Ireland will begin their defence of the FIRA Under-19 World Youths Championship against Georgia in Wales on March 26th. The squad, under the guidance of Declan Kidney, will aim to emulate last season's feat when they won the competition after beating France 18-0 in the final.

Should Ireland overcome the Georgian challenge, then they would face the winners of the Italy/Chile encounter on March 29th. The likelihood is that the winners of the second game would then face New Zealand in the semi-final, the All Blacks making their debut in the competition this season.

Ireland, based in Bridgend, are ranked number one by virtue of last season's success. The Irish squad will travel to Wales on Monday week with the final round of matches taking place on Easter Sunday, April 4th.

Meanwhile, the IRFU have received official confirmation of Ireland's place in the under-21 tournament to be held in Argentina this summer. Ireland will be one of eight countries taking part - South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, France, England and Italy are the others. The tournament takes place from July 22nd to 31st. Teams will play a minimum of four matches as the eight sides will be divided into two groups. The winners will meet in the final while there will be play-off matches right down to seventh and eighth place.