'Dream duo' set to give young Wales team huge boost for summer games

Wales could include Exeter Chiefs forwards Christ Tshiunza and Dafydd Jenkins in their squad for the U20 Summer Series in Italy, starting later this month.

The pair have been touted as the Wales senior team's potential second-row pairing for the 2027 World Cup. Headlines have even styled the duo as a lock 'dream team of the future'. Both were unavailable for the U20 Six Nations this term, with Jenkins involved in club rugby with Exeter and Tshiunza sidelined by injury.

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But Wales U20s coach Byron Hayward is hopeful they will reinforce his squad for a tournament that will see Wales face pool matches against Scotland, Italy and Georgia.

“We have some players available who have been playing regional rugby and Premiership rugby in England, because seasons are finishing,” said Hayward on the Welsh Rugby Union podcast.

“It’s great news because they are such quality, high-level players who have already had experience of senior rugby and they’ll add a massive amount. It’s exciting because it’s not just the value that they add themselves, it’s the value that they add to the boys who may be playing at a lower level and the standards they drive in this environment.”

It is thought that the pair’s Exeter colleague Oli Burrows will also be in the mix, along with the highly promising Mason Grady, who could potentially team up with Joe Hawkins in midfield. Cardiff hooker Efan Daniel, a player Hayward sees as a full international in the making, is also set to be in the squad after injury curtailed his involvement in the Six Nations.

Locks Tshiunza and Jenkins are seen as especially big prospects.

Tshiunza can play at blindside as well as lock and has already won