It's semi-finals Sunday at the World Rugby U20 Championship and following last Tuesday’s weather-affected schedule, the hope will be that all six matches will be played to an 80-minute conclusion unlike on match day three when there were just four and a half matches completed due to the heavy rain making pitches unplayable.
Three matches are scheduled for Athlone: Ireland-Australia (2pm local time), France-Wales (4:30pm) and South Africa-England (7pm). Over in Stellenbosch, it’s Argentina-Fiji (2pm), Georgia-Italy (4:30pm) and New Zealand-Spain (7pm).
Three matches are scheduled for Stellenbosch: Ireland vs Georgia (kick-off 2pm local), France vs New Zealand (4:30pm) and South Africa vs Argentina (7pm). Over in Athlone, Wales vs Spain is the opening match (2pm) followed by England vs Fiji (4:30pm) and Australia vs Italy (7pm).
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.
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.
The Welsh signed off on the recent Six Nations with a fifth place finish following home wins over Scotland and Italy and are now preparing for pool fixtures in Cape Town versus New Zealand, Spain and defending champions France.
The Welsh signed off on the recent Six Nations with a fifth place finish following home wins over Scotland and Italy and are now preparing for pool fixtures in Cape Town versus New Zealand, Spain and defending champions France.
At the conclusion of the Premiership U18 club season, we have rated the top three prospects at every position who are leaving school and eyeing up a career in the professional game.
A club-by-club look at the top talents about to set the U18 Premiership Academy league alight, all of whom will be keen to put down markers for professional contracts and senior opportunities in the coming seasons.