A new schools rugby tournament is set to dominate the headlines this December as Grey College host the Global School's Challenge.
The World Rugby U20 Championship has a proven pedigree as a breeding ground for Test stars of the future, with close to 1,000 players using the competition as a stepping stone to higher honours since the first tournament was held in 2008.
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.
The All Blacks showed up a weakness at the coal face which showed England need to bring powerful new scrummagers through
Mark Mapletoft's young bucks have tasted glory but is there now a clear pathway to Steve Borthwick's senior team?
England U20 pair Jack Bracken and Junior K'poku have been named the top two U18 prospects in the world in 2024 schoolboy rugby.
The scrum generally gets a bad rep, its critics vocal that it takes up too much time and whatnot. But when it works, as it has sumptuously done for newly crowned champions England at the World Rugby U20 Championship, it’s undeniably a thing of beauty capable of hugely influencing the results of matches.
A green bottle of Castle Lite was suddenly the beverage of choice… and why not? England had just been crowned champions. “I've already necked two,” he chucked.
Mark Mapletoft's side were immense in putting manners on a French side who needed a last-second converted consolation to massage the scoreboard to 21-13 and make it look that the second-half pasting that they had suffered wasn’t as terrible as it looked.
Ahead by a single point at the break after riding their luck at times during an edgy opening half, Mark Mapletoft’s dynamos took ample advantage of the yellow carding of Mathis Castro-Ferreira.