Eight rising stars from Cardiff Blues have been named in the Wales squad for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship being staged in Italy next month (June 2-20).
Props Dillon Lewis and Joe Jones, hooker Liam Belcher, lock Seb Davies, scrum half Tomos Williams, fly half Jarrod Evans, centre Garyn Smith and utility back James Whittingham are all named in a 28-man squad.
Six players remain from last season's Junior World Championship squad - captain Rory Thornton, prop Luke Garrett, scrum half Williams, wing Joshua Adams along with Wales capped Dafydd Howells and National Dual Contract holder Tyler Morgan who bolster the squad after missing most of the Six Nations campaign through injury. Flanker Tom Phillips and lock Seb Davies also return after injury while Joe Davies has been ruled out.
There are four uncapped players at this level - locks Seb Davies and Lee Taylor along with Dragons pair Lloyd Lewis (wing) and prop Leon Brown, although Brown was on the bench for Wales U20 against Scotland but played most of his rugby at Under 18 level this season.
Richard Hodges, Elite Performance Pathway Manager at Cardiff Blues, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that eight players from our system have been included in the Wales Under-20 squad for the World Rugby Championship.
“All the players richly deserve this opportunity and likes of Dillon Lewis, Liam Belcher, Seb Davies, Tomos Williams and Garyn Smith will need little introduction to our fans having all made senior appearances for Cardiff Blues this season.
“We wish them all every success this summer in Italy and look forward to seeing them in action for Wales Under-20s as they take the next step in their development.”
Wales Under-20 coach co-ordinator Allan Lewis said: "Our first two games are going to be real tests of our mettle. We will have to perform very well to beat France on the opening day and England are double world champions at this level so although we beat them in the Six Nations, and we will draw some confidence from that, they are the team to beat in this competition and this will be a different challenge.
"We've got good experience in the squad and the Six Nations enabled us to find out what we needed about most of the selected players. We have an established front row and the scrum is one of our strengths. While it's always unfortunate for any player to miss out through injury at this stage, such as Joe Davies, that situation means other players have a chance to be exposed to this level of international rugby."
Wales Under 20 squad:
Forwards: Luke Garrett (Dragons/ Cross Keys), Keagan Bale (Dragons/ Cross Keys), Dillon Lewis (Blues/ Pontypridd), Joe Jones (Blues/ Cardiff), Leon Brown (Dragons/ Cross Keys), Ryan Elias (Scarlets/ Carmarthen), Liam Belcher (Blues/ Pontypridd), Torin Myhill (Scarlets/ Llanelli), Rory Thornton (Ospreys/ Bridgend), Adam Beard (Ospreys/ Aberavon), Seb Davies (Blues/ Pontypridd), Lee Taylor (Carmarthen), Tom Phillips (Scarlets/ Llanelli), Ollie Griffiths (Dragons/ Newport), Harrison Keddie (Dragons/ Ebbw Vale), Jon Fox (Ospreys/ Swansea)
Backs: Tomos Williams (Blues/ Pontypridd), Kieran Hardy (Scarlets/ Carmarthen), Jarrod Evans (Blues/ Pontypridd), Daniel Jones (Scarlets/ Carmarthen), Garyn Smith (Blues/ Pontypridd), Lloyd Lewis (Dragons/ Newport) Tyler Morgan (Dragons/ Newport), Owen Watkin (Ospreys/ Bridgend), Joshua Adams (Scarlets/ Llanelli), Joe Thomas (Ospreys/ Swansea), James Whittingham (Blues/ Pontypridd), Dafydd Howells (Ospreys/ Neath)
Wales' World Rugby U20 Championship Pool games:
Tuesday 2 June Wales v France, Calvisano
Saturday 6 June Wales v England, Calvisano
Wednesday 10 June Wales v Japan, Viadana