Under-20 Championship, Finals - teams and predictions
FINALS PREVIEW: Another chapter will be written in the rich history between the Junior Springboks and Baby Blacks on Saturday when they meet in the World Rugby Under-20 Final for the first time since 2012.
The old foes last squared off for the coveted trophy at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town, where South Africa broke New Zealand’s four-year dominance since the competition’s inception in 2008.
Both sides featured players who went on to represent their respective nations at senior level and enjoyed glorious careers – some still involved at the highest level of the game at present.
The victorious Junior Bok outfit of 2012 consisted of three double World Cup-winning players: Handré Pollard, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Steven Kitshoff.
The likes of Dillyn Leyds, Raymond Rhule, Jan Serfontein and Travis Ismael also had the honour of donning the green and gold at a senior level later in their careers, whilst Paul Willemse (France), Allan Dell (Scotland) and Braam Steyn (Italy) went on to represent their respective adopted nations.
On the Baby Blacks side, players such as Nathan Harris and Ofa Tu’ungafasi went on to represent the All Blacks, whilst Jordan Taufua donned the blue of Samoa.
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Now, 13 years later, a new generation of superstars has the opportunity to etch their names in junior rugby history and follow in the footsteps of those before them.
The Baby Blacks will be confident heading into this clash after defeating the old foe on South African soil to claim the U20 Rugby Championship back in May.
Still, they will be wary that the Junior Boks have grown immensely since that tournament.
South Africa not only survived the so-called ‘pool of death’ during this tournament, but dominated the likes of Scotland and Australia during the league phase, scoring 73 points against each opponent.
They also clinched a hard-fought comeback victory against 2024 Champions England.
Head coach Kevin Foote said their build-up to the Final has been excellent and that his side is well prepared for the big dance.
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“The build-up to the Final has been excellent. We’re in a great routine and very comfortable with these five-day turnarounds [between games].
“The Argentina game was a late kick-off, so we gave the guys a little more time to recover, and they’ve done it well.
“We had our clarity session yesterday [Wednesday].
“There’s a lot of excitement and happiness amongst the team, which is pleasing.
“There were a lot of smiles on faces today, so the whole squad is very positive.
“We’re fresh from our recovery and trained very well today [Thursday], so we’re well prepared.”
Foote added that his side won’t creep into their shells and allow the enormity of the occasion to overwhelm them.
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“Finals can make you feel extra pressure, but we don’t feel like it will be the case for us.
“We know our DNA, and there’s accountability in the team.
“We’ll keep being accountable because we’ve got clarity on attack and how we want to play and support each other in our structure.
“We’ll continue with how we played during this tournament in the Final.”
Captain Riley Norton echoed his coach’s sentiments, saying that the Junior Boks will embrace the pressure and enjoy the occasion.
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“We’ve spoken about it and we prepared accordingly. We’re more excited than thinking about pressure.
“The pressure will always be there. We’ve lost during the [U20] Rugby Championship against them, so the pressure is on throughout this tournament.
“We’re just excited to be involved in a Final and have a chance to compete.
“The Junior Boks haven’t been in a Final for 11 years, and it’s something we’ve worked hard to reach.
“That’s where our confidence comes from, alongside our preparation.
“We know we are good enough to be here and we back ourselves.
“We have a lot of respect for New Zealand, but it’s an 80-minute game, and we’re excited to get going and express ourselves.
“We won’t creep back into our shells. There’s more of a sense of excitement than a sense of holding back and being fearful of the occasion and all the pressure that comes with it.”
Foote praised New Zealand for their semifinal display against last year’s tournament runner-up, France.
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“New Zealand’s strike plays were outstanding against France.
“When they got [attacking] opportunities, they capitalised on it and showed some real gutsy defence keeping France out on numerous occasions, which showed a lot of character.
“As that game progressed and France couldn’t score, New Zealand became more confident.
“They’re a team that we know won’t go away, who backs their attack and are pretty calm, and we have a lot of respect for them.”
In the other clashes on Finals day, Spain will face Ireland in the 11th place play-off, whilst Georgia and Scotland will battle for the ninth place finish.
Italy and Wales square off for seventh place, whilst Australia and former champions England will battle to lock down the fifth spot.
England head coach Mark Mapletoft said: “Having faced Australia recently in the pool stages, we’re eagerly anticipating another exciting contest to conclude our campaign in Italy.
“Despite not progressing to the top four, the effort from our squad and staff group in the latter stages of the tournament has been relentless and inspiring. We still have an impression to make on Saturday with this special group.
“Some players will be achieving their first and last caps for the U20s this weekend, but we are all motivated to create lifelong memories together as a brotherhood.”
In the third-place play-off, France faces Argentina for the bronze medal.
See all teams and predictions below…
Saturday, July 19
Eleventh place play-off:
Spain v Ireland
(Stadio San Michele, Calvisano – Kick-off: 15.30; 15.30 CEST; 13.30 GMT; 14.30 IST)
Prediction:
@rugby365com: Ireland by five points
Teams:
Spain: 15 Beltran Ortega, 14 Jorge Garreta, 13 Oriol Marsinyac, 12 Hugo Pichardie, 11 Pelayo Serrano, 10 Lucien Richardis, 9 Nicolas Infer, 8 Manex Pujana, 7 Marcal Carreras, 6 Unax Salvador, 5 Liam McNamee, 4 Victor Ofojetu, 3 Guido Reyes Rendon, 2 Pau Massoni, 1 Alberto Gomez.
Replacements: 16 Marcos Perez, 17 Daniel Chico, 18 Hugo Gonzalez, 19 Guardin Gonzalez, 20 Marcos Lopez, 21 Nicolas Gali, 22 Gonzalo Otamendi, 23 Unax Zuriarrain.
Ireland: 15 Daniel Green, 14 Charlie Molony, 13 Jonny Scott, 12 Eoghan Smyth, 11 Derry Moloney, 10 Tom Wood, 9 Will Wootton, 8 Oisin Minogue,7 Éanna McCarthy (captain), 6 Michael Foy, 5 Donnacha McGuire, 4 David Walsh, 3 Tom McAllister, 2 Henry Walker, 1 Alex Usanov.
Replacements: 16 Luke McLaughlin, 17 Paddy Moore, 18 Jack Ryan, 19 Billy Corrigan, 20 Bobby Power, 21 Chris O’Connor, 22 Gene O’Leary Kareem, 23 Paidi Farrell.
Referee: Tomas Bertazza (Argentina)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Luca Bisetto (Italy)
TMO: Graham Cooper (Australia)
Seventh place play-off:
Italy v Wales
(Stadio Mario Battaglini, Rovigo – Kick-off: 15.30; 14.30 BST; 13.30 GMT)
Prediction:
@rugby365com: Italy by two points
Teams:
Italy: 15 Edoardo Todaro, 14 Alessandro Drago, 13 Federico Zanandrea, 12 Riccardo Casarin, 11 Jules Ducros, 10 Francesco Braga, 9 Niccolo Beni, 8 Nelson Casartelli, 7 Carlo Antonio Bianchi, 6 Giacomo Milano (captain), 5 Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi, 4 Mattia Midena, 3 Bruno Vallesi, 2 Nicolo Michele Corvasce, 1 Sergio Pelliccioli
Replacements: 16 Sascha Mistrulli, 17 Nicola Bolognini, 18 Luca Trevisan, 19 Tommaso Redondi, 20 Piero Gritti, 21 Damien Mori, 22 Luca Rossi, 23 Riccardo Ioannucci
Wales: 15 Jack Woods, 14 Aidan Boshoff, 13 Osian Roberts, 12 Elis Price, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Harri Ford, 9 Sion Davies, 8 Evan Minto, 7 Harry Beddall, 6 Dan Gemine, 5 Luke Evans, 4 Kenzie Jenkins, 3 Owain James, 2 Evan Wood, 1 Cameron Tyler-Grocott.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thomas, 17 Ioan Emanuel, 18 Sam Scott, 19 Tom Cottle, 20 Caio James, 21 Ellis Lewis, 22 Harri Wilde, 23 Elijah Evans.
Referee: Marcus Playle (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Katsuki Furuse (Japan), Jérémy Rozier (France)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Fifth-place play-off:
Australia v England
(Stadio Mario Battaglini, Rovigo – Kick-off: 18.00; 23.30 AEST, 13.30 GMT; 14.30 BST)
@rugby365com: England by 10 points
Teams:
Australia: 15 Sid Harvey, 14 Cooper Watters, 13 Dre Pakeho, 12 Malakye Enasio, 11 Shane Wilcox, 10 Joey Fowler, 9 Hwi Sharples, 8 Toby Brial, 7 Aden Ekanayake, 6 Eli Langi, 5 Eamon Doyle (captain), 4 Ollie Aylmer, 3 Edwin Langi, 2 Lipina Ata, 1 Lotu Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Barrett, 17 Nathaniel Tiitii, 18 Trevor King, 19 Joe Mangelsdorf, 20 Beau Morrison, 21 James Martens, 22 Joe Dillon, 23 Xavier Rubens.
England: 15 Josh Bellamy, 14 Jack Bracken, 13 Nick Lilley, 12 Nic Allison, 11 Campbell Ridl, 10 Ben Coen, 9 Archie McParland, 8 Kane James, 7 Samuel Williams, 6 Connor Treacey, 5 Tom Burrow (captain), 4 Olamide Sodeke, 3 Vilikesa Sela, 2 Kepu Tuipulotu, 1 Ralph McEachran.
Replacements: 16 Louie Gulley, 17 Oli Scola, 18 Tye Raymont, 19 Aiden Ainsworth-Cave, 20 Reggie Hammick, 21 Jonny Weimann, 22 Will Knight, 23 Noah Caluori.
Referee: Morgan White (Hong Kong China)
Assistant referees: Franco Rosella (Italy), Alberto Favaro (Italy)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Third-place play-off:
France v Argentina
(Stadio San Michele, Calvisano – Kick-off: 18.00; 18.00 CEST; 16.00 GMT; 13.00 ART)
Prediction:
@rugby365com: France by 12 points
Teams:
France: 15 Kalvin Gourgues, 14 Nolann Donguy, 13 Robin Taccola, 12 Simeli Daunivucu, 11 Xan Mousques, 10 Diego Jurd, 9 Simon Daroque, 8 Mathis Baret, 7 Baptiste Britz, 6 Antoine Deliance, 5 Corentin Mezou, 4 Charles Kante-Samba, 3 Mohamed Megherbi, 2 Lyam Akrab, 1 Samuel Jean Christophe.
Replacements: 16 Gabin Garault, 17 Lorencio Boyer Gallardo, 18 Edouard-Junior Jabea Njocke, 19 Romeo Martin Bonnard, 20 Bobby Bissu, 21 Baptiste Tilloles, 22 Luka Keletaona, 23 Jon Echegaray.
Argentina: 15 Pascal Senillosa, 14 Timoteo Silva, 13 Felipe Ledesma, 12 Valentin Maldonado, 11 Bautista Lescano, 10 Ramon Fernandez Miranda, 9 Valentino Reggiardo, 8 Santiago Neyra, 7 Pampa Storey, 6 Tomas Dande, 5 Alvaro Garcia Iandolino, 4 Tomas Duclos, 3 Gael Galvan, 2 Nicolas Cambiasso, 1 Diego Correa.
Replacements: 16 Jeronimo Otano, 17 Juan Ignacio Rodriguez, 18 Tomas Rapetti, 19 Tiziano Barrios, 20 Franco Benitez, 21 Fabricio Griffo, 22 Rafael Benedit, 23 Aquiles Vieyra.
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistant referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Filippo Russo (Italy)
TMO: Dan Jones (England)
Ninth-place play-off:
Georgia v Scotland
(Stadio San Michele, Calvisano – Kick-off: 20.30; 22.30 GET; 18.30 GMT; 19.30 BST)
Prediction:
@rugby365com: Scotland by eight points
Teams:
Georgia: 15 Giorgi Bolkvadze, 14 Luka Keshelava, 13 Data Akhvlediani, 12 Nugzar Kevkhishvili, 11 Sandro Meskhidze, 10 Temur Dzodzuashvili, 9 Giorgi Spanderashvili, 8 Mikheil Shioshvili, 7 Luka Narsia, 6 Nika Abesadze, 5 Gagi Margvelashvili, 4 Davit Baramia, 3 Mate Ghurtskaia, 2 Shota Kheladze, 1 Giorgi Turashvili.
Replacements: 16 Davit Archvadze, 17 Giorgi Meskhidze, 18 Giorgi Dzagania, 19 Nikoloz Chkhortolia, 20 Giorgi Ardzenadze, 21 Davit Tsiklauri, 22 Gigi Sirbiladze, 23 Sandro Sesiashvili.
Scotland: 15 Jed Findlay, 14 Jack Brown, 13 Johnny Ventisei, 12 Kerr Yule, 11 Fergus Watson, 10 Matthew Urwin, 9 Hector Patterson, 8 Reuben Logan, 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Oliver Duncan, 5 Bart Godsell, 4 Dylan Cockburn, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Seb Stephen, 1 Oliver McKenna.
Replacements: 16 Joe Roberts, 17 William Pearce, 18 Jake Shearer, 19 Charlie Moss, 20 Mark Fyffe, 21 Noah Cowan, 22 Isaac Coates, 23 Jack Hocking.
Referee: Griffin Colby (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Alex Frasson (Italy)
TMO: Graham Cooper (Australia)
Final
New Zealand v South Africa
(Stadio Mario Battaglini, Rovigo – Kick-off: 20.30; 20.30 SAST; 18.30 GMT; Sunday, July 20 06.30 NZST)
Prediction:
@rugby365com: South Africa by one point
Teams:
New Zealand: 15 Stanley Solomon, 14 Frank Vaenuku, 13 Cooper Roberts, 12 Jack Wiseman, 11 Maloni Kunawave, 10 Rico Simpson, 9 Dylan Pledger, 8 Mosese Bason, 7 Caleb Woodley, 6 Finn McLeod, 5 Jayden Sa, 4 Xavier Treacy, 3 Robson Faleafā, 2 Manumaua Letiu (captain), 1 Sika Pole.
Replacements: 16 Eli Oudenryn, 17 Israel Time, 18 Dane Johnston, 19 Aisake Vakasiuola, 20 Micah Fale, 21 Jai Tamati, 22 Will Cole, 23 Tayne Harvey.
South Africa: 15 Gilermo Mentoe, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Demitre Erasmus, 12 Albie Bester, 11 Jaco Williams, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Haashim Pead, 8 Wandile Mlaba, 7 Bathobele Hlekani, 6 Xola Nyali, 5 JJ Theron, 4 Riley Norton (captain), 3 Herman Lubbe, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 1 Simphiwe Ngobese
Replacements: 16 Jaundré Schoeman, 17 Oliver Reid, 18 Jean Erasmus, 19 Jaco Grobbelaar, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Stephanus Linde, 22 Ceano Everson, 23 Dominic Malgas.
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Jérémy Rozier (France), Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)
