Wales are no 4 seeds for the tournament after reaching the semi-finals of last season’s Under 19 World Championship and will face France, Italy and Japan in the Swansea-based Pool D when the tournament kicks off in one month’s time.

The new-look Under 20 tournament replaces both the IRB Under 19 and Under 21 World Championships.

Wales finished the recent U20s Grand Slam with some momentum behind them. They were defeated by England at Kingsholm but won all their other matches to give them real confidence for the forthcoming tournament.

Ryan told the Bristol Rugby website today that his selection is the icing on the cake for him this season.

"I'm obviously delighted. It's been a big season for me, I've bounced back from injury which was a big achievement in itself, played plenty of Guinness A League rugby and am now enjoying a taste of the Premiership."

"From a Wales perspective, we enjoyed a good Six Nations. We had a few teething problems at first as we all got to know each other but worked hard and finished well."

"We've been training with the full Wales team which has been a great experience and we're looking forward to the tournament."

"We're in the same group as France and Italy and we beat them both in the Six Nations but they're both good teams and they're both capable of producing a good performance on the day."

"It's going to be a great tournament for Wales. It's a major event which will put us in the shop window. We're taking nothing for granted but we're looking to make a real impact on the competition."

Wales U20 will play their Pool matches at the Liberty Stadium, starting with Italy on June 6th, followed by Japan U20 on June 10th and France U20 on June 14th in a bid to reach the last four.

Wales U20 Squad for the IRB Junior World Championship: Wales 2008

Backs: Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Gareth Williams (Ospreys), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Gareth Owen (Ospreys), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Williams (Scarlets), Luke Ford (Blues), Jimmy Norris (Dragons), Nathan Rees (Blues), Leigh Halfpenny (Blues), Daniel Evans (Scarlets), Jason Tovey (Dragons)

Forwards: Sam Hobbs (Blues), Ryan Bevington (Ospreys), Scott Andrews (Blues), Patrick Palmer (Blues), Ryan Prosser (Bristol), Rhys Lawrence (Ospreys), Jevon Groves (Blues), Haydn Pugh (Scarlets), Ashley Sweet (Dragons), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Lloyd Phillips (Scarlets), Josh Turnbull (Scarlets), Sam Warburton (capt, Blues), Dan Franks (Blues)