For the first time since the epidemic, the Junior World Rugby U20 Championship and U20 Trophy will be held in South Africa (24 June–14 July) and Kenya (15–30 July), respectively. On Saturday night, the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa gets underway. The Junior Wallabies are hoping to build on their successful two-match tour of New Zealand, where they shared the championship.
The Junior Wallabies take face Fiji in their season opener on Sunday at 12.30am AEST. On Thursday, June 29 at 7 p.m. AEST, they will play Ireland, and on Tuesday, July 4 at 10 p.m. AEST, they will play England. Important matches, including all of the Junior Wallabies games, will be webcast Junior World Rugby on Stan Sport.
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. 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.
Coach of the Junior Wallabies Nathan Grey has announced his lineup for the first game (see below).
There are 12 teams competing in three pools, and Australia is the second-ranked team, behind France, the two-time defending champion. Teams will be seeded after pool matches based on outcomes and rankings for play-offs, which will conclude with a final on July 15.
In 2024, the losing team will be dropped to the World Rugby U20 Trophy.
Pool A: Japan, New Zealand, Wales, France, and
Pool B: Fiji, Australia, England, and Ireland
South Africa, Argentina, Italy, and Georgia are in Pool C.
- 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
Junior World Rugby 2023 Schedule
Sunday 25 June
Wales vs New Zealand, midnight – Live on Stan Sport
Australia vs Fiji, 12.30am – Live on Stan Sport
South Africa vs Georgia, 3am
Thursday 29 June
Australia vs Ireland, 7pm – Live on Stan Sport
France vs New Zealand 9.30pm – Live on Stan Sport
Wales vs Japan, 10pm
Friday 30 June
South Africa vs Italy, midnight
Argentina vs Georgia, 12.30am
England vs Fiji, 3am – Live on Stan Sport
Tuesday 4 July
Italy vs Georgia, 7pm
Ireland vs Fiji, 9.30pm
Australia vs England, 10pm – Live on Stan Sport
Wednesday 5 July
New Zealand vs Japan, midnight – Live on Stan Sport
France vs Wales, 12.30am
South Africa vs Argentina, 3am
Sunday 9 July and Monday 10 July
First Playoff round
Semifinal 1 (2nd place v 3rd place), 12.30am, July 10 – Live on Stan Sport
Semifinal 2 (1st place vs 4th place), 3am, July 10 – Live on Stan Sport
All Blacks vs Australia Live – 29 July 2023
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 |
- Pool matches
- Match day 1: Saturday 15 July
- Match day 2: Thursday 20 July
- Match day 3: Tuesday 25 July
- Final and ranking matches
- Match day 4: Sunday 30 July
