England flew out of South Africa last Saturday evening to Heathrow as the rightful champions, the consistency of their potent scrum and manipulative defence helping them to a deserved first title since 2016.
Four times he has flown south from France in the last 13 months, his involvement at the 2023 and 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship sandwiching the trips he made in December and April with La Rochelle in the Champions Cup.
The French, who are chasing a fourth successive world title in a row, swatted aside New Zealand 55-31 in their semi-final last Sunday.
Beaten 26-27 by an 80th-minute Baby Blacks penalty in a July 4 pool match in Stellenbosch, the French only reached the last four as the tournament’s best runner-up across the three pools courtesy of last Tuesday’s victory over Wales.
The French qualified for the last four with a 29-11 bonus-point win over Wales last Tuesday in Athlone, a result that was perfect to secure them progress as the tournament’s best runner-up across the three groups.
France U20 faces a major challenge: a formidable Wales team with potentially disastrous weather conditions.
The arrival of Stade Toulousain back-row Mathis Castro-Ferreira has shaken up the 23-man Bleuets squad that will face New Zealand.
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.
The Spanish have the honour of opening the pool the DHL Stadium this Saturday, taking on a French team that didn’t fire on all cylinders in a Six Nations campaign that only merited third place.