| schema:articleBody
| - Italy's Stephen Varney will make a first Test start against the land of his birth in the Autumn Nations Cup on Saturday, with Wales attack coach Stephen Jones saying there was a "lot to like" about the teenager's game. Scrum-half Varney, now with English Premiership side Gloucester, was born and bred in Pembrokeshire but the 19-year-old qualified for the Azzurri through his mother Valeria. She was born in west Wales, but both of her parents were from in Italy. The son of former Neath and Aberavon flanker Adrian Varney, Stephen had a couple of outings for Scarlets West Under-16s, but wasn't selected to be part of their pathway. Now, however, he will be a member of Italy's run-on side at the region's Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli. "He's breaking into the side, he's obviously a good young talent," Jones told reporters on Friday. "He was with the Italian Under-20s last year. There was a lot to like about his game. "His speed to the breakdown is good, he's plenty of energy and he likes to orchestrate play." Meanwhile former Wales fly-half Jones urged the hosts to add more pace to their game as they looked to end 2020 by boosting their try count in the Autumn Nations Cup fifth-place play-off. Wales have scored just three tries in three tournament encounters, and didn't manage one against Ireland. In February, Wales hammered Italy 42-10 in the Six Nations and anything other than a similarly emphatic win is unlikely to ease the pressure on head coach Wayne Pivac following a run of seven defeats in their last eight Tests. And with George North at outside centre, and Josh Adams and Louis Rees-Zammit on the wings, Italy may have enough tough day in west Wales. "It is really important to have quick ruck ball because then you play against teams that are on the back foot with a disorganised defensive line," said Jones. "The ideal vision is we have to play with speed. It's as simple as that. We have got to move ball quickly and identify where the space is on the pitch." North, best known as a winger , will be making just his sixth Test start in midfield after missing the matches against Georgia or England. Meanwhile Bristol Bears fly-half Callum Sheedy has another chance to impress for Wales in Jones' old No. 10 shirt. Jones said he was "excited" by North's move into midfield, saying: "His passing mechanics are good, and he is comfortable passing close to people. We also know he is comfortable in the collision side of things. It won't be an issue for him. "Callum has been excellent...He is comfortable on the ball." With defences dominant during the competition and many games featuring protracted tactical kicking, fears have been expressed that modern international rugby is becoming an ever-more dull spectacle. But amid calls for wholesale rule changes, Jones said: "I understand the frustration that is out there. "Ultimately, there are 15 people that are trying to shut you down and stop you playing and take your space and time away. "We have got to make sure we counteract that. That's our job as attack coaches, isn't it?" jdg/iwd
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)