Two Western Force Fortescue Academy players, and two Force players have been selected for the 41-man Junior Wallabies squad training camp.
As preparations build for the World Rugby U20 Championship 2023 in South Africa Ned Slack-Smith (backrow, Palmyra), Marley Pearce (Prop, Joondalup Brothers), Jhy Legg (lock, Wests Scarborough) and Ryan McGloin (wing, Joondalup Brothers) have all been named in the squad.
The selected players will attend a ten-day training camp with head coach Nathan Grey at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from Sunday 23 April.
2022 Junior Wallabies captain Ned Slack-Smith is eager to enter camp this Sunday and face the high-level training with his fellow Force prospects.
"I'm very passionate about the success of our country, so to be a part of this set-up and hopefully make the end squad, which is the goal, is very exciting," Slack-Smith mentioned.
"I'm continuing to build my game around my ball-carrying defence. To be a good backrower, you need to be strong and big on both sides of the ball; that's what I am focusing on."
"Especially this year, I think we've got more numbers in the sport than we did last year. So that's definitely the goal, to keep growing the game here in Perth. The start of the season here has shown that the standard here is on the rise."
Final preparations for the tournament will include two fixtures against New Zealand on 28 May and 3 June, followed by a hit-out against an Australian Barbarians side on 14 June.
The World Rugby U20 Championship represents the pinnacle of international age-group Rugby and is renowned for providing the game's future stars with a platform to shine before reaching Test level.
Force Representatives
Ned Slack-Smith (backrow, Palmyra)
Marley Pearce (Prop, Joondalup Brothers)
Jhy Legg (lock, Wests Scarborough)
Ryan McGloin (wing, Joondalup Brothers)
