THE World Rugby U20 Championship can be both a blessing and a curse, providing a glimpse of future talent yet at the same time allowing some to get carried away.

First and foremost, the tournament is fantastic for the prospects that get picked for their countries.

Young men that want to make a career out of playing the sport they love have the opportunity to take great strides thanks to being taken out of their comfort zone.

There is the scramble to earn one of the precious 28 places in the squad, the preparation for the championship, almost a month in a foreign country and a tough schedule that features five games over 19 days.

Welsh prospects develop off the field through experiencing the pressure and detail of pre-match analysis and, perhaps more importantly, interacting with their peers and coaches over a sustained period.

They develop on it through locking horns with southern hemisphere opponents, having to adapt to different styles of rugby and refereeing.

When the final round of matches have been completed on Sunday, June 17, it would be disappointing if any of the players in the 12 squads currently in the south of France feels they haven't profited from the experience.

They get the opportunity to judge themselves against the best players on the planet in their age-group plus they must show mental resilience and drive over an intense three-week period.

They will have a hunger for more and will leave France wanted to push on in their careers.

But it must be remembered that this is age-grade rugby; what a talent can get away with in Beziers and Perpignan may be ruthlessly punished against the big boys at Rodney Parade or Cardiff Arms Park.

The U20 Championship takes place at a great time in the calendar, filling a nice gap between the last season and the next.

It is good entertainment yet the danger is that the absence of other news can lead to some prospects being lauded too loudly. A teenager is the next Shane, Faletau, Gethin or Warburton.

That in turn can lead to 'What happened to X?' in two years' time when a player is still only 22.

An example of this is Harrison Keddie, who raised a few eyebrows with his strong running in the 2016 Six Nations.

The Dragons back row forward was tipped as a future star and a player to put the pressure on Taulupe Faletau, a hope that was fuelled by an invitation to train with the Wales seniors in the autumn of that year.

Keddie hasn't quite pushed on yet… but he is still just 21 with a birthday next month. He has been hindered by injuries yet has already made 34 regional appearances and captained the Dragons.

After bossing his fellow under-20s, the number eight/blindside has got over the initial shock of what it is like to run with the big boys and hopefully will flourish in the next World Cup cycle.

We have to be cautious when getting excited by flashes of promise from youngsters, even if the occasional star of the U20 Championship makes rapid strides in the seniors.

They are the exceptions rather than the rule and club coaches know best, ignoring the hype and nurturing young talent.

That will be the case at the Dragons next season and it will frankly be a disappointment if the seven-strong contingent from France (plus the unlucky loosehead Josh Reynolds, who was injured in training on home soil) have to feature regularly in the PRO14.

Back row forward Taine Basham is currently receiving a lot of attention after a monumental performance against the Junior Wallabies and an acrobatic try against the Baby Blacks.

The 18-year-old from Talywain is a player of great promise but something will have gone wrong if we see him plenty of times for Bernard Jackman's side in 2018/19.

The Dragons are blessed with back row riches and for Basham and fellow young flankers Lennon Greggains and Ben Fry the inception of regional Under-23s should be fantastic, bridging that large gap between Premiership and professional rugby.

The same applies for wingers Rio Dyer and Joe Goodchild, tighthead Chris Coleman and Max Williams, who is probably the furthest along the line of the contingent.

The 20-year-old played eight times for the Dragons last season and showed promise. Is he a lock/blindside or a blindside/lock? Once again, what is the rush?

Just like Andrew Coombs before him, Williams will find his natural position and perhaps that will be down to circumstance given that second rows are rarer than flankers in Wales.

But the prospects that are currently in the spotlight are likely to be away from the public gaze next season with much of their development taking place in midweek at Ystrad Mynach when they train alongside the likes of Cory Hill, Moriarty, Richard Hibbard and Gavin Henson.

There's no rush and the whole idea of Jackman leaning heavily on youth last season was that the coming campaign would not provide such an opportunity.

Wales Under-20s' class of 2013 provides a reminder to hold your horses.

The Dragons' senior squad for next season features eight players from the Junior World Championship final – full-back Jordan Williams, centre Jack Dixon, wing Hallam Amos, scrum-half Rhodri Williams, hooker Elliot Dee, tighthead Dan Suter, flanker James Benjamin and number eight Ross Moriarty (who was played for champions England).

World Rugby junior player of the year Sam Davies pulled the strings and openside Ellis Jenkins was skipper of a side boasting a large number of players that have now established themselves as pros.

The Dragons gave plenty of academy prospects a brief taste of regional rugby last season but we must be patient when seeing who can take the next step. Bright prospects are just that - prospects.