Italy and Argentina have both named sides with only two players with fewer than 10 caps for their encounter in Udine on Saturday.
It's semi-finals Sunday at the World Rugby U20 Championship and following last Tuesday’s weather-affected schedule, the hope will be that all six matches will be played to an 80-minute conclusion unlike on match day three when there were just four and a half matches completed due to the heavy rain making pitches unplayable.
Three matches are scheduled for Athlone: Ireland-Australia (2pm local time), France-Wales (4:30pm) and South Africa-England (7pm). Over in Stellenbosch, it’s Argentina-Fiji (2pm), Georgia-Italy (4:30pm) and New Zealand-Spain (7pm).
Former Bath and England U20 fullback Matt Gallagher is in line to make his Italy debut this Friday against Samoa after being selected to start by head coach Gonzalo Quesada.
Three matches are scheduled for Stellenbosch: Ireland vs Georgia (kick-off 2pm local), France vs New Zealand (4:30pm) and South Africa vs Argentina (7pm). Over in Athlone, Wales vs Spain is the opening match (2pm) followed by England vs Fiji (4:30pm) and Australia vs Italy (7pm).
Australia felt hard done by in their round two loss to Ireland in Paarl because in the aftermath of their 10-30 defeat, Irish back-rower James McNabney was cited and banned for foul play that happened in the 35th minute that was missed by the officials in real time.
Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada has announced a preliminary squad of 39 players for a training camp in L'Aquila from 19 to 22 June, in preparation for the 2024 summer tour.
So long the whipping boys, in its 25th edition, Italy finally joined the Six Nations party and they will now hope to kick on and prosper
Home hopes of avoiding a bottom-placed finish went south as George North’s farewell ended in disappointment.
Wales player ratings: It is the wooden spoon for Wales, and rightfully so after a match where a losing bonus point in a 24-21 loss to Italy flattered them.