ANEURIN Owen won't just have his head in Wales' playbook at the World Rugby U20 Championships, the Dragons centre will be doing some last-gasp swotting for exams.

The 18-year-old from Newport is a member of the Rodney Parade region's eight-strong contingent for the tournament in Argentina that pits Wales against the hosts, champions France and Fiji.

Owen and his fellow young guns will do plenty of learning on the pitch but the Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw pupil also hopes to reap the rewards of his graft off it.

The teenage centre has three exams this week and will sit another trio of tests out in Argentina, all with the aim of getting the grades to study sports performance analysis at Cardiff Met.

"Luckily my exams are not on the same day as a game so I think it will be okay," said Owen, who played for Ebbw Vale in the Premiership last season. "When we are not training I will be in the hotel revising.

"I am studying PE, maths and history at A-Level, I am taking all those while I am away. It will be tough, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go halfway across the world to play rugby.

"It's all about getting the revision done. It's actually quite nice because you are not rugby-focused all the time.

"You spend so long training and focused on that, so it is nice that when I come home I have something else to concentrate on. It takes your mind off it a bit.

"Hopefully I will see some of the country because it looks amazing, but a lot of the time will be spent revising."

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Owen (pictured above getting his U20s cap from head coach Gareth Williams) impressed in the Six Nations when he started all five games at inside centre but the World Championships, with five games in 20 days, will be another step up.

"The Six Nations was a really good learning curve for me and as a team we can take a lot of positives from it," said Owen, who played for Newport High School Old Boys.

"We've got to keep our focus and concentration for every training session and every game, putting our best performances out.

"The Six Nations was a chance to test ourselves against some really good teams and best in the world. The England game showed we can play and win against the best teams in the world.

"The World Cup now is the challenge and we have some tough teams, so it's aiming for a result in all those games."

Wales have the young Pumas first up with the clash in Rosario setting the tone for the campaign and whether they will be playing for silverware in the knockout stages or merely for placings, with one team relegated every year.

"The first game with Argentina is our focus," said Owen. "If we can get a result in the first game it will kick-start the World Cup for us and we can gather some momentum for the other games.

"It will be hostile, they are the home team so there will be a big crowd. We're looking to put a performance out there that we can be happy with.

"Argentina will be completely new to me and great learning curve too. To try and play in a different country and different environment, where I haven't played before, I'm looking forward to it.

"It will be intense over there so I'm thoroughly looking forward to it."

Wales face Argentina on Tuesday, June 4 (kick-off 5pm), France on Saturday, June 8 (kick-off 5pm) and Fiji on Wednesday, June 12 (kick-off 5pm).

Owen is joined in the squad by Dragons winger Deon Smith and Rio Dyer, scrum-half Dafydd Buckland, prop Tom Devine, hooker Will Griffiths, lock Ed Scragg and flanker Lennon Greggains.