Wales will play Scotland, Italy and France in Friday night clashes on February 8 and 22 and March 14 as the top Under-20 teams in the world prepare to compete in the inaugural IRB Junior World Championship which will take place across Wales in June.

Wales Under-20 head coach Patrick Horgan, who is also head coach of current Principality Premiership table toppers Ebbw Vale, said: "There has been great support for Under-21 sides when they've played at Newport in recent years so hopefully the fans will come out and support us against Scotland, Italy and France.

"We are lucky to have three home matches in the 6 Nations Championship this year and we must win those if we are to make our mark on the competition.

"All the teams involved will have an eye on the Junior World Championship in June, but the best kind of preparation is to perform and compete well against other good sides so the Six Nations will be a big yardstick for our development."

The Wales Under-20 preliminary squad began training in earnest over the weekend at a Swansea training camp with Horgan happy with what he has seen so far.

"All 34 players involved at this stage look very useful," he said. "It will be very difficult to cut the squad to 26 or 27 but I'm sure as the season progresses certain players will be jumping onto the train if they regain fitness and form while others will jump off.

"This weekend was extremely productive for us as a squad and management group.

"The players have a huge amount of enthusiasm, a quality that was evident in many of the group during the IRB Under-19 World Championship last season, and there is no shortage of skill either.

"We will make our final decision on the 6 Nations squad after the final of the Under-20 Reebok Regional Championship between the Blues and the Ospreys which takes place on December 27 at Eugene Cross Park.

"We then have another series of training sessions and a training match against an Ospreys XV on Monday 14 January at Aberavon before our 6 Nations campaign kicks off against England on February 1."