THREE Gwent netballers have been selected in the Wales Under-21s training squad for the Netball Europe Youth Championships.

Leila Thomas of Blaenavon, Rebecca Baker of Cross Keys and Eve Wright of Cwmbran have been named in the initial 15-strong group for the tournament that pits them against England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Wales will whittle their squad down to 12 for the event, which is being held at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff between October 7 and 9.

Goalkeeper Thomas, 18, who plays for Cowbridge, and 19-year-old Baker, a goal attack with Risca, are looking to win their first U21 caps. Goal shooter Wright, 18, has represented her country twice at this level.

Trish Wilcox, head of elite performance at Welsh Netball, said: “The squad is a mixture of experienced players and some new faces.

“The players have been working hard on their individual and squad training programmes and are now ready for the competition ahead.”

The matches are World Youth Cup qualifying games and therefore a particularly historic event as this will be the first time Wales has ever hosted qualifying matches for the Netball World Youth Cup.

Wales will play three games during the event and all countries will secure their place at Botswana 2017.

“It is an honour to welcome the best players from across the UK under the age of 21 to Wales,” said Welsh Netball chief executive Sarah Jones.

“It will be a very special event for the young players, who are all looking forward to confirming their place at next year’s World Youth Cup.

“The weekend’s competition will provide a very exciting atmosphere and we invite people to enjoy netball of the highest standard and to get behind the Welsh team by joining us in Cardiff.”

Ticket information is available at ticketline.co.uk/inf-netball-world-youth-cup#bioe

Wales U21 squad: Bethan Johnson, Bethan Moore, Chloe Dyke, Chloe James, Eve Wright, Evie Brereton, Fern Davies, Leila Thomas, Lowri Jenkins, Lydia Hitchings, Megan Powell, Miquie Walker-Jones, Morgan Ireland, Rebecca Baker and Sarah Llewelyn.