The clash takes place tomorrow (3rd April), kicking-off at 10am BST at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma. Tickets to the competition are free of charge, with all fixtures streamed live on the Six Nations Under-20 YouTube channel.
The tournament serves as a key step on the development pathway for athletes and provides an opportunity for some of the brightest young talent in the game to feature on the international stage.
Pugh has taken the opportunity to make sweeping changes after the narrow loss to England on Saturday.
“I was devastated for the boys that they didn’t get the result they deserved against England,” said Pugh. “We have to pick ourselves up now and look towards Portugal who posed a big threat against Italy.
“They will pose a different set of challenges for the boys but we’re determined to come away with a win to set ourselves up nicely for Sunday’s game against France.”
The U18 men face-off against tournament favourites France on Sunday (7th April, 12:15 BST kick-off) to complete their 2024 U18 Men’s Six Nations Rugby Festival schedule.
Wales U18s men v Portugal U18s
(Wednesday 3rd April, Parma – KO 11am local time)
15 Tom Bowen (Clifton College/Bristol Bears)
14 Harrison Doe (Gower College/Ospreys)
13 Lewis Edwards (YGG Gwyr/Ospreys)
12 Jack Harrison (Beechen Cliff/Bath Rugby)
11 Joseff Jones (YGG Glantaff/Cardiff Rugby)
10 Steffan Jac Jones (Hartpury/Scarlets)
9 Tudor Jones (YGG Llangefni/RGC);
1 George Tuckley (Monmouth School/Dragons)
2 Ruben Cummings (Hartpury/Gloucester)
3 Alex Bosworth (Hartpury/Gloucester)
4 Tom Cottell (Castell Alun High School/RGC)
5 Dylan Alford (Coleg Llandrillo/RGC)
6 Dom Kossuth (Coleg Sir Gar/Scarlets)
7 Ryan Jones (Hartpury/Dragons)
8 Keanu Evans (YGG Strade/Scarlets) (Capt)
Replacements
16 Tom Howe (YGG Glantaff/Cardiff)
17 Dylan James (Bridgend College/Ospreys)
18 Jac Pritchard (Coleg Sir Gar/Scarlets)
19 Will Evans (Llandovery College/Scarlets)
20 Deian Gwynne (Hartpury/Scarlets)
21 Sion Davies (YGG Glantaff/Cardiff Rugby)
22 Carwyn Jones (Llandovery College/Scarlets)
23 Steffan Emanuel (Millfield/Bath Rugby)
24 Sam Williams (Coleg Sir Gar/Scarlets)
25 Alex Ridgway (Coleg Sir Gar/Scarlets)
26 Jack Woods (Monmouth School/Dragons)
