The Wales Under 21 squad for the IRB World Cup tournament in England next month will be announced on Wednesday, 4 June.
Team manager Wayne Hall will announce a squad of 26 players who will be coached by Chris Davey and Kevin Hopkins.
Last year the Welsh side finished fourth in the world after losing to New Zealand in the third place play-off fixture. That earned them the fourth seeding for this year’s tournament and a place in Pool D alongside Ireland and Canada.
The teams in Pool D will play the teams drawn in Pool A and the top two sides from the six nations will progress into the semi-finals where they will face the top two teams from the combined results of Pools B and C.
The full draw is as follows:
Pool A: South Africa (1), Argentina (8), Scotland (9)
Pool B: Australia (2), France (7), Japan (10)
Pool C: New Zealand (3), England (6), Italy (11)
Pool D: Wales (4), Ireland (5), Canada (12)
The Welsh fixtures in the Pool stages will be as follows:
Friday, 13 June: Wales v Scotland at Henley RFC (kick-off 3.00pm)
Tuesday, 17 June: Wales v Argentina at Iffley Road, Oxford (kick-off 5.00pm)
Saturday, 21 June: Wales v South Africa at Newbury RFC (kick-off 2.00pm)
“This is a great opportunity for our players to build on the success they achieved in completing the Six Nations Grand Slam. South Africa are the reigning champions, Argentina are always a handful and we know the Scots have improved dramatically since we met them earlier in the season,” said Wales team manager Wayne Hall.
“The IRB Under 21 World Cup is a tremendous tournament that brings together some of the hottest young talent in the game. Many of the stars of future senior World Cups will be on display and this Welsh side knows it has a strong reputation to protect.
“The fact we have lost three of our Grand Slam side to the senior Wales touring party to Australia and New Zealand has given a few more players the chance to show what they are made of at this level. While we will miss Michael Phillips, Huw Bennett and Gareth Delve, everyone connected with the squad is thrilled they have broken into the senior ranks.
“The role of the Wales Under 21 team is to groom the best young players for the National Team. That is our remit and, when we see three players progressing at such an early stage, we are delighted to be doing our job.
“We managed to beat Scotland 25-10 in Inverness in the Six Nations Championship and we know we need to get off to a winning start when we meet them again at Henley on 13 June. Then we have another potentially bruising contest with Argentina.
“We beat them 45-34 last year in South Africa in one of the toughest matches any Wales Under 21 team has had to play since we were formed in 1987. The players learned a lot that day and I know they will relish the prospect of a return game.
“Then we have to face up to the reigning champions South Africa. They beat Australia in last year’s final, a team we went down to 43-7 in the semi-final. They are bound to be powerful once again and won’t want to give up their crown without a fight.
“It all adds up to a marvellous opportunity for what is a very talented group of young Welsh players.”
