Leicester Tigers forward Tommy Reffell has been named as captain of the Wales squad for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in France.

Reffell, who played in the Under-18s last season, captained the Under-20s during their Six Nations campaign this year.

Wales will face Australia, New Zealand and Japan in the competition which is based in France this summer.

Interim head coach Geraint Lewis will be in charge for the tournament and said: “We’ve used the Six Nations to develop and observe a large group of players in preparation for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship. In doing so we’ve made selection a very difficult process for ourselves, but that’s a positive thing.

“Our pool is very tough, but everyone’s excited because we don’t often play southern hemisphere teams. Experiencing a different style of play is a key aspect of our players’ development.”

Wales face Australia in Béziers on Wednesday, May 30 (8pm UK) and New Zealand at the same venue on Sunday, June 3 (3.30pm UK). They then round off Pool A with a trip to the Stade Aime-Giral in Perpignan for a meeting with Japan on Thursday, June 7 (5.30pm UK).

Wales Under-20s squad:

Forwards: Taine Basham (Dragons), Rhys Carre (Cardiff Blues), Chris Coleman (Dragons), Dan Davis (Scarlets), Rhys Davies (Bath Rugby), Rhys Davies (Scarlets), Ben Fry (Dragons), Lennon Greggains (Dragons), Iestyn Harris (Cardiff Blues), Rhys Henry (Ospreys), Dewi Lake (Ospreys), Alun Lawrence (Cardiff Blues), Jack Pope (Bridgend), Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers) (c), Josh Reynolds (Dragons), Max Williams (Dragons)
Backs: Corey Baldwin (Scarlets), Dane Blacker (Cardiff Blues), Ryan Conbeer (Scarlets), Dewi Cross (Ospreys), Rio Dyer (Dragons), Cai Evans (Ospreys), Joe Goodchild (Dragons), Ben Jones (Cardiff Blues), Harri Morgan (Ospreys), Ioan Nicholas (Scarlets), Ben Thomas (Cardiff Blues), Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler (Ospreys)