32 - 24

What to watch in men’s rugby: U20 Trophy kicks off as Championship continues

268 days ago

SUNSHINE COAST, AUSTRALIA - MAY 12: Jurenzo Julius of South Africa scores a try during The Rugby Championship U20 Round 3 match between Argentina and South Africa at Sunshine Coast Stadium on May 12, 2024 in Sunshine Coast, Australia. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

We stand at the start of another huge week of international age-grade rugby, and you can watch it all live and for free on RugbyPass TV.

Having watched the World Rugby U20 Championship 2024 get underway in style in Cape Town last weekend, now is the time for the players in the second tier to shine.

The World Rugby U20 Trophy 2024 kicks off at Edinburgh’s Hive Stadium on Tuesday, with hosts Scotland one of eight teams targeting promotion to the U20 Championship over the next fortnight.

On Thursday, meanwhile, the U20 Championship continues in Cape Town and Stellenbosch as the competing nations jostle for a place in the semi-finals.

The second round of the U20 Trophy pool stage then follows on Sunday.

U20 Trophy set for kick-off

Eight teams have gathered on the U20 Trophy start line in Edinburgh with their eyes set firmly on promotion to next year’s U20 Championship.

Hive Stadium will host 16 matches over the next two weeks as those eight nations are whittled down to one winner, and you can watch all the action with RugbyPass TV.

Scotland will hope home comforts can help them take the step back to the top tier of men’s age-grade international rugby at the second time of asking.

Last year’s tournament in Nairobi was their first campaign at this level, having been relegated from the U20 Championship in 2019. Uruguay put paid to their hopes of an instant return, running out 37-26 victors in the teams’ final pool-stage match 12 months ago.

Scotland overcame Samoa 83-10 to win the third-place play-off, and they will begin their quest for promotion against the same opposition in Pool A on Tuesday (kick-off 14:30 BST).

Kenneth Murray’s team, who finished bottom of the 2024 U20 Six Nations standings, then face Hong Kong China next Sunday (kick-off 14:30 BST) and finish their pool-stage campaign against Japan five days later (kick-off 19:45 BST).

Japan lost all five matches during the 2023 U20 Championship, losing their place at the top table with a 45-27 defeat to Italy.

In Pool B, Scotland’s 2023 conquerors Uruguay get their campaign underway against Kenya in the second match of day one (kick-off 14:30 BST).

Los Teritos had their promotion hopes extinguished by a late Diego Gonzalez Blanco try 12 months ago as Spain ran out 39-32 winners in the final.

Second-place was Uruguay’s best finish since they won the inaugural tournament in Chile in 2008 and they will hope this is the year they end their long wait for a return to the U20 Championship.

Uruguay face USA on Sunday (kick-off 11:45 BST) before completing their pool-stage commitments with a match against tournament debutants the Netherlands a week on Friday (kick-off 17:15 BST).

The Dutch earned their place in Edinburgh by winning the 2023 Rugby Europe U20 Championship and will kick-off their maiden campaign against USA on day one (kick-off 19:45 BST).

The Americans won the U20 Trophy on home soil in 2012 but have only appeared in three of the past seven tournaments and finished a disappointing seventh 12 months ago.

You can find out how they get on in Edinburgh with RugbyPass TV. The U20 Trophy is available to stream live and for free around the world, except in the UK.

Tuesday, July 2nd

11:45 BST (GMT+1) – WATCH DAY ONE LIVE HERE

Sunday, July 7th

11:45 BST – WATCH DAY TWO LIVE HERE

Race for U20 Championship semi-finals heats up

Following a thrilling opening day last Saturday, the U20 Championship continues in Cape Town and Stellenbosch on Thursday.

Defending champions France got their Pool A campaign off to a winning start against debutants Spain and they face a blockbuster encounter with New Zealand on day two.

Barnabe Massa and Geoffrey Malaterre each helped themselves to a brace of tries at DHL Stadium as Les Bleuets ran out 49-12 winners.

New Zealand overcame a spirited Wales performance, with Xavi Taele scoring two of their six tries to help secure a 41-34 win at Athlone Stadium.

However, the U20 Rugby Championship winners have not beaten France since 2017, the last time they claimed the overall title, and lost the teams’ two most recent meetings at this level, in 2018 and 2023.

Only the three pool winners are guaranteed their place in the semi-finals, meaning victory is imperative in Stellenbosch.

Wales will hope to rebound from defeat to New Zealand when they take on Spain in the opening match of day two at Athlone Stadium.

In Pool B, Ireland and Australia put their winning starts to the tournament on the line when they take on Georgia and Italy respectively on Thursday.

Last year’s runners-up Ireland were in imperious form at DHL Stadium last Saturday, Sam Berman helping himself to a hat-trick as Willie Faloon’s side notched eight tries in a 55-15 defeat of Italy.

Australia had a tougher time against the Junior Lelos and trailed between the 16th and 56th minute before five tries in the final 24 minutes gave them a 35-11 victory.

Jack Bracken was the hat-trick hero for three-time champions England in their 40-21 defeat of Argentina on Saturday, and the winger will hope to his tally when they take on Fiji on Thursday.

Fiji lost their opening Pool C match 57-7 to South Africa at DHL Stadium as Jurenzo Julius scored two of the Junior Springboks’ eight tries.

The hosts will hope for more of the same when they take on Los Pumitas in Stellenbosch on Thursday.

South Africa have not lost to Argentina at this level since the 2016 U20 Championship and edged to a 30-28 victory when the teams met in the U20 Rugby Championship in Australia in May. Julius also crossed the whitewash for the Junior Springboks that day.

You can watch all the action from the U20 Championship live and for free via RugbyPass TV, except in Africa, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.

Thursday, June 4th

Pool A

13:00 BST (GMT+1) – Wales v Spain, Athlone Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
15:30 BST – France v New Zealand, Danie Craven Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE

Pool B

13:00 BST – Ireland v Georgia, Danie Craven Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
18:00 BST – Australia v Italy, Athlone Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE

Pool C

15:30 BST – England v Fiji, Athlone Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
18:00 BST – South Africa v Argentina, Danie Craven Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE

Comments

1 Comment

Nicholas 265 days ago

I have just signed up! I hope I can watch the World Cup rugby U20’s

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Latest Features

LONG READ

‘You feel the interest, that motivates you too’: Guido Petti wooed by Quins' personal touch

The Pumas lock will be living in Twickenham and playing big games there later this year, but wants to leave Bordeaux on a high.

LONG READ

Morgane Bourgeois’ Women's Six Nations notebook: The first edition

France full-back Morgane Bourgeois shares with RugbyPass an inside look at the team's journey through the 2025 Women’s Six Nations.

LONG READ

Andy Farrell is draining Ireland’s resources to benefit the Lions

Coaching the Lions is the ultimate honour, but Ireland's recent form has made them a victim of their own success

Comments on RugbyPass

PM 9 minutes ago

Andy Farrell is draining Ireland’s resources to benefit the Lions

Have zero issue with Farrell going, but feel Easterby should have committed to staying on in a full interim role when he signed up for the job. Summer Tests are vital for identifying the next batch of players and seeing them in that tour environment.

2 Go to comments

NHinSH 11 minutes ago

Chris Ashton: 'There's a lot of firepower out there but wings are not the highest-paid group. I wouldn’t have stood for it.'

Scrum half being bottom is quite shocking considering how important they are.

2 Go to comments

BA 42 minutes ago

'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Top 14 is just to long but the comp is big money extremely popular high standard can’t hate…yup it will hurt France with cohesion not that many tests till WC but you would expect them to be rolling nonetheless in 27..go ABs

64 Go to comments

JD Kiwi 48 minutes ago

Drought-busting win over Brumbies gives Waratahs platform to build on

Yes, you've got a lot of top quality cattle and after just five games together there's a lot of scope for improvement.

10 Go to comments

lukegilmartin 1 hour ago

Rugby down under could have hit high gear with Anzac Tests

Fantastic idea to fix your annual showpiece fixture (from the Wallabies perspective) to a national holiday. Look at the success this has had in the USA, where NBA and NFL fans pack multiple arenas across the country on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving, the two most widely-celebrated national holidays in North America, with millions more tuning in on TV. This allows fans to create an association between the holiday and the game, while the ANZAC Day example has the added benefit of the same two teams (who are already established historical and geographical rivals) playing each year, adding to the sense of tradition and deepening the rivalry with each iteration.

Would love to see this more widely-implemented across rugby. For instance, Ireland should seek to tie the opening fixture of the Women’s Six Nations to St. Patrick’s Day and host the game in the RDS with the Leinster Schools Senior Cup Final serving as an opener (bonus points if you make the opponent England every year). Would pack out the stadium and the School’s final fans always bring fantastic atmosphere!

25 Go to comments

J Marc 1 hour ago

'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

I don't know if the players have talk to Galthie, but they should talk to their employers, the clubs, first. After losing Dupont for at least 9 months, I am sure Toulouse will applause this idea with their two hands….

64 Go to comments

JD Kiwi 1 hour ago

Drought-busting win over Brumbies gives Waratahs platform to build on

I totally agree about the tipping comp Miz. So much wit and love. Last I saw it there was Hamish and Christy, neither of whom seem to have any real affection for the game.

10 Go to comments

Andrew Nichols 1 hour ago

Hurricanes suffer playmaker blow, experiment with loose trio for Tahs

That is disastrous. RH at 10?