Scotland U20s will take part in a new Women’s Six Nations summer series in July.

The tournament will take place over 10 days in Italy and will see three separate match days involving all six of the teams involved in the Women’s Six Nations.

Scotland U20s will travel to Parma for the event and will be allowed to call upon three players up to the age of 23 for each of the matches.

It will run from July 4-14 and follow the same pattern as the U18 festivals and provide some of Scotland’s younger players, coaches and match officials to experience international rugby and help develop the game.

The matches will take place on July 4, July 9 and July 14 with Scotland taking on Italy, France and then Ireland to round off the tournament.

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Scotland’s rugby performance pathways manager for women and girls rugby, Robbie Lavery, believes it will be a big opportunity for young players in the country.

Last year, a Scotland futures team played games against Ireland and Italy in what was effectively a precursor for this tournament with players such as Alex Stewart impressing and going on to be capped during this year's Six Nations.

He said: “We are delighted to be participating in this new competition format, hosted by the Six Nations. Development opportunities for young athletes to test themselves against new opposition is a key part of our evolving pathway.

“Last year, our Scotland Futures side travelled to Italy for development fixtures against Ireland and Italy, and all 26 selected players, including Alex Stewart, who was capped for Scotland in this year’s Guinness Six Nations, went on to be named in this year’s Celtic Challenge. For us, this clearly demonstrates the importance of enhanced playing opportunities in developing and growing future talent for Scotland.”