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.
Knowing they effectively had a ‘gimme’ versus minnows Spain on match day three, they rested numerous first-choice players but they will now run out at the DHL Stadium with a team that has 10 alterations from last Tuesday in Stellenbosch.
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).
New Zealand U20 opener their U20 Championship campaign against Wales U20 on Sunday morning (NZST).
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 Crusaders have missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015 under first year head coach Rob Penney prompting an external review of the season.
The New Zealand squad features 31 of the country's finest young athletes, with selectors having identified plenty of promising talent at the recent U20 Super Rugby tournament played last month in Taupo.
The New Zealand Under 20 squad has been named ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship later this month.
Gallagher Premiership heavyweights Leicester Tigers have confirmed the departure of nine players at the end of the season.