Whisper it quietly but Wales are unearthing something exciting

The eyes of the Welsh rugby public will be on Wales' two-Test tour of Australia, but events over in South Africa are just as important.

Wales U20s have given a good account of themselves so far in the World Rugby U-20 Championship, narrowly losing to New Zealand and comfortably overcoming Spain to set up a must-win clash with defending champions France on Tuesday.

The performance for large parts of the game against the Baby Blacks was impressive, albeit in defeat, as they picked up two losing bonus points and scored 34 points, the most scored by any Wales side against New Zealand at any level.

But what Warren Gatland will be desperate to see is the emergence of a handful of tight-five forwards who can mix it with the bigger packs, while a destructive scrummaging tighthead wouldn't go amiss either. Since the turn of the year there has been greater alignment and far more synergy than there has ever been between Wales' age grade sides and the senior men's national team. Gatland, Rob Howley, Alex King, Mike Forshaw and Jonathan Humphreys regularly take training sessions with the U20s.

Pic: Josh Morse in action for Wales U20s

Perhaps the best example of this occurred a couple of months ago when the Welsh Rugby Union held a skills clinic with 70 academy players at the National Centre of Excellence, led by Gatland himself. Put simply, the WRU know they have to heavily invest in the future of the game and are doing so.

Where Wales have come up short recently at senior level has been in the tight five, with a real dearth of powerful forwards who can make big post contact metres, while scrummaging tightheads are also in short supply. But whisper it quietly, there are a handful of player from the current Wales U20s set-up who have the potential to improve Gatland's situation over the next few years.

Last month I spent a day in camp with the Wales U20s side as they prepared for the World Rugby U-20 Championship in South Africa. Head coach Richard Whiffin, along with performance pathway and talent manager Andy Lloyd, both held the opinion that there are players in this current crop of Wales U20s players who will have the physical attributes to come through for the senior side over the next few seasons.