (Cardiff Blues), Sam Wainwright (RGC), Jack Pope (Bridgend), Max Williams (Dragons), Tommy Reffell (c) (Leicester Tigers), Dan Davies (Scarlets), Taine Basham (Dragons).

Replacements: Dewi Lake (Ospreys), Josh Reynolds (Dragons), Rhys Henry (Ospreys), Morgan Jones (Scarlets), Morgan Morris (Ospreys), Dan Babos (Dragons), Ben Thomas (Cardiff Blues), Tommy Rogers (Scarlets).