U20
Photo Credit: World Rugby

The twelve U20 Captains met up before the championship starts this weekend and are eager to find the best of the best in their age group.

 

Cape Town, South Africa (27 June 2024) – The 12 captains of the World Rugby U20 Championship participating teams gathered at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday with just three days to go until the start of the premier age-grade competition in South Africa.

The action kicks off at 14:00 local time (GMT+2) on 29 June with 2023 winners France taking on tournament debutants Spain in Pool A at Cape Town Stadium.

The other Pool A match will see Wales play six-time champions New Zealand at Athlone Stadium at 19:00 local time.

In an all-European encounter, 2023 runners-up Ireland will face Pool B opponents Italy, while Australia take on Georgia, who impressed in last year’s competition when they placed eighth – their highest finish in U20 Championship history. Both matches will kick-off at 16:30 local time.

In Pool C, the opening match of the day at Athlone Stadium will see Los Pumitas take on an England side that will be full of confidence after being crowned U20 Six Nations champions in March. The Junior Springboks bring the curtain down on the opening day at Cape Town Stadium when they play in front of their home fans against Fiji at 19:00 local time.

 “We have looked at our faults and things we struggled with at the U20 Rugby Championship in Australia, and we have been working hard to fix them. We have done quite a bit of training at camp the last three weeks. We look forward to having our home support cheering us on. That really helps us when things are not going your way. I’m a Cape Town boy, so it’s very special for me that I get to lead my team in my hometown.” – Zachery Porthen, South Africa Captain

Each side will play three pool matches, with the winners and best runner-up across the pools progressing to the semi-finals to battle it out for a chance to play for the coveted trophy.

The tournament will also be the first global competition to feature World Rugby Council approved three global law amendments. In addition, six law trials will be implemented, which include the simplified red card sanction process and a revised TMO protocol trial.

For the first time, both competitions will operate the full Head Injury Assessment (HIA) process and all players will have access to smart mouthguards, under the World Rugby-funded player welfare initiative.

The full match schedule can be found here.

Fans around the globe can watch the action through local broadcast partners: South Africa (SuperSport), France (L’Équipe TV), New Zealand (Sky NZ) and Fiji (Fiji Broadcasting Corporation) – or for free on RugbyPass TV in markets without exclusive deals.


Sources: World Rugby
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Tyler Leigh Vivier is a writer for Good Things Guy.

Her passion is to spread good news across South Africa with a big focus on environmental issues, animal welfare and social upliftment. Outside of Good Things Guy, she is an avid reader and lover of tea.

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