daniel chigunwe
Africa’s representatives at the World Rugby U20 Trophy will get the tournament underway when they play the opening round fixtures at the Nyayo Stadium on Saturday July 15.
Zimbabwe, the reigning African champions, will set the ball rolling with a Pool A clash against Scotland who were relegated from the World Rugby U20 Championship in 2019.
Hosts Kenya, who lost to Zimbabwe in the Barthes Trophy final at the same venue in April, shall start their campaign against Oceania representatives Samoa.
Uruguay will then take on the USA in a clash that pits South America against North America before Spain closes out the match day one fixtures with a clash against Hong Kong China.
Hosts Kenya Chipu will face Spain, Samoa and Hong Kong China in pool B while USA will face Scotland, Uruguay and Zimbabwe in Pool A of the championship set to take place at Nyayo Stadium from July 15, 2023.
Recently the USA under 20 rugby team became the sixth and final team to qualify for the World Rugby U20 Trophy 2023 set to take place at the Nyayo National Stadium in Kenya from July 15 after they defeated Canada 82-35 on aggregate across their two-legged play-off.
USA won the first leg of the Rugby Americas North regional qualifier 43-21 in South Carolina last Tuesday before following it up with a 39-14 victory in the second and final encounter on Saturday, to go through and join Scotland, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe in Pool A.
The make-up of Pool B has long since been decided, with Hong Kong, China, Kenya, Samoa, and Spain grouped together.
But how did the rest of the teams qualify for the much-anticipated competition?
As the host nation, Kenya’s participation was guaranteed, while Scotland’s involvement has come about through their relegation from the World Rugby U20 Championship when it was last held in 2019.
Scotland became the first home nation to suffer that fate when they were on the receiving end of a 59-34 defeat at the hands of Fiji in Rosario in the 11th-place play-off, debunking the myth that such high-stakes games are normally tight, low-scoring affairs.
Spain were the first team to qualify for the World Rugby U20 Trophy 2023 through the regional qualifiers back in November, beating Samoa, Uruguay and Hong Kong China in booking their place in the tournament line-up by a matter of weeks.
Victories over Czechia (51-13) and Belgium (25-6) saw Spain progress to the final of the Rugby Europe U20 Championship 2022, and, once there, they successfully defended their title with a 13-6 win over the Netherlands on a wet day in Lisbon.
Second-row Hector Matamoros Abad scored the only try of the game in the 11th minute.
After two hugely competitive matches against host nation Tonga at the Teufaiva Stadium in Nuku’alofa, Samoa came through to win the Oceania Rugby U20 Trophy and secure their place in the World Rugby U20 Trophy in 2023. — Pulsesports
Online Reporter