There will be a total of five EURFC players involved in the forthcoming U20 Six Nations Championship, with the news that Christ Tshiunza, Ollie Burrows and Dan John have all been selected to represent Wales by U20 Head Coach Ioan Cunningham.

John is named in the U20s squad for the second successive season, having been part of the setup last year, with both Tshiunza and Burrows selected at U20 level for the first time, having appeared at U18 level for Wales before.

Whilst Covid cancellations have deprived all three of competitive minutes in an Exeter University shirt in their first years of study, they will all be chomping at the bit to show what they can do in the red of Wales.

John was parachuted into the Exeter Chiefs squad earlier in the season, making his debut off the bench against Leicester Tigers, before starting against Gloucester the following week. Both Burrows and Tshiunza have also been able to train as part of the Exeter Chiefs Academy throughout the last year, alongside their training and studies at the university, meaning that they will be as sharp as possible heading into the tournament.

After getting some unexpected minutes in an Exeter Chiefs shirt, John admitted he was buzzing to be part of the squad.

“I’m really chuffed to be selected for the squad. The preparation has been really good the last few weeks and I can’t wait to get out onto the field with the boys.”

With both Burrows and Tshiunza making the step up to the U20s setup for the first time, they are both excited to see where the potential of their side can take them.

“It’s always an honour to be given the opportunity to be able to wear the red jersey,” explains Burrows. “Hopefully we’ll have a good few weeks together as a group getting the results that we’ve worked so hard for in camp.”

Tshiunza too, sees the tournament as a massive opportunity to get some much needed minutes on the field.

“We’ve been training all year despite the lack of game time, so it was just nice to see that all that hard work that was put in training would be rewarded in this period.”

As well as his own undoubted pride at being called up, Tshiunza also highlighted just how much it means to his family to be able to pull on a red jersey, with the opportunity to represent your country, one that doesn’t come around very often.

“My family and I were very happy to see that I was selected in the final 20s squad. I’m just grateful to have this opportunity.”

Due to the tournament being delayed from its usual February-March slot, all matches are being played at Cardiff Arms Park. Wales begin their campaign against Italy (June 19,) before facing Ireland (June 25,) France (July 1,) England (July 7,) and Scotland (July 13) to round off the campaign.

Only 6 of the 32-man squad have previous experience of the U20s setup, with Head Coach Ioan Cunningham excited to see what his young squad can achieve.

“It’s an induction of fresh new talent to the group which is exciting. We’ve got some strength up front, our forwards are a big group of big men but we also have a talented backline with gifted players – hopefully we can give them enough possession to express themselves.”

Heading into the tournament, Cunningham was honest in his assertion that success is defined by winning matches, maintaining that his desire is for his squad to learn what it takes to win in an international shirt.

“I think it is part of their development, it’s their process of moving forward. We like to express ourselves and play a brand of rugby that’s attractive but also have guys enjoy winning in a Welsh shirt.”