Rugby AU makes key U20 move; Pritchard in for Junior World Championship

Treyvon Pritchard is the headline name in Australia's squad for the Junior World Championship, as the selection of two France-based Australians signals a change in contract thinking from Rugby Australia.

Kingbenjamin Swerling-Finaipepe and Lehopoame Leota have been included in a 30-man squad for the tournament in Georgia, which has been expanded to 16 teams for the first time.

It is the first time an Australian player has been selected for the tournament while contracted to an overseas club and not one of the country's four Super Rugby franchises, and a move to designed to combat the growing threat of French clubs, who continue to poach teenage Australian talent.

There are more than 25 Australian-raised players contracted across the top French divisions, with Heinz Lemoto and Visesio Kite among those who have created headlines last year.

Lemoto, a star of Australia's Under 18s victories over New Zealand two years running, was understood to have been approached to play but instead declined the opportunity after an injury-interrupted season with Toulouse.

Regardless, the selection of Swerling-Finaipepe and Leota, both powerhouse props, will not only boost Australia's push for an overdue semifinal appearance in France, but also prove to other young Australian overseas-based talent that their country hasn't forgotten about them.

Leota was among four young Aussies invited to Wallabies training in Paris ahead of Australia's Test with France last November.

Pritchard's selection is meanwhile a sign that he is not yet under Wallabies consideration, despite a series of eye-catching performances for the Reds in his debut Super Rugby season.

The 19-year-old made the majority of his appearances off the bench, but was also handed starts at fullback and on the wing, and finished the year with two tries.

Pritchard has been linked with incoming NRL franchise PNG Chiefs, and is off contract at the end of next year. But he remains a very real option for a senior Test debut either later this year or ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup, particularly with Reds coach Les Kiss replacing Joe Schmidt as Wallabies boss in August.