The worlds best Under-20 (U20) rugby players will be brought together from this week as the annual World Rugby Under-20 Championship begins Tuesday, held in the Northern England city of Manchester. This competition will see the current holders New Zealand (NZ) compete against the leading 11 rugby nations, in three pools of four teams over the next three weeks.

World Rugby Under-20 Championship begins in Manchester

POOL A

New Zealand, Wales, Ireland and Georgia

POOL B

England, Australia, Scotland and Italy

POOL C

South Africa, France, Argentina and Japan

The draw begins on June 7 when France play Argentina, and three rounds of matches follow that will pit all pool teams against each other before the qualifying semi-finals draw every side against each other before the top four teams will be reveled.

The favourites are clear to see, but every team will have at least one thoroughly competitive match in them, you can be sure of that. Consistency over a short period is key, maintaining a well conceived game plan and the squads have been in prolonged warm-up schedules and are set to peak for round one.

Finishing off teams is something the ‘Baby Blacks’ were unable to do [fully] when the NZ teams last match-up against Australia. The two trans-Tasman sides always bring a powerful game with them, as do South Africa and England. A big-four have been dominant for sometime, so Pool B will be defining for those members (host England and AUS) even as France, Ireland, Argentina and Wales should not be discounted.

One team that has reached the ‘big time’ is Georgia. After a sterling effort at the Rugby World Cup, the Ilia Maisuradze coached team may have their biggest test in round one, New Zealand, defending champions. A huge test, LWOS wonders if the occasion may be more difficult to handle, managing players enthusiasm and excitement could be the achievement that might see a huge upset– if the unthinkable happened.

When that first day concludes, a lot will be known of which teams will rise to the top instantly, in this years Under-20 Championship.

The U20 format is now extremely important to Tier 1 nations, and for the developing nations that wish to use a successful pathway to bring 18 and 19 year olds up to International rugby status in a controlled manner. The regular exposure to other nations styles and players of the same age-grade is vital in all teams progress and utilizing young talent available.

Age-grade rugby begins early in rugby union. Up to 13 years of age (in NZ) the strict age restrictions are designed to prevent a size difference from smaller to larger children but at this tournament size can play into a sides advantage. The ‘Junior Springoks’ are renowned for their bulk, while Argentina have a mixture or brute strength and latino flair. With the rise of Agustín Pichot to the ranks of Vice Chairman, the rise of South American rugby may continue under coach Fernandez Lobbe, as it could finally be time for a World Championship to grace Los Pumas trophy case.

“We will try and implement the type of game-plan that Argentina showed at the World Cup when we play our first match on Tuesday. We are going to try and play a running game if we have the ball” Lobbe told worldrugby.org website.

World Rugby Chief Executive Brett Gosper said: “The level of interest in this premier age-grade tournament is increasing massively each year. This June, fans from more than 110 countries around the world will watch the future stars of the game thrill and excite in Manchester, and I’ve no doubt we’ll see many of them do the same on the world stage at the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019″.

.@EnglandRugby U20 captain @wacker96 on the pride of leading his side at the #WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/prVbKX9ehs

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) June 4, 2016

The Championship is fought over by sides that have within them men who are maturing into highly skilled rugby players. Some already star in European or Southern Hemisphere competitions. It is a ‘proving ground’ for the next generation, with a strong history of that over the last decade or more has given World Rugby over 500 graduates. The Tier 1 nations that play here qualify for the World Cup by these events, and with only the 12 leading nations being represented, the level below this is the World Rugby U20 Trophy.

Member unions who compete in that competition can win the opportunity to participate in the Championship, so this years U20 Trophy winner Samoa is going to compete in 2017 in Georgia. That counters the fact that the lowest ranked team after this 2016 U20 Championship will be relegated downwards. The heavy cost in not performing over these next three weeks.

Under-20 Championship begins Tuesday

That side will be known after the final pool seeded teams are ranked. This system requires that if: at the completion of the pool phase, two or more teams are level on match points, then the following criteria shall be used in the following order until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked –

1. the winner of the match in which the two tied teams have played each other shall be the higher ranked
2. the team which has the best difference between points scored for and points scored against in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked
3. the team which has the best difference between tries scored for and tries scored against in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked
4. the team which has scored most points in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked
5. the team which has scored most tries in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked; and
6. if none of the above produce a result, then it will be resolved with a toss of a coin.

No predictions or previews can fully justify the unknown factor of players so inexperienced. It’s a very enjoyable few weeks for the teams, sponsored by World Rugby and with the best of facilities throughout the region. Manchester City Academy Stadium and AJ Bell Stadium, in Salford, hosting stadium while the Under-20 Championship begins and the results over this next month are crucial.

Do well here, and your star is on the rise. Just ask Damian McKenzie, Handre Pollard and established men like Taulupe Faletau, Sam Cane and Owen Farrell to name a few. That success will only continue in this 2016 tournament and for the young men on show, it could be their first step towards stardom.

“Main photo credit”