The World Rugby U20 Championship will be held in South Africa in 2023 and 2024. After the Junior Springboks’ victory in 2012 on home soil, South Africa will host the upcoming stars of the game for the 2023 edition for the second time. The age-grade competition will take place from June 24 until July 14.
After three editions were postponed (2020–2022) due to the pandemic, the two largest men’s World Rugby U20 competitions will return in 2023 and will attract the brightest young players from around the world during the bicentennial year of the sport.
The world’s top 12 countries have been divided into three pools and will compete over five match days in the Western Cape Wineland regions of Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Wellington in an effort to unseat two-time defending champions France. The last-place team will be demoted to the World Rugby U20 Trophy the following year.
Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, and Wales are the participant nations for the World Rugby U20 Championship 2023.
Kenya will host the World Rugby U20 Trophy 2023 from July 15–30 following the completion of the U20 Championship, having previously done so in 2009. The event will be held in Africa for the third time, with Zimbabwe serving as the hosts in 2016. At the Nyayo National Stadium, eight teams will compete over four match days, with the victor advancing to the U20 Championship in 2024.
The participating teams for the World Rugby U20 Trophy 2023 are: Scotland (relegated from the U20 Championship in 2019), Kenya (hosts), Hong Kong (Asia), Samoa (Oceania), Spain (Europe), Uruguay (South America), and two teams from North America and Africa that still need to qualify through regional play.
WORLD RUGBY U20 CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
24 June-14 July | Cape Town and Western Cape, South Africa
| POOL A | POOL B | POOL C |
| France (1) | Australia (2) | South Africa (3) |
| Wales (6) | England (5) | Argentina (4) |
| New Zealand (7) | Ireland (8) | Italy (9) |
| Japan (12) | Fiji (11) | Georgia (10) |
The two age-grade competitions are an important component of the international federation’s investment in boosting rugby’s quality of competition by giving gifted young players a direct route to the top division. Nearly 1,500 players, including 28 Rugby World Cup champions, have gone on to play in tests after competing in the premier competitions, which were first staged in 2008.
- Pool matches
- Match day 1: Saturday 24 June
- Match day 2: Thursday 29 June
- Match day 3: Tuesday 4 July
- Knock-out matches
- Match day 4: Sunday 9 July
- Match day 5 (final): Friday 14 July
WORLD RUGBY U20 TROPHY 2023
15-30 July | Nyayo National Stadium, Kenya
| POOL A | POOL B |
| Scotland | Spain |
| Uruguay | Samoa |
| Canada or USA | Kenya |
| Africa 2 | Hong Kong |
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