Latest news with #Under20Championship
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Lock Thomas back for Wales U20s against Argentina
Wales head coach Richard Whiffin has recalled fit-again lock Nick Thomas to start in their World Rugby Under-20 Championship opener against Argentina in Verona on Sunday (19:30 BST).Dragons lock Thomas missed most of the U20 Six Nations in which Wales beat England in Cardiff to deny them a Grand Tom Bowen started that game, but is on the bench at Payanini Center, where Jack Woods will be wing Harry Rees-Weldon was ruled out by injury so Elijah Evans switches to wing, while Harri Ford starts at fly-half with Harri Wilde on the bench. "It was tough job getting the squad down to 30 and even tougher to get it down to 23 for the match against Argentina," said Whiffin."We spoke to the boys and told them everyone is going to play in the first three games, and everyone has got to be ready."The seven boys who have missed out still have a crucial role to play – their job is to help prepare the team and be good team men."Whiffin expects Argentina to pose their traditional physical threat with the added threat of full-back Pascal Senillosa, who starred in the U20 Rugby Championship this year."Their 10 and 15 control the game very well so they will be a couple of guys we need to make sure we apply pressure to, and we have to be smart how we manage our energy levels in what will be a daunting proposition in the heat of Italy," added Whiffin. Wales: Jack Woods; Elijah Evans, Osian Roberts, Steffan Emanuel, Aidan Boshoff; Harri Ford, Sion Davies; Ioan Emanuel, Harry Thomas, Sam Scott, Kenzie Jenkins, Nick Thomas, Deian Gwynne, Harry Beddall (capt), Evan Saul Hurley, Louie Trevett, Owain James, Dan Gemine, Caio James, Ellis Lewis, Harri Wilde, Tom Bowen.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Douglas & Ventisei to co-captain Scotland at U20 Championship
Freddy Douglas and Johnny Ventisei will co-captain Scotland at the upcoming World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Italy. Having led the team during this year's Under-20 Six Nations, Edinburgh's Douglas and Glasgow Warriors' Ventisei will fulfil the same leadership roles this summer. Advertisement Nineteen of the 30-man squad are made up of Edinburgh (10) and Glasgow (nine) players. Three of the squad have made debuts for Scottish professional sides in the past season as Douglas, who earned a senior Scotland cap last autumn, and Jack Brown featured for Edinburgh in the URC while Seb Stephen recently made his Glasgow bow away to Leinster. Scotland will play England on 29 June, Australia on 4 July and South Africa on 9 July in the group stages of the competition. Head coach Kenny Murray said: "We've had a long preparation block with a wider squad and a really strong group to pick from. Advertisement "The group took some confidence from beating Ireland in the friendly last week, but there was also plenty for us to work on and we know we'll have to be better in the Championship. "The group-stage fixtures will obviously be tough, but we've trained well and the opportunity is there for the players to put in 80-minute performances that really show what we're capable of."
BBC News
19-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Douglas & Ventisei to co-captain Scotland at U20 Championship
Freddy Douglas and Johnny Ventisei will co-captain Scotland at the upcoming World Rugby Under-20 Championship in led the team during this year's Under-20 Six Nations, Edinburgh's Douglas and Glasgow Warriors' Ventisei will fulfil the same leadership roles this of the 30-man squad are made up of Edinburgh (10) and Glasgow (nine) of the squad have made debuts for Scottish professional sides in the past season as Douglas, who earned a senior Scotland cap last autumn, and Jack Brown featured for Edinburgh in the URC while Seb Stephen recently made his Glasgow bow away to will play England on 29 June, Australia on 4 July and South Africa on 9 July in the group stages of the coach Kenny Murray said: "We've had a long preparation block with a wider squad and a really strong group to pick from."The group took some confidence from beating Ireland in the friendly last week, but there was also plenty for us to work on and we know we'll have to be better in the Championship."The group-stage fixtures will obviously be tough, but we've trained well and the opportunity is there for the players to put in 80-minute performances that really show what we're capable of."
Irish Times
29-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Ireland under-20s to open World Rugby Championship campaign against Georgia
Ireland will play their opening fixture at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship against Georgia on Sunday, June 29th (5pm Irish time). The game will be the opener of a Pool C double-header at the Stadio San Michele in Calvisano, with New Zealand and Italy playing in the second game (7.30pm). In their second outing, Neil Doak's side will face against the Italians, on Friday, July 4th at the Stadio Luigi Zaffanella in Viadana. Ireland will return to Calvisano for their last pool game on Wednesday, July 9th, where they will face the Baby Blacks (5.30pm Irish time). READ MORE The three pool winners and the best runner-up will contest the main semi-finals. Each team will play five matches in total with the side that finishes 12th relegated to the World Trophy competition. Ireland won their pool in last season's tournament in Cape Town but lost their semi-final to the eventual champions England, and subsequently lost the third-place playoff game against New Zealand. Ireland have twice reached an Under-20 World Cup final – in 2016 when they lost to hosts England and in 2023 when they were beaten by France. The current Irish squad finished bottom of the Six Nations, managing just a single victory over Scotland. Doak will hopefully have a stronger hand up front if Alan Spicer, Alex Usanov, Niall Smyth, Emmet Calvey and Luke Murphy, who missed the championship through injury, are back and available to play. World Rugby also announced the 10 referees and five television match officials (TMOs) that will preside over the tournament, including Ireland's Peter Martin and Leo Colgan. The selected referees are Tomas Bertazza (Argentina), Ben Breakspear (Wales), Griffin Colby (South Africa), Katsuki Furuse (Japan), Peter Martin (Ireland), Marcus Playle (New Zealand), Jérémy Rozier (France), Filippo Russo (Italy), Lex Weiner (USA) and Morgan White (Hong Kong China). The TMOs are Leo Colgan (Ireland), Graham Cooper (Australia), Aled Griffiths (Wales), Quinton Immelman (South Africa) and Dan Jones (RFU) with two of them – Colgan and Immelman – also selected for this year's Women's Rugby World Cup in England. World Rugby Talent ID manager and tournament referee manager, Ireland's Johnny Lacey said: 'The selection of this panel highlights the referees that are coming through our pathway system. We have been working closely with our unions and regions to increase the number of match officials in our pathway into World Rugby competitions. 'We are already starting to see the benefits with our talent identification programme providing four referees for this tournament and we are excited to see what the future holds for the officials involved in our men's and women's pathways.' The World Championship final will take place in the Stadio Mario Battaglini in Rovigo on Saturday, July 19th (7.30pm Irish time).
