French coaches Philippe Agostini and Philippe Boher have named their 26-man squad for the inaugural IRB Junior World Championship and have picked two players who made their full Test debuts in the 2008 RBS Six Nations.
Scrum half Morgan Parra made his Test debut off the bench in the opening match against Scotland and then made his first start and scored his first points in the defeat by England, while centre Yann David made his own debut at the Stade de France against Italy.
Both players were members of France’s squad which finished fifth at the IRB U19 World Championship in 2007, along with the likes of other returnees Mathieu Bastareaud, Mathieu Belie, Yoann Maestri and Nicolas Agnesi.
Powerful centre Bastareaud was one of France’s most impressive players during this year’s U20 Six Nations – when his side finished third behind Grand Slam winners England and Wales – and will be a player to watch in the Junior World Championship.
France open their campaign against Japan at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea on 6 June, before facing Italy four days later and then host nation Wales. Wales kick-off against Italy and then face Japan before meeting France.
The Japanese, who failed to win a match in Division A at last year’s IRB U19 World Championship, will have a third of last year’s squad available to travel to Wales. Head Coach Masahiro Kunda has given the captaincy to newcomer Maicheal Leitch, while props Masataka Mikami and Koichi Nitta, second rows Keisuke Matsuda and Eiri Nakada and centres Yasutaka Sasakura and Katsuyuki Sakai are familiar faces from last year.
Japan have already been unveiled as the hosts of the IRB Junior World Championship 2009 and will be hoping for a strong performance in the inaugural tournament, particularly form those who will still be eligible to play on home soil next year.
The Japanese will end the pool stages against Italy, who claimed the Division B title at the IRB U19 World Championship in Northern Ireland last year with the likes of captain Alberto Chiesa and fly half Riccardo Bocchino among those catching the eye. They meet Wales at the Liberty Stadium on 10 June.
The first opponents for Warburton’s men will be Italy, who were beaten 33-13 in this year’s U20 Six Nations championship.
France U20 squad:
Nicolas Agnesi, Mathieu Bastareaud, Mathieu Belie, Jérémy Braille, Dijbril Camara, Henry Chavancy, Arthur Chollon, Yann David, Julien Dumora, Alexandre Dumoulin, Benjamin Fall, Adam Jaulhac, Kevin Kervarec, Thierry Lacrampe, Raphaël Lakafia, Wenceslas Lauret, Louis Madaule, Yoann Maestri, Clément Maynadier, Guillaume Namy, Morgan Parra, Marc Rallier, Clément Ric, Jean-Baptiste Roidot, Rabah Slimani, Yohann Vivalda.
Italy U20 squad:
Andrea Bacchetti, Giacomo Bernini, Riccardo Bocchino, Emiliano Caffini, Alessandro Castagnoli, Alberto Cazzola, Alberto Chiesa (Captain), Tommaso D’Apice, Andrea De Marchi, Simone Favaro, Francesco Fiorani, Joshua Furno, Filippo Giusti, Otis Lomardi, Alberto Marconato, Giovanni Masssaro, Rudolf Mernone, Gabriele Morelli, Luca Petillo, Andrea Pratichetti, Roberto Quartaroli, Massimiliano Ravalle, Edoardo Rotella, Lorenzo Sebastiani, Nicola Simion, Michael Wilson.
Japan U20 squad:
Masataka Mikami, Koichi Nitta, Keiichi Tanaka, Shinsuke Ono, Motoki Yamazaki, Ryuhei Arita, Keisuke Matsuda, Lotoahea Pohiva, Takaya Kato, Eiri Nakada, Tsuyoshi Murata, Shohei Maekawa, Maichael Leitch (Captain), Hiroaki Sugimoto, Shuhei Oshima, Mizuki Yanagihara, Yoshida Shingo, Ryutaro Takemoto, Ryohei Yamanaka, Yasutaka Sasakura, Katsuyuki Sakai, Aisea Havea, Takamasa Okubo, Kanzo Nakahama, Daisuke Natsui, Tsuyoshi Iguchi.
