Cameron Winnett admits the venue for Wales’ Six Nations Under-20 Summer Series opener holds a special place in his heart. 

The full-back’s United Rugby Championship debut came at the Stadio Monigo just a month ago for club side Cardiff Rugby against Benetton.

That came at the end of a remarkable breakthrough season, which saw the 19-year-old score on his senior European debut and register four starts during Wales’ Six Nations Under-20 campaign, having begun the season playing in the U18 age group.

“It was unbelievable, so so surreal, it didn’t feel real,” said Winnett, reflecting on his score against Harlequins in December.

“I found myself looking at the screen all the time in the game and thinking how is that real.”

On the back of that performance, Winnett was selected for Ioan Cunningham’s Six Nations squad, and started against Saturday’s opponents Scotland in a 26-13 victory.

A dream first season of professional rugby then culminated with a full 80 minutes in Cardiff’s final URC game of the season.

And Winnett is hoping to make good use of his knowledge of the surroundings in Treviso and get Wales’ Summer Series off to a winning start.

“It’s a really nice pitch, really fast pitch and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

“The weather will make a massive difference as well, as obviously players will be tired.

“I’ll be looking to come on the inside or keep on working around if I see nothing on the blind to make myself an option all the time.”

Winnett may have first-hand experience of the Italian heat but not all of his teammates do. Ahead of games against Georgia and Italy, preparation for the Scotland clash has been geared around acclimatising the group to their new environment.

“We’re a really fit team,” said Winnett. “We’ve been training in these conditions in the gym, we’ve turned the heat up in there, so it’ll be a shock on Saturday, but we’ll get used to it.

“We just need to focus on what we need to do, what we’ve been doing on the training pitch and producing in the game, rather than thinking too much about the opponents."

Winnett and co will be looking to secure a third consecutive win over Scotland, but will be without the talismanic Alex Mann, who scored in their last victory over Kenny Murray’s team.

But the Cardiff flyer believes there is more than enough experience in the squad to accommodate for the loss of their former captain.

“We’re looking really strong,” he said. “The partnerships are really good. It’s disappointing for Manny and (Tom) Cowan, but they’ll be rooting for us.

“Leadership skills are massive and some of the younger boys who haven’t made their debut yet have learnt a lot from the players who have.”

The Six Nations Under-20 Summer Series takes place from 24 June – 12 July. Fans can watch every match live. For more information visit: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJHm6BFw-9JRA1CMekNLwMg