A new Under-20 Rugby Championship tournament will see the light in 2024, much to the delight of the Junior Springboks.
Cape Town – Finally, a new Under-20 Rugby Championship tournament will see the light in 2024 – years after questions started about why the Southern Hemisphere does not have a competition similar to that of the U20 Six Nations in Europe.
The straw that probably broke the camel’s back was this year’s poor display by New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina in the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa.
Only the Junior Springboks reached the play-offs of the tournament with the rest failing to match up to the Northern Hemisphere sides in the competition.
It was the fourth all-European final in the competition when France and Ireland faced each other at Athlone Stadium, as South Africa claimed the bronze medal beating England. France won the tournament for the third time in a row as their dominance has been unmatched.
SANZAAR launches new U20 Championship: "This is exciting news and we are looking forward to three tough games against talented opposition" – more here: https://t.co/xqPM3cVjRq 👍#JuniorBoks #JourneyToGreatness pic.twitter.com/mIWMW9ZOni
— Junior Springboks (@JuniorBoks) July 20, 2023
The Under-20 Rugby Championship will kick-off in Australia in April with each country playing host to the competition yearly.
It will follow a round-robin format where teams will play each other once, and the top team will claim the championship after three weeks of matches.
“We’ve been trying for a long time to organise more competitive matches for the Junior Springboks,” Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby director of rugby, said in a statement.
“As lack of quality game time is something we’ve identified as lacking from the U20 program.
“It was clear that the Six Nations teams participating in this year’s World Rugby U20 Championship came into the tournament better prepared for the rigours of international rugby.
“Nothing prepares a player better for top-level competition than regular exposure to match situations, and there isn’t a better way to do this than to play.
“We are very excited about this new competition and would like to commend SANZAAR for putting it together.”
The Junior Springboks found it tough to cope with the physicality of the European sides in this year’s Championship, and some international competition ahead of the yearly world tournament will stand the side in good stead.
Bafana Nhleko, Junior Springbok coach, welcomed the news of a yearly international tournament ahead of the Championship.
“This is exciting news and we are looking forward to three tough games against talented opposition. It’s a good opportunity for players to affirm their places in the squad, and to test our systems as we build cohesion and momentum for the World Rugby U20 Championship.
“Each international game at this level is important in helping player development and laying a foundation for the Championship as well as the players’ senior professional careers.”
