Global Age-Grade U20 Rugby Competitions Remain Key For Pathway Development

2025 will see the World Rugby U20 Championship take place in Italy from 29 June to 19 July, but there is no U20 Trophy scheduled for this year as a World Rugby review continues to explore the best way forward for these vital U20 Rugby age-grade tournaments as pathways for development for most unions.

Feature Photo Credit – World Rugby U20 Championship 2024

The 2025 Rugby Championship U20 was recently confirmed to take place in South Africa this year, while the top European teams still have the Men’s and Women’s U20 Six Nations competitions.

In December 2024, World Rugby said it was consulting with national unions and regional associations regarding the possibility of expanding the World Rugby U20 Championship from 12 to 16 teams in 2026, while confirming the U20 Trophy was also due to change and would not take place in 2025.

Nelson Mandela Bay Will Host the 2025 Rugby Championship U20

For the second year, the Rugby Championship U20 will take place, and this time in South Africa’s Eastern Cape at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha as promising rugby stars from South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina, and Australia, will compete in double-headers taking place on 1, 6 and 11 May.

Last year’s inaugural Rugby Championship U20 took place on the Australian Sunshine Coast in Queensland, which saw New Zealand beat the Junior Boks to the title after finishing the tournament unbeaten.

SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris said: “Following the success of the inaugural tournament in Queensland, Australia in 2024, SANZAAR is pleased to announce that the U20 Championship will head to South Africa this year. Last year, the title went down to the last round, and we witnessed some very competitive and absorbing rugby.

“This important Championship, to be played at the Nelson Mandela May Stadium in Gqeberha, will not only provide a vital pathway for up-and-coming rugby talent through exposure to essential international competition but will also provide development opportunities for the next generation of coaches, team management and match officials.”

As the CEO says, it is not only the players and management who benefit from these age-grade tournaments but also the match officials and organisers, while the young players get game-time exposure in front of fans and at major venues.

Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote added, “We are absolutely thrilled that the U20 Rugby Championship will be hosted on home soil this year. It’s a rare and special opportunity for the Junior Boks to play in front of our passionate home fans here in South Africa, and this tournament is crucial for our preparations ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship in Italy.

“We look forward to testing ourselves against the best young rugby players in the southern hemisphere, and we hope the Eastern Cape fans will come out in numbers to support us.”

2025 Rugby Championship U20 Fixtures

Thursday, 1 May (SA times shown)

• 14h00: New Zealand v Australia
• 16h10: Junior Boks v Argentina

Tuesday, 6 May

• 14h00: New Zealand v Argentina
• 16h10: Junior Boks v Australia

Sunday, 11 May

• 14h00: Argentina v Australia
• 16h10: Junior Boks v New Zealand

World Rugby U20 Championship 2025 Heads To Italy

The World Rugby U20 Championship will take place in Italy in July, with all 12 teams playing each other once in a three-match round robin across three match days.

The 15th edition of the tournament will run from 29 June-19 July with fixtures to be held in four cities (Calvisano, Rovigo, Verona and Viadana) across the Lombardia and Veneto regions and World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson said when the tournament was announced: “The World Rugby U20 Championship represents the pinnacle of age-grade rugby, showcasing the next generation of international stars before they reach the highest level.”

More than one thousand men’s players have graduated from the U20 Championships to play test rugby since the tournament was first held in 2008, including 32 Rugby World Cup winners and the last five World Rugby Men’s 15s Players of the Year.

England are the defending champions after they beat three-time winners France 21-13 in the 2024 final in Cape Town.

The teams competing in 2025 are (numbers represent their seeding): 

• Pool A – England (1), Australia (6), South Africa (7), Scotland (12)
• Pool B – France (2), Argentina (5), Wales (8), Spain (11)
• Pool C – New Zealand (3), Ireland (4), Georgia (9), Italy (10)

There is only one African side, no Asian representation, and one from South America and none from North America.

World Rugby U20 Championship 2025 Fixtures

Pool matches

• Matchday 1: Sunday, 29 June (Calvisano and Verona)
• Matchday 2: Friday, 4 July (Rovigo and Viadana)
• Matchday 3: Wednesday, 9 July (Calvisano and Verona)

Playoffs

• Matchday 4: Monday, 14 July (Verona and Viadana)
• Matchday 5 (final and ranking matches): Saturday, 19 July (Calvisano and Rovigo)

Photo Credit – World Rugby – Rugby U20 Championship

In 2024, the World Rugby Executive Board approved a £2.6 million increase in regional investment lasting until 2027, which is in addition to a record £300 million investment directly into unions and regions over the same period, and an additional record investment of £68 million in high-performance initiatives. 

Read Part 2 of how Emerging Nations need age-grade rugby to stay competitive (coming soon).

Rugby Tournaments 2025-2026

• World Rugby U20 Championship 2025 Heads To Italy.
• SANIX World Rugby Youth Tournament 2025 – Teams & Pools.
• Chile Will Host New World Rugby U20 Challenger Cup in 2026.
• Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens Series 2025 – Expansion And Exciting Signings.