Can Hugo Reus escape the curse of the 'Golden Boot'?

The World Rugby U20 Championship is a proven breeding ground for Test stars of the future, with close to 1,000 players using the competition as a stepping stone to higher honours since the first tournament was held in 2008.

However, it is noticeable, and it’s maybe just a quirk of fate, that the majority of players who finished as top points scorer at the competition failed to ‘kick on’ and translate their age-group promise into fulfilling senior Test rugby careers.

Only four past top points scorers have gone on to be capped, and Gareth Anscombe’s 37 test appearances were in the red of Wales, not for New Zealand, for whom he top scored at U20 level with 86 points in 2011.

Tom Prydie (61 points for Wales U20s in 2012) did make the step up into the senior Welsh side, winning seven caps, and Argentina’s Patricio Fernández (82 points for Argentina U20s in 2013 and 73 points in 2014) briefly represented Los Pumas.

Les Bleuets’ points machine, Louis Carbonel, is the latest and last player to ‘graduate’, having earned five caps post-2018, when he top scored on home soil with 60 points in the first of France’s three title-winning campaigns.

Between them, those four U20s stars have earned a grand total of 51 caps.

Hugo Reus, only the second player after Argentina’s Patricio Fernández to win the ‘golden boot’ in back-to-back tournaments, is the latest player hoping to buck the trend and follow in the footsteps of his boyhood hero Jonny Wilkinson rather than fall by the wayside.

Reus was only a late confirmation in the France U20s squad, as it wasn’t until La Rochelle were eliminated from the Top 14 at the semi-final stage that his name was pencilled in to travel out before their opening match.

The fly-half had pocketed a tournament-best 62 points in 2023 and was peerless again on his return to South Africa, contributing 57 points, a third of his team’s overall total, including eight in a losing cause against England in the final.

Reus’ career appears to be on the right trajectory to having a long and fulfilling career, and the smart money would be on him joining the likes of Romain Ntamack and the aforementioned Carbonel in using the U20s as a pathway to success.

But history suggests it is anything but a given, as the rundown of the careers of previous top points scorers below highlights.

Past U20 Championship Top Points Scorers (2008-2024)

2008: Francois Brummer (South Africa) 67 points

A fly-half with an educated boot, Brummer enjoyed a good pro career in provincial South African rugby and in Super Rugby with the Bulls before finishing up at Zebre. He played for South Africa A but never got to full Springbok status.

0 caps

2009: Tom Homer (England) 68 points

Homer played in two U20 Championship finals in 2009 and 2010 and the number of players from those squads who went on to gain full England honours runs into double figures. However, the hard-running full-back, who played with distinction for London Irish and Bath, was not one of them.

0 caps

2010: Tyler Bleyendaal (New Zealand) 78 points

Former Crusaders and Munster fly-half whose deep understanding of the game didn’t win him an All Blacks cap but should give him a good chance of going further in his coaching career. Has joined Leinster’s backroom staff as an assistant to Leo Cullen ahead of the 2024/25 season.

0 caps

2011: Gareth Anscombe (New Zealand) 86 points

Anscombe may have been one of the lucky ones in terms of going on to play Test rugby but that’s where his fortune has run out. Blighted by serious injury and constant criticism about his selection for Wales, the likeable Kiwi hasn’t had the Test career that his talent deserves. At 33 years of age it is highly unlikely he will add to his tally of 37 caps.

37 caps

2012: Tom Prydie (Wales) 61 points

Had the distinction of being capped by Wales at Test level before he’d even played U20s rugby for his country. Prydie became the youngest player to play for Wales in 2010, less than a month after his 18th birthday. But he won just seven caps over the next eight years as injuries held him back. Enjoyed a distinguished club career at Ospreys, Swansea, Wasps, Dragons, Scarlets before finishing up at Bath.

7 caps

2013 & 2014: Patricio Fernández (Argentina) 82 & 73 points

Only won two caps in low-key internationals against Chile and Brazil in 2013 but did also play for Argentina in sevens. Fernández’s international ambitions had to take a back seat when he moved to France to join Clermont in 2015, off the back of his successes at the U20 Championship. He has remained in French rugby ever since.

2 caps

2015: Brandon Thomson (South Africa) 59 points

South Africa’s U20s class of 2015 was more renowned for its forward pack than backs, with current Springbok props, Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit, and lock RG Snyman three of their leading lights. However, Thomson’s 59-point contribution was also key to the Junior Springboks finishing third in Italy. Played for the Stormers, Western Province and the Free State Cheetahs in his native South Africa and also had a spell overseas with Glasgow, but his country never came calling.

0 caps

2016: Harry Mallinder (England) 68 points

Lifted the U20 Championship trophy in Manchester after stepping in for the injured Jack Walker as captain. Mallinder led by example in the final with a tremendous display, scoring two tries and 23 points in a 45-21 win against Ireland. Mallinder, however, has failed to follow his dad, Jim, into the Test arena, despite being named in an Eddie Jones squad, and after a miserable two-season stay in Japan he is now trying his luck as an NFL kicker.

0 caps

2017: Tiaan Falcon (New Zealand) 69 points

Falcon’s behind-the-back-pass in the Baby Blacks’ semi-final win over France was one of the highlight reel moments of the 2017 tournament. The Hawke’s Bay player went on to make his Super Rugby debut for the Chiefs but a ruptured Achilles and shoulder surgery, followed by Covid,  badly disrupted his progress. Currently with Toyota Verblitz in Japan.

0 caps

2018: Louis Carbonel (France) 60 points

Steered France to their maiden U20 Championship win on home soil, and was a major factor in their follow-up success in 2019. Carbonel received his first Les Bleus cap in the Autumn Nations Cup the following year but has been stuck on five caps since 2021. The Toulon product has moved to Paris this summer, via a spell at Montpellier, with the task of sharpening up Stade Francais’ blunt attack.

5 caps

2019: Josh Hodge (England) 63 points

Hodge kicked 24 goals from 24 attempts in Argentina in 2019, and scored two tries from full-back, and has been in and around the senior England squad since moving from Newcastle to Exeter Chiefs. A sporting all-rounder who, at 24 years of age, still has time on his side.

0 caps

2023 & 2024: Hugo Reus (France) 62 & 57 points

Was a hero of France U20s title triumph in 2023 a few months after he’d made his Top 14 debut, before leading Les Bleuets into the final this year. Has much more to his game than goal-kicking – he came up with a tournament-high five try assists, for example – but the way he mastered difficult underfoot conditions and the wind in South Africa to accumulate so many points won’t have been lost on his boss for next season at La Rochelle, former Ireland and Munster sharpshooter Ronan O’Gara.

0 caps