With two rounds to remember already under the belt, the World Rugby U-20s Championship group stage comes to a thrilling conclusion on Tuesday.
France and Wales both gave themselves the best possible chance of qualification from Pool A and Pool B also sees Six Nations sides in pole position, with England and Ireland sitting at the top of the standings.
Meanwhile, Italy gave themselves every chance of safe progression from Pool C thanks to an historic 34-26 win over hosts South Africa.
The Azzurri will now face Georgia in what is effectively a straight shoot-out for qualification to the semi-finals, while Grand Slam winners Ireland play Fiji as England face Australia and France and Wales clash.
France and Wales clash in Six Nations battle for supremacy
A Posolo Tuilagi-inspired France U20s put New Zealand to the sword on gameday 2 to leave them on the brink of topping Pool A but they do have a stumbling block in the form of Wales.
Mark Jones has made five changes to the side that beat Japan, as Tom Florence comes onto the wing in the sole change in the backs.
In the forwards, there are four further changes, including prop Kian Hire and flanker Seb Driscoll, who both earn their first starts in a Wales jersey,
Jones said: ‘It’s going to be all about the execution of the game plan, if we get it right then we know that we can make it worthy of a really good contest.
“There is no pressure on us for this game. We are going to need that 80-minute plus effort against this French side – they have an incredible squad and incredible depth, but this is a great opportunity for us.”
Their opponents France have themselves made 11 changes from the team that defeated New Zealand 35-14.
Six of those changes come in the forwards, with only Tuilagi and Zaccharie Affane remaining in the side.
There are a further five changes to the back-line, which sees captain Nicolas Depoortere shift to the wing and Theo Attissogbe move to full-back.
Wales team to face France: 15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Tom Florence, 13 Louie Hennessey, 12 Bryn Bradley, 11 Harri Houston, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Archie Hughes, 1 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, 2 Sam Scarfe, 3 Kian Hire, 4 Liam Edwards, 5 Jonny Green, 6 Ryan Woodman, 7 Seb Driscoll, 8 Morgan Morse
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Josh Morse, 18 Louis Fletcher, 19 Mackenzie Martin, 20 Gwilym Evans, 21 Joe Westwood, 22 Harri Wiilde, 23 Harri Williams
France team to face Wales: 15 Theo Attissogbe, 14 Nicolas Depoortere, 13 Maxence Biasotto, 12 Arthur Mathiron, 11 Maël Moustin, 10 Clement Mondinat, 9 Leo Carbonneau, 1 Lino Julien, 2 Barnabé Massa, 3 Zaccharie Affane, 4 Brent Liufau, 5 Posolo Tuilagi, 6 Esteban Capilla, 7 Andy Timo, 8 Mathis Castro-Ferreira
Replacements: 16 Thomas Lacombre, 17 Alexandere Kaddouri, 18 Thomas Duchene, 19 Lenni Nouchi, 20 Noa Zinzen, 21 Baptiste Jauneau, 22 Hugo Reus, 23 Paul Costes
Grand Slam winners looking to reach final four
Following their 30-10 win over Australia, Ireland also ring the changes, with coach Richie Murphy making as many as 11 ahead of the match with Fiji.
Diarmuid Mangan captains the side from the back row in a virtually brand-new pack, while there are four further changes in the backs.
Murphy said: “It has been a demanding couple of weeks with short turnarounds between our Pool matches, so it is important for us to use our squad wisely and we have selected the best 23 players for Tuesday’s challenge against Fiji.
“There is real excitement among the group as players get their starting opportunity in a green jersey and we’re looking forward to seeing how they perform and put their best foot forward for the team as we bid to finish the Pool stages strongly and give ourselves the best chance of progressing through to the semi-finals.”
Ireland team to face Fiji: 15 Harry West, 14 James Nicholson, 13 Sam Berman, 12 John Devine, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Matthew Lynch, 9 Oscar Cawley, 1 George Hadden, 2 Danny Sheahan, 3 Fiachna Barrett, 4 Evan O’Connell, 5 Joe Hopes, 6 Diarmuid Mangan, 7 Dan Barron, 8 Brian Gleeson
Replacements: 16. Max Clein, 17. George Morris, 18. Ronan Foxe, 19. Charlie Irvine, 20. Gus McCarthy, 21. Jack Oliver, 22. Sam Prendergast, 23. Henry McErlean
England face Junior Wallabies looking to finish top
Mark Mapletoft has named a strong England U20 side to face Australia with England on the cusp of advancing to the last four.
After significant changes were made ahead of the 53-7 win over Fiji on Gameday 2, Mapletoft again makes wholesale changes ahead of the clash with the Junior Wallabies.
Lewis Chessum comes back into the starting line-up and will captain from the second row, alongside Finn Carnduff, who captained against Fiji, in one of five changes to the pack.
Harlequins pair Connor Slevin and Cassius Cleaves are the two survivors in the backs, as Mapletoft emphasises the need for changes.
Mapletoft said: “This is a tough tournament with tight turnarounds and after a particularly physical game against Fiji, I’ve been pleased with the response from the players to make sure they’re ready to face Australia.
“We’re not thinking about who we’ll face in the tournament’s next stage, we’re solely focused on our next task at hand starting with Australia on Tuesday.”
England team to face Australia: 15 Sam Harris, 14 Jacob Cusick, 13 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 12 Joseph Woodward, 11 Cassius Cleaves, 10 Connor Slevin, 9 Charlie Bracken, 1 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2 Nathan Jibulu, 3 Afolabi Fasogbon, 4 Finn Carnduff, 5 Lewis Chessum ©, 6 Nathan Michelow, 7 Greg Fisilau, 8 Chandler Cunningham-South
Replacements: 16 Finn Theobald-Thomas, 17 Archie McArthur, 18 James Halliwell, 19 Harvey Cuckson, 20 Tristan Woodman, 21 Nye Thomas, 22 Joe Jenkins, 23 Louie Johnson
Italy looking to maintain momentum against Georgia
After a disappointing defeat to Argentina on Gameday 1, Italy bounced back in style to beat the Baby Boks and now all four sides in Pool C sit on one win.
That means it is all to play for and Massimo Brunello has made that clear with his team selection for the clash with Georgia.
He makes four changes from Thursday, with captain David Odiase remaining at openside flanker as Fabio Ruaro moves to blindside flanker to allow Jacopo Botturi to come into the side at No.8.
Pietro Turrisi remains in the second row but he is joined by Alex Mattioli, while Marcos Francesco Gallorini is the only change in the front row.
There is just one change in the backs – Nicola Bozzo returns to inside centre, which sees Dewi Passarella shift to outside centre and Lorenzo Elettri move to the wing.
Italy team to face Georgia: 15 Alessandro Gesi, 14 Francesco Bini, 13 Dewi Passarella, 12 Nicola Bozzo, 11 Lorenzo Elettri, 10 Simone Brisighella, 9 Lorenzo Casilio, 1 Riccardo Bartolini, 2 Nicholas Gasperini, 3 Marcos Francesco Gallorini, 4 Alex Mattioli, 5 Pietro Turrisi, 6 Fabio Ruaro, 7 David Odiase, 8 Jacopo Botturi
Replacements: 16 Giovanni Quattrini, 17 Samuele Taddei, 18 Federico Domenico Pisani, 19 Enrico Pontarini, 20 Carlos Berlese Lizardo, 21 Sebastiano Battara, 22 Matthias Leon Douglas, 23 Giovanni Sante
