Junior Boks draws reigning champs England in tough Under-20 Championship pool

By SABC Sport
14th March 2025

The Junior Springboks were handed a tough group assignment for this year's World Rugby Under-20 Championship, which will take place from 29 June to 19 July in Italy.

The Junior Boks, ranked seventh for the global event, were drawn in a strong Pool A along with last year's champions, England, as well as Australia and Scotland.

"It is very exciting news and will be a great opportunity for us to play in Italy during the European summer months," said Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote.

"England and Scotland would have had great preparations through the U20 Six Nations, while Australia will no doubt be using the U20 Rugby Championship to gear up for Italy.

"It is a very competitive pool; we are excited for the challenge and will be well-prepared."

Italy is set to host the prestigious tournament in four cities across the Lombardia and Veneto regions- featuring the 12 best Under-20 teams in the world. It will be the first time in 10 years that the event returns to Italian soil since New Zealand beat England in the 2015 title decider in Cremona.

The Junior Boks will return to the same region where they won the 2022 U20 Summer Series, when South Africa - featuring the likes of Sacha Mngomezulu-Feinberg, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Cameron Hanekom and Ruan Venter - won the competition as an invited side along with the Six Nations teams and Georgia.

The Championship will be staged in Calvisano, Rovigo, Verona and Viadana, with three rounds of pool matches taking place on 29 June, 4 and 9 July.

The knockout stages kick off on 14 July with finals day taking place on 19 July at Stadio Maria Battaglini in Rovigo. Kick-off times are still to be finalised, and the full match schedule will be confirmed in due course.

England are the defending champions, having beaten three-time winners France 21-13 in the 2024 final in Cape Town.

The Junior Boks will resume their training from 20 March in Stellenbosch, the first time they will re-assemble after their recent successful tour of Georgia, where they managed to beat Georgia U20 twice in a series that was played in freezing conditions.