Advertisement
World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont shakes hands with Bernard Laporte, FFR President. Dave Rogers/World Rugby/Getty Images/INPHO
bonjour

Laporte wins another World Rugby vote, as next summer's U20 championship heads to France

Ireland have been drawn in Pool C alongside the hosts, South Africa and Georgia.

HOT ON THE heels of their successful bid to stage the 2023 World Cup, France have today been named as hosted for next summer’s U20 World Championship.

The tournament will be staged across three cities over a 19-day period, with Ireland drawn alongside the home nation, South Africa and Georgia in Pool C.

World Rugby earlier confirmed the three pool venues as the Stade Aimé Giral in Perpignan, Stade de la Méditerranée in Béziers and the Stade d’Honneur du Parc des Sports et de l’Amitié in Narbonne.

The five match days will take place on 30 May, 3 June, 12 June and 17 June, with the venues for the semi-finals and finals to be announced,

The tournament will see three pools of four teams compete for the four semi-final berths.

“The World Rugby U20 Championship is a proven finishing school for aspiring international players, with some of the biggest names in the game having graduated amongst a group of more than 550 internationals, including double World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year Beauden Barrett,” World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont.

“Following the success of Georgia, which broke all social media records, we are delighted to be heading to France and the rugby cities of Narbonne, Béziers and Perpignan. I am sure that the championship will capture the imagination and it will be fascinating to see who graduates to Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan.”

New Zealand, winners of the 2017 edition in Georgia, are in Pool A alongside New Zealand, Australia, Wales and Japan. England, Scotland, Italy and Argentina have been drawn in Pool B.

FFR President Bernard Laporte added: “We are honoured to be hosting the World Rugby U20 Championship, which plays an important role in the international development of the sport. It is a proven developer of young talent and players who graduate from France 2018 will go on to compete at the highest-level at future Rugby World Cups, including 2023 in France.”

The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the year’s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Eason’s, or order it here today (€10):

Lowe sparkles but Connacht slump – here are all the weekend’s Pro14 highlights

Wales scrum-half Davies to swap boyhood club Scarlets for Ospreys

Your Voice
Readers Comments
3
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

    Leave a commentcancel