The schedule for the 2007 IRB Under-19 World Championship, which will take place in Belfast, has been confirmed by the International Rugby Board.

The pools and seedings have also been announced for next April's tournament, with hosts Ireland seeded fifth thanks to their high finish in this year's event.

The Irish will open their account at the 2007 World Championship, which runs from April 4 to 21, against defending champions and top seeds Australia at Ravenhill on Thursday, April 5. Day one will also see third seeds New Zealand take on Wales at Ravenhill.

Ireland also have pool stage matches against Scotland (Monday, April 9) and South Africa (Friday, April 13) - both are at Ravenhill. The Belfast ground, the home of Ulster Rugby, will also host the third-fourth place play-off and Championship final on Saturday, April 21.

Tournament director Simon Jelowitz said: "The 2006 IRB Under-19 World Championship in Dubai was a huge success, serving up some exceptionally high quality rugby on the field, whilst also achieving strong attendance and record broadcasting figures and leaving a last legacy in the Arabian Gulf.

"Belfast has a tremendous opportunity to raise the bar. The city has a strong heritage of hosting world class sporting events and has a close association with rugby. I am sure that next year's tournament will be an impressive showcase of world class rugby and local hospitality."

The tournament is split into two divisions of twelve teams, the seedings of all teams in Division A and the top six sides in Division B are based on the final standings at this year's tournament. The 7-12 seeds in Division B represent teams that have qualified for the 2007 World Championship via regional tournaments and their seedings were drawn at random.

All 24 participating teams will be confirmed in January.

The 24 teams will play across six match venues in and around Belfast. The Division A matches will be played at Ravenhill, which was a host venue for the 1999 World Cup, Deramore Park, the home of Belfast Harlequins RFC, and Shaw's Bridge, which is jointly-owned by Cooke RFC and Instonians RFC.

The three match venues for the Division B fixtures will be announced shortly along with the full broadcast schedule and ticketing details.

For more information, go to www.irbu19.com