Australia will face Wales, Japan and New Zealand in the Pool stages of the U20s World Cup to be held in France in May and June this year. The top team from each of the three pools and the highest ranked second placed side progress to the knockout stages of the annual tournament, meaning Australia will most likely need to win all three pool matches to book a spot in the semi finals. The newly rebranded Junior Wallabies have struggled at U20s level in recent years and haven't progressed out of the Pool stages since 2011. However the 2018 squad will be the best prepared Australian side ever sent to the U20s World Cup, following changes to the format of the program. A wider Australian squad was selected last year and the group will attend four training camps in the lead up to the Oceania Championships, ahead of matches against New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa in April. Previously, Australian squads spent just a little over two weeks together prior to heading to the World Cup.