His place at No 8 has been taken by James Benjamin with Scott Matthews coming on to the bench for the 7th Place Play-Off which kicks off at 6.35am UK time but will be shown in full as live at 11pm on S4C.
The starting line-up now includes four changes from Sunday’s 19-18 defeat to France in the 5th Place Semi-Final for the side’s final match of the Junior World Championship in New Zealand.
Wales have recorded wins over Fiji and France in the competition so far, but lost to Ireland in the Pool stages, and to France on Sunday.
Scott Otten comes in at hooker and Joe Davies starts in the second row, with Will Boyde on the openside. Behind the scrum, Ethan Davies gets his first start at outside half.
Tomorrow is the 7th Place Play-Off and headc coach Byron Hayward is looking for a spirited and structured final performance.
“Other than Joe Davies, who is returning after a knock to the shoulder, the other changes will bring a freshness to the side with the players coming in having played less rugby during the tournament. They also deserve to start this game having trained and played well.”
Having had time to review the one point loss to France on Sunday, Hayward admits to feeling they were unfortunate to a certain extent.
“It’s been a difficult few days but the players have been honest and professional in their feedback and appraisal of the game.
“We did well to come back and take the lead in the second half on Sunday, and scored two good tries against one of the best defences in the competition. Our scrum was again dominant and to that end, it was disappointing not to come away with the win, but that’s the nature of sport.
“Last year, we were on the right side of some single score victories, this time we have been on the receiving end but the harsh lessons that have been learnt are that if you make mistakes at this level, you pay for them.
“The improvement of some of the players here is tangible, and that is a key part of our role.”
Tomorrow’s game will be a chance to show what this squad are capable of.
“We are determined to stick to our game plan and do well against Samoa in our final game,” added Hayward.
“Samoa are a much improved side compared to last season. Most of their players are New Zealand based, they beat Scotland and gave New Zealand a really good game so we certainly won’t be underestimating them.
“We need to play to our strengths and dominate up front before moving the ball wide if the opportunities arise.”
Wales Under 20 team v Samoa (Friday 20 June, 17.35 NZ time, QBE Stadium, North Harbour):
Dafydd Howells (Ospreys); Tyler Morgan (Dragons), Steffan Hughes (capt, Scarlets), Jack Dixon (Dragons), Ashley Evans (Ospreys); Ethan Davies (Dragons), Tom Williams (Blues); Nicky Smith (Ospreys), Scott Otten (Ospreys), Nicky Thomas (Ospreys), Joe Davies (Dragons), Rory Thornton (Ospreys), Olly Cracknell (RGC), Will Boyde (Carmarthen), James Benjamin (Drgaons)
Replacements: Ethan Lewis (Blues), Luke Garrett (Dragons), Callum Lewis (Blues), Scott Andrews (Dragons), Scott Matthews (Dragons), Luc Jones (Dragons), Angus O’Brien (Dragons), Harri Evans (RGC)
