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What to watch in men's rugby: U20 Championship, Trophy races heat up
It is another busy week of international action on RugbyPass TV as the World Rugby U20 Championship and World Rugby U20 Trophy continue and Canada host Romania in Ottawa.
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The race to win the U20 Championship will wind its way towards the finishing straight this week as the final round of pool matches are played before the knockout stages get underway.
Nine teams remain in the hunt for the title ahead of day three, while five teams can still secure promotion to next year’s tournament from the U20 Trophy.
Scotland face a winner-takes-all clash against Japan in Pool A in Edinburgh, while USA will book their place in the Trophy final if they avoid defeat against Kenya.
Elsewhere, Canada will hope to bounce back from a heavy defeat to Scotland when they take on Romania in Ottawa.
You can watch all of the action live and for free on RugbyPass TV.
U20 Championship finishing straight in sight
On Tuesday, the U20 Championship pool stage will draw to a close with something on the line in all six matches in Cape Town and Stellenbosch.
Nine of the 12 teams competing in South Africa will arrive at Athlone Stadium or Danie Craven Stadium with a shot at ending day three in the semi-finals.
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The opening match in Cape Town pits Ireland against Australia, with the Irish knowing they will top Pool B and qualify for the semi-finals if they avoid defeat.
If Australia win, though, and the teams finish level on points it will be the Junior Wallabies who top the pool having beaten Ireland.
The other match in Pool B on Tuesday will see Georgia take on Italy, who earned a memorable victory against Australia in the second round.
Despite that standout result, the Azzurrini cannot leapfrog Ireland as they lost 55-15 to them on day one and they are unlikely to force their way into the semi-finals as a best runner-up as they haven’t yet picked up a bonus point.
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In the opening match of the day at Danie Craven Stadium, Argentina take on Fiji needing a bonus-point victory to have any hope of reaching the semi-finals.
Their Pool C rivals, hosts South Africa and England, meet in the third match at Athlone Stadium with the latter requiring only a point to make sure of top spot and their place in the last four.
In Pool A, meanwhile, New Zealand top the standings with a three-point cushion over Wales and four-point lead over France, ahead of their final pool-stage commitment against Spain.
Three-time defending champions France need to beat Wales with a bonus-point to have any chance of leapfrogging them and New Zealand.
A Welsh victory would leave them with a good chance of qualifying for the semi-finals as the best second-placed side if New Zealand then beat Spain as expected.
Following the third and final round of pool matches, the Cup and placing semi-finals will be played on Sunday and you can watch all the action live and for free with RugbyPass TV (except in Africa, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Tonga).
Tuesday, July 9th
Pool A
15:30 BST (GMT+1) – France v Wales, Athlone Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
18:00 BST – New Zealand v Spain, Danie Craven Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
Pool B
13:00 BST – Ireland v Australia, Athlone Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
15:30 BST – Georgia v Italy, Danie Craven Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
Pool C
13:00 BST – Argentina v Fiji, Danie Craven Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
18:00 BST – South Africa v England, Athlone Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
Sunday, July 14th
13:00 BST – Placing semi-finals, Danie Craven Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
13:00 BST – Fifth-place semi-final and Cup semi-finals, DHL Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
U20 Trophy final places up for grabs
On Friday, the U20 Trophy pool stage will reach its conclusion with five teams still in contention for promotion to next year’s Championship.
The action will get underway at Hive Stadium when Samoa take on Hong Kong China at 11:45 local time (GMT+1) but neither team can qualify from Pool A having lost their opening matches.
USA will then play Kenya, with the Americans knowing that a draw would be enough to take them through to the final thanks to their 44-33 victory against Netherlands on day one.
The result of that match will have a bearing on the Dutch’s encounter with Uruguay in the penultimate match of day three.
Should USA beat Kenya, avoid defeat or pick up two bonus points, then the winner of the Los Teritos’ meeting with the Netherlands will not be able to scale the top of the pool.
Hosts Scotland will run out at Hive Stadium at the end of day three for a winner-takes-all match against Japan.
Both teams head into the match with two wins from two, meaning the winner will top Pool A and qualify for the 2024 U20 Trophy final. Should the match end in a draw then Scotland will finish above Japan on points difference.
You can watch all the action live and for free on RugbyPass TV globally, except for the final match of day three, which is geo-blocked in the UK and Japan.
Friday, July 12th
Pool A
11:45 BST (GMT+1) – Samoa v Hong Kong China, Hive Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
19:45 BST – Scotland v Japan, Hive Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
Pool B
14:30 BST – Kenya v USA, Hive Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
17:15 BST – Uruguay v Netherlands, Hive Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
Can Canada chop down Oaks?
Canada, wounded by a chastening defeat to Scotland in Ottawa last weekend, welcome Romania to TD Place Stadium on Friday (local time) as they continue their preparations for next month’s Pacific Nations Cup.
Lucas Rumball scored the opening try of the match against Scotland, but it was one-way traffic from that point on as Gregor Townsend’s side ran out comfortable 73-12 winners.
The result dropped Canada one place in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings, to 22nd but home fans will hope they fare better against the Oaks.
Romania start the match two places ahead of their hosts in the rankings, and Canada will climb above them if they win by more than 15 points.
The Oaks head into the match in form, though, having beaten USA 22-20 in Chicago last Friday.
Scrum-half Aline Conache kicked 14 of Romania’s points, while replacement Daniel Plai proved the match-winner as his 68th-minute penalty edged his side to victory.
Find out if Romania can make it two wins from two in North America or whether Canada can rebound from their Scottish disappointment live and for free on RugbyPass TV (except in Canada and Romania).
Saturday, July 13th
00:00 BST (GMT+1) – Canada v Romania, TD Place Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
