World Rugby U20 Championship back in SA in 2024

The World Rugby U20 Championship will again be hosted in the Western Cape in 2024, World Rugby announced on Wednesday.

The 12 best Under-20 sides in the world will head to these shores in June, with the event to be played over five match days in Stellenbosch and Cape Town.

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The teams will be grouped into three pools of four, with the Junior Springboks, who claimed bronze last year, featuring in Pool C alongside England, Argentina and Fiji.

Three-time defending champions France are in Pool A with New Zealand, Wales and Spain, who will make their debut after winning the World Rugby U20 Trophy in 2023.

Last year's runners-up, Ireland, will contest Pool B with Australia, Georgia and Italy.

The first round is on Saturday, 29 June and the final will be played at Cape Town Stadium on 19 July.

SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said they were looking forward to again hosting the junior showpiece.

"We have a proud history of successfully staging world-class events and we are extremely proud to be hosting the World Rugby U20 Championship for a second successive year in the Western Cape," Oberholzer said in a statement.

"Despite the challenging weather we experienced at times during last winter’s successful tournament, our enthusiastic rugby supporters truly showed their passion for the game and eagerness to see the world’s best young players in action by turning out in numbers in Stellenbosch, Paarl and Cape Town."

Oberholzer added that planning for the tournament with World Rugby and key stakeholders were already well-advanced: "We are determined to improve on last year’s event and to present a memorable, world-class tournament that players, match officials