Under-20 Championship, Finals - Teams and Predictions

FINALS PREVIEW: The 2024 World Rugby Under-20 Championship will come to an end on Friday with England up against France in the Final at Cape Town Stadium.

France secured their spot in the Final after a 55-31 win over New Zealand after they lost to the same opponents by one point in the pool phase.

England, the only unbeaten team left in the tournament, reached the Final after a 31-20 victory over Ireland last weekend.

“Everybody is very emotional,” England head coach Mark Mapletoft told RugbyPass after that win over Ireland.

“We have put a lot of time and effort into this group. It’s not always on-field.

“A lot of work has gone in off-field to make it an environment that people want to be part of and that is from every single player who comes in whether it’s an U18 training up, whether it is somebody in the EPS squad who has never played a minute, to staff who come in from clubs to help us out.

“If you make the environment good, then things just are easy to follow on from and one thing it has allowed the lads to do is to be able to find a way because when you are doing it for something over and above for yourself whether it is just tactical or technical.

“It becomes something greater than that and I couldn’t have been prouder of everybody really in terms of what they have done to get us to this point.

“But look, we are kind of four-fifths away up the mountain and we have still got to get to the summit.”

Your #WorldRugbyU20s finalists are confirmed 🔥

England will face France in this year’s Championship final 👏 pic.twitter.com/xo2V3JvevK

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) July 14, 2024

Defending champions France have made two changes to their starting team to take on England this Friday.

The French, who are chasing a fourth successive world title in a row, swatted aside New Zealand 55-31 in their semifinal last Sunday.

That swashbuckling seven-try performance at the Cape Town Stadium gained them a perfect revenge for their 26-27 pool loss to the Baby Blacks 10 days earlier in Stellenbosch.

Next on their agenda is revenge on England, whom they lost a Six Nations match to in Pau 31-45 on March 15 which confirmed the English as champions in that tournament.

They have altered one back and one forward in their run-on XV while also switching two of the replacement bench that retains the six/two forwards/backs split it had against the New Zealanders.

The French backline change is on the left wing where the impressive Hoani Bosmorin is marked absent following his 35th-minute exit in the semifinal. His place has been taken by Xan Mousques.

Meanwhile, in the front row, Lino Julien, who started the last day at tighthead, switches to loosehead for the benched Samuel Jean-Christophe and this has allowed Thomas Duchene to come back at No. 3.

Aside from Jean-Christophe dropping to the replacements at the expense of Lorencio Boyer-Gallardo, the other sub switch is the inclusion of Mathys Belaubre following the promotion of Mousques.

UNSTOPPABLE 🔥

This was @EnglandRugby‘s journey to the #WorldRugbyU20s final

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) July 17, 2024

*Meanwhile, hosts South Africa will be looking to end things on a high after a disappointing tournament.

They will face Wales in a seven-place play-off game.

Wandile Mlaba, who was called up to the Junior Springbok squad earlier this week, is set to make his SA U20 debut off the bench.

Mlaba (loose forward) was drafted in as a replacement following a spate of injuries in the SA U20s camp, with four players – loose forwards Tiaan Jacobs (ankle) and Thabang Mahashe (concussion), as well as outside backs Michail Damon (groin) and Likhona Finca (hand) – ruled out.

The quartet join earlier casualties Reno Hirst, Adam de Waal and JC Mars on the injury list. As a result, Junior Bok coach Bafana Nhleko had to once more shuffle his match 23 for the encounter with Wales.

Amongst the backs, Bruce Sherwood will run out at fullback due to Damon’s absence, while the versatile Ezekiel Ngobeni will start at right wing in Finca’s place, while he will also provide cover at scrumhalf.

At inside centre, Joshua Boulle takes over from Phillip-Albert van Niekerk, who is on the bench for this game.

Jacobs’s No.8 jersey goes to Sibabalwe Mahashe in a rejigged loose trio featuring Bathobele Hlekani and Keanu Coetsee as starting flanks. JF van Heerden, who started in the No.7-jersey against Argentina, returns to his more familiar position of lock, where he will partner with Jaco Grobbelaar.

Amongst the replacements, uncapped Mlaba will cover the loose forward positions, while flyhalf Liam Koen returns to the matchday squad having missed the Argentina match through injury.

Nhleko said the SA U20s are determined to deliver a performance that will show they are much better than their recent results.

“We have to live with the pain of a disappointing campaign and the frustration of small margins, it was not through a lack of effort or preparation, and we are not looking for excuses, but we have a responsibility to ourselves and the people who have supported us to finish well,” said Nhleko.

“We have one more match to have a go and try to live up to the standards we have set for ourselves. We’ve gone through our post-match processes and started with the Wales preparation. The nature of the competition is that we’ve had to put the disappointments behind us and focus on the next job.”

Nhleko said they expected a stern challenge from the Welsh: “Wales will be equally motivated to end the tournament on a positive note, so we must be ready and focussed to meet their challenge. We hope to deliver a performance that reflects the group’s abilities and win back some pride.”

See below for Friday’s teams and predictions!

France produced a try-scoring masterclass against New Zealand! 😍 🇫🇷 #WorldRugbyU20s | #NZLvFRA pic.twitter.com/HekvmchiV5

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) July 15, 2024

Friday, July 19

Eleventh place play-off:

Spain v Fiji
(Athlone Stadium, Cape Town – Kick-off: 12.00; 12.00 CEST; 10.00 GMT; 22.00 FJT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Spain by three points.

Teams:

Spain: 15 Luciano Richardis, 14 Julien Burgullios, 13 Alberto Carmona, 12 Yaco Fernandez, 11 Hugo Pichardie, 10 Gonzalo Otamendi, 9 Javier Lopez de Haro, 8 Valentino Rizzo, 7 Jokin Zolezzi, 6 Nicolas Moleti, 5 Manex Ariceta Maestro (captain), 4 Pablo Guiaro, 3 Hugo Gonzalez, 2 Diego Gonzalez, 1 Alberto Gomez.
Replacements: 16 David Gallego, 17 Pau Massoni, 18 Aniol Franch, 19 Martin Serrano, 20 Antonio Gamez, 21 Nico Infer, 22 Unax Zuriarrain, 23 Gabriel Rocaries.

Fiji: TBC

Referee: Federico Vedovelli
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison, Eon van Zyl
TMO: Tual Trainini

Seventh place play-off:

Wales v South Africa
(Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town – Kick-off: 14.00; 13.00 BST; 12.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: South Africa by two points.

Teams:

Wales: 15 Matty Young, 14 Walker Price, 13 Macs Page, 12 Louie Hennessey, 11 Aidan Boshoff, 10 Harri Ford, 9 Rhodri Lewis, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Lucas de la Rua, 6 Ryan Woodman (captain), 5 Gethyn Cannon, 4 Jonny Green, 3 Kian Hire, 2 Isaac Young, 1 Josh Morse.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thomas, 17 Ioan Emanuel, 18 Sam Scott, 19 Nick Thomas, 20 Owen Conquer, 21 Lucca Setaro, 22 Harri Wilde, 23 Steffan Emanuel.

South Africa: 15 Bruce Sherwood, 14 Joel Leotlela, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Joshua Boulle, 11 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 10 Tylor Sefoor, 9 Asad Moos, 8 Sibabalwe Mahashe, 7 Bathobele Hlekani, 6 Keanu Coetsee, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Jaco Grobbelaar, 3 Zachary Porthen (captain), 2 Luca Bakkes, 1 Casper Badenhorst.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Liyema Ntshanga, 18 Herman Lubbe, 19 Wandile Mlaba, 20 Divan Fuller, 21 Liam Koen, 22 Phillip-Albert van Niekerk, 23 Litelihle Bester.

Referee: Reuben Keane
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White, Neheun Jauri Rivero
TMO: Mark Patton

Ninth place play-off:

Italy v Georgia
(Athlone Stadium, Cape Town – Kick-off: 14.30; 14.30 CEST; 12.30 GMT; 16.30 GET)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Italy by nine points.

Teams:

Italy: 15 Mirko Belloni, 14 Luca Belloni, 13 Federico Zanandrea, 12 Nicola Bozzo, 11 Francesco Imberti, 10 Martino Pucciariello, 9 Giulio Sari, 8 Jacopo Botturi (captain), 7 Luca Bellucci, 6 Cesare Zucconi, 5 Piero Gritti, 4 Tommaso Redondi, 3 Nicola Bolognini, 2 Vittorio Padoan, 1 Sergio Pelliccioli.
Replacements: 16 Valerio Siciliano, 17 Francesco Gentile, 18 Federico Pisani, 19 Mattia Midena, 20 Giacomo Milano, 21 Mattia Jimenez, 22 Francesco Bini, 23 Patrick de Villiers.

Georgia: 15 Luka Tsirekidze, 14 Luka Keshelava, 13 Nugzar Kevkhishvili, 12 Giorgi Khaindrava, 11 Otar Metreveli, 10 Gela Kheladze, 9 Giorgi Spanderashvili, 8 Nika Lomidze, 7 Andro Dvali, 6 Giorgi Gergedava, 5 Temur Tsulukidze, 4 Davit Lagvilava, 3 Davit Mchedlidze, 2 Tamaz Tchamiashvili, 1 Luka Ungiadze.
Replacements: 16 Shota Kheladze, 17 Bachuki Baratashvili, 18 Davit Mchedlishvili, 19 Tornike Ghaniashvili, 20 Luka Suluashvili, 21 Mikheil Kachlavashvili, 22 Luka Kobauri, 23 Luka Takaishvili.

Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron
Assistant referees: Dylen November, Eon van Zyl
TMO: Quinton Immelman

Third place play-off:

Ireland v New Zealand
(Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town – Kick-off: 16.30; 15.30 BST; 14.30 GMT; 02.30 NZST Saturday, July 20)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Ireland by six points.

Teams:

Ireland: 15 Ben O’Connor, 14 Davy Colbert, 13 Finn Treacy, 12 Hugh Gavin, 11 Hugo McLaughlin, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Oliver Coffey, 8 Brian Gleeson, 7 Bryn Ward, 6 James McKillop, 5 Luke Murphy, 4 Alan Spicer, 3 Alex Mullan, 2 Stephen Smyth, 1 Emmet Calvey.
Replacements: 16 Mikey Yarr, 17 Ben Howard, 18 Andrew Sparrow, 19 Billy Corrigan, 20 Max Flynn, 21 Jake O’Riordan, 22 Sean Naughton, 23 Ethan Graham.

New Zealand: 15 Sam Coles, 14 King Maxwell, 13 Aki Tuivailala, 12 Xavi Taele, 11 Frank Vaenuku, 10 Cooper Grant, 9 Dylan Pledger, 8 Johnny Lee, 7 Matt Lowe, 6 Andrew Smith, 5 Cameron Christie, 4 Tom Allen, 3 Josh Smith, 2 Vernon Bason (captain), 1 Senio Sanele.
Replacements: 16 A-One Lolofie, 17 Sika Pole, 18 William Martin, 19 Tai Cribb, 20 Jeremiah Avei-Collins, 21 Ben O-Donovan, 22 Rico Simpson, 23 Xavier Tito-Harris.

Referee: Saba Abulashvili
Assistant referees: Adam Jones, Neheun Jauri Rivero
TMO: Marius Jonker

Fifth place play-off:

Australia v Argentina
(Athlone Stadium, Cape Town – Kick-off: 17.00; 12.00 ART; 15.00 GMT; 01.00 AEST Saturday, July 20)

Prediction

@rugby365com: Australia by four points.

Teams:

Australia: 15 Shane Wilcox, 14 Ronan Leahy, 13 Kadin Pritchard, 12 Jarrah McLeod, 11 Archie Saunders, 10 Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, 9 Dan Nelson, 8 Jack Harley, 7 Dane Sawers, 6 Aden Ekanayake, 5 Harvey Cordukes, 4 Toby Macpherson (captain), 3 Nick Bloomfield, 2 Ottavio Tuipulotu, 1 Lington leli.
Replacements: 16 Oniti Finau, 17 Nathaniel Tiitii, 18 Trevor King, 19 Eamon Doyle, 20 Austin Durbidge, 21 Billy Dickens, 22 Boston Fakafuanua, 23 Angus Staniforth.

Argentina: 15 Benjamin Elizalde, 14 Timoteo Silva, 13 Tomas Medina, 12 Faustino Sanchez Valarolo, 11 Franco Rossetto, 10 Santino Di Lucca, 9 Tomas Di Biase, 8 Juan Bernasconi, 7 Santos Fernandez de Oliveira, 6 Ignacio Torrado, 5 Alvaro Garcia Iandolino, 4 Efrain Elias (captain), 3 Tomas Rapetti, 2 Marcos Camerlinckx, 1 Diego Correa
Replacements: Juan Greising Revol, 17 Estanislao Rodriguez, 18 Gael Galvan, 19 Juan Penoucos, 20 Agustin Sareli, 21 Jeronimo Llorens 22 Facundo Rodriguez, 23 Felipe Ledesma.

Referee: Morné Ferreira
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison, Dylen November
TMO: Ben Crouse

Final:

England v France
(Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town – Kick-off: 19.00; 18.00 BST; 19.00 CEST; 17.00 GMT)

Prediction

@rugby365com: England by three points.

Teams:

England: 15 Ioan Jones, 14 Ben Redshaw, 13 Ben Waghorn, 12 Sean Kerr, 11 Alex Wills, 10 Ben Coen, 9 Ollie Allan, 8 Kane James, 7 Henry Pollock, 6 Finn Carnduff (captain), 5 Junior Kpoku, 4 Joe Bailey, 3 Afolabi Fasogbon, 2 Craig Wright, 1 Asher Opoku-Fordjour.
Replacements: 16 James Isaacs, 17 Cameron Miell, 18 James Halliwell, 19 Olamide Sodeke, 20 Arthur Green, 21 Lucas Friday, 22 Josh Bellamy, 23 Angus Hall.

France: 15 Mathis Ferte, 14 Maxence Biasotto, 13 Fabien Brau-Boirie, 12 Robin Taccola, 11 Xan Mousques, 10 Hugo Reus (captain), 9 Leo Carbonneau, 8 Mathis Castro-Ferreira, 7 Geoffrey Malaterre, 6 Joe Quere Karaba, 5 Corentin Mezou, 4 Charly Gambini, 3 Thomas Duchene, 2 Barnabe Massa, 1 Lino Julien.
Replacements: 16 Thomas Lacombre, 17 Samuel Jean-Christophe, 18 Thomas Marceline, 19 Charles Kante Samba, 20 Brent Liufau, 21 Sialevailea Tolofua, 22 Mathys Belaubre, 23 Axel Desperes.

Referee: Takehito Namekawa
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White, Adam Jones
TMO: Matteo Liperini

Additional reporting: @Rugbypass