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England U20 Men

26 Jan 2023 | 3 min |

World Rugby U20 Championship returns to South Africa in 2023

The World Rugby U20 Championship returns for the first time since the pandemic and will be hosted in South Africa.

England U20 Men will compete with the 12 best U20 nations in the world for the Championship, which will take place in Cape Town and the Western Cape from 24 June - 14 July 2023. 

It has been four years since the tournament last took place, with the last three editions being cancelled because of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The Championship will be held in South Africa for the next two years (2023 and 2024). The 2023 edition will be the second time South Africa welcome the future stars of the game after 2012 when the Junior Springboks won on home soil.

Played over five match days in the Western Cape Wineland regions of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Wellington, the 12 nations have been placed into three pools and will play to claim the title from defending champions France. 

England have been placed in Pool B and will face Australia, Ireland and Fiji in the pool stages. 

"This is the first time since 2019 that we’ll be able play against all the world’s best U20 nations and we’re looking forward to that competitive test," said England U20 Men head coach Alan Dickens.

"Playing against top tier nations in a format similar to a Rugby World Cup across three weeks will provide a very valuable development experience for the players.

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 "Pulling on the England jersey is always an honour for these young men, and the World Rugby U20 Championship will be a particularly special highlight during their rugby journeys.

“While our attention is right now firmly focused on our U20 Six Nations opener against Scotland at the Stoop, we’re also looking forward to getting out to South Africa and continuing to develop the squad.” 

Pools

Pool A

Pool B

Pool C

France

Australia

South Africa

Wales

England

Argentina

New Zealand

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Fiji

Georgia