Rassie Erasmus welcomes new U20 Rugby Championship

The Junior Springboks produced a mixed bag of performances at this year’s World Rugby U20 Championship, but in a notable announcement made by SANZAAR on Thursday, it was confirmed that a new U20 Rugby Championship will kick off in 2024.

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The Championship, which will be hosted in the Gold Coast in Australia next year in April (exact dates to be confirmed), will see up and coming stars of Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa do battle on an annual basis.

The junior version of the southern hemisphere tournament will be a major boost for the likes of the Junior Springboks as they seek to breed the next generation of senior national stars.

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NEW U20 RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP SEEN AS A POSITIVE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

The competition will be played annually in one country and will comprise a round robin where all four teams will play each other once across a three-week period. The top team after the three-round, six match tournament will be declared the winner.

“We’ve been trying for a long time to organise more competitive matches for the Junior Springboks as lack of quality gametime is something we’ve identified as lacking from the U20 programme,” said Erasmus.

“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.”

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