2019 U20 rugby review of the year

With all the U20 rugby across the world now finished this week following the inaugural Americas Rugby U20 Challenge. Here is a review of all the world's U20 results from 2019.

The U20 Championship

This year for the first time since 2012 both the Tier 2 sides competing in the U20 Championship maintained their place in the tournament and sent a Tier 1 team down to the U20 Trophy.

Georgia and Fiji relegated a Tier 1 team down to
the U20 Trophy for the first time since 2012

Fiji and Georgia contributed to what was overall from top to bottom the most competitive ever U20 Championship. The average score for Tier 2 sides vs Tier 1 this year was 24-36 (-12 points), which passed the previous best of 21-36 (-15 points) set by Georgia and Japan last year. Very encouragingly that is also the third time in four years over this RWC cycle that record has been improved upon.

Top 5 lowest average combined tournament losing margins in matches between Tier 1 and Tier 2 at the U20 Championship

Another record which was smashed this year was the lowest ever highest tournament winning margin (New Zealand 45-13 Georgia in a game that was until the later stages competitive). All this suggests sides are improving not just in terms of their level of competitiveness peaking for one or two games, but being able to play with the world's top sides back to back on very short turnarounds.

The match between Georgia and Fiji in Rosario was a nail biter decided with a try in the last play from the Junior Lelos. That meant Georgia became the first Tier 2 nation to secure four consecutive world top 10 finishes. Overall they may not quite have reached quite their best this year (although their scrum was its most monstrous ever winning 25 penalties in 5 games), or quite matched the level they had last year, and had a bad habit for blowing healthy leads in the second half. But still another top 10 finish in a competitive year against far richer Unions is not an achievement to be taken for granted.

Georgia's winner in the last play after 23 phases to secure another top 10 finish

Fiji then bounced back from that disappointment to shred Scotland to pieces scoring 8 tries in a 59-34 win in the relegation playoff. Almost everything came off for the Fijians in this match and it was the largest ever U20 win for a Tier 2 nation against Tier 1. After five years of underachievement and difficulty getting out of the U20 Trophy, Fiji now seem to have got their U20 program back on track. Very positive news for them, as it means they now appear to be getting more of their leading young talent staying in the on-island system, playing for the U20s, Fiji Warriors, Fijian Drua. Most of the best players in this U20 team will not play for any other nation as Fiji cap tied them all in March.

Highlights of Fiji shredding Scotland in the relegation playoff

Both these nations continued to prove that as of right now they are the leading nations outside Tier 1 in terms of producing high quality homegrown players. In Georgia's case their consistency at this level over the last 4 years is unprecedented for a Tier 2 side in the professional era.

Final placings:
1.  France
2.  Australia
3.  South Africa
4.  Argentina (hosts)
5.  England
6.  Wales
7.  New Zealand
8.  Ireland
9.  Italy
10.  Georgia
11.  Fiji
12.  Scotland (relegated to the 2020 U20 Trophy)

The U20 Trophy

There were a few more uncompetitive games in the pool stage than ideal (WR maybe should consider some stronger possible hosting options than they have these past couple years), but the thrilling tournament finale between Japan and Portugal in a match where momentum swung both ways, before the Baby Blossoms scrum pressure eventually cracked the Portuguese late on made up for this.

Japan and Portugal contested a classic U20 Trophy final

A major concern for Japan is a very leaky defence, conceding 70 points per game in the Oceania Championship, and then over 30 points per game in the Trophy (shipping 89 points in a pool with Brazil, Uruguay, & Kenya is not impressive). In the Trophy they could outscore their opponents, but that will not be good enough if they want to escape the yo-yo team tag next year. Their scrum however was a revelation bringing back memories of Dal Maso and played a major role in securing their promotion.

Japan destroy Portugal's scrum which had done well in the tournament up to this point

Portugal came a whisker away from their first promotion to the Championship, they have been the second best side in the tournament the past three years now, but this was the closest they have come to winning it. Despite the disappointment they can still be proud of their campaign and would have been an equally worthy promoted team had they held on against Japan. Their pool stage results with comprehensive wins over RWC nations Canada 49-21 and Tonga 40-3 were outstanding.

In the mid table the top teams from North and South America Canada and Uruguay both perhaps were slightly below expectation given good pre-tournament results. Both missed late kicks to lose to Tonga by 1 and 2 points respectively and were quite comfortably outplayed by the two finalists.

The biggest flop of the year was Hong Kong, who in the build up were talking about experience of returning players looking to build on last year's reasonable competitiveness vs Samoa and win over Romania. Instead they were cannon fodder, conceding 201 points in the pool stage, before losing to Brazil making it easily the worst of their six appearances at this tournament. They were actually quite fortunate to even qualify at all, losing to South Korea and only getting through on points difference.

The surprise qualifiers Kenya, who reportedly had terrible preparation (which unfortunately seems to almost be the norm for Kenyan rugby), despite a tough start against Uruguay, and finish in the second half against Canada, can actually be relatively pleased with their efforts in particular against Japan who after a poor start 19-3 down after 20 minutes pulled it back to 38-34 at 65 minutes. Like senior level though they could still do with more work at their scrum, and their physicality in defence.

Final placings:
1.  Japan (promoted to the 2020 U20 Championship)
2.  Portugal
3.  Tonga
4.  Uruguay
5.  Canada
6.  Kenya
7.  Brazil (hosts)
8.  Hong Kong

Europe

The top of the Rugby Europe U20 qualifying remained an Iberian rivalry. Spain looked very good beating Russia and Romania, but missed opportunities and got pushed about at scrum to get pipped 7-5 in rainy conditions against Portugal. Still the Spanish were a lot better this year than in 2018, where they lost that fixture quite easily 25-3, and also notably have a very good U18 team some of whom will be stepping up next year that has not only been beating the Portuguese but also giving a very tough challenge to the Georgians. Next year this Iberian battle will be very interesting to follow, and they may actually play each other twice next year as Spain is seeking to host the U20 Trophy.

Portugal and Spain battle it out in a tense match in the rain of Coimbra

Meanwhile after one of their best sides last year, Netherlands improved further and with a new squad managed even better this year, giving Portugal (who they were losing 42-5 to only a couple years ago) a very hard challenge in a tight 22-12 loss, before thumping Russia comprehensively 43-0 (a first ever win for a Dutch men's side against Russia at any level of rugby).

The Netherlands dramatically improved their scrum compared to 2018

Curiously the Dutch improvement at U20 level is not indicated in prior years results at U18 level. In 2016 they lost 9-8 to Poland at U18, but you would be stunned to know that once those groups reached U20 in 2018. In 2017 they lost 20-11 to Russia at U18, but two years later trounced them.

That large difference is not usual as for the most part the standings at U18 will be quite similar if not the same as U20, and the rise of Georgia at U20 for example, or Portugal, was foreshadowed in the years before at U18. Clearly something is lifting them significantly once they get to that U20 program, and incidentally the U20 coach Zane Gardiner just got promoted to the senior national team coach.

At the lower end of the table was Russia who still have not challenged for U20 Trophy qualification for years now, and this year they got only further away being thrashed by the Spanish and Dutch. Romania showed some small improvement, but only following a year where they could hardly get worse.

Neither those nations are in a great place in terms of age grade rugby, but at least they fielded sides which could not be said for Belgium, Germany and other European sides who did not turn up, or did not have a competition to play in as the lower divisions did not reappear after being cancelled last year. The likes of Ghana, Bermuda, China, and even Curaçao all fielded U19/20 sides this year, but a dozen European teams did not (some for a second year in a row) with no reason ever given.

Germany and Belgium both missed a second year of U20 rugby in a row

One thing to note from this year though is that Portugal had far harder matches in the Rugby Europe U20 Championship than they received in the U20 Trophy up until the final. At U20 level Europe has 8 of the top 14, and possibly even as many as 10 of the top 18 sides in the world.

Considering Europe's relative depth at U20 level, there could be an opportunity for quite a good 8-10 team tournament. However the 6 Nations lack of even the remotest ambition to ever expand and grow the sport in the continent makes this is a non-starter. It has long been ridiculous that Georgia have been a world top 10 U20 team for 4 years and can't play in the main continental competition, and it will be even more stupid next year with an U20 Trophy team they have beaten two years in a row playing ahead of them. That so little is done to promote rugby in the continent is a disgrace, but nothing will change. Even Australia and New Zealand will play Fiji at U20 level at least ...

Final placings:
1.  France (based on U20 Championship as Georgia are barred from top continental competition)
2.  England
3.  Wales
4.  Ireland
5.  Italy
6.  Georgia
7.  Scotland
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8.  Portugal (hosts)
9.  Spain
10.  Netherlands
11.  Romania
12.  Russia

Oceania

Neither Samoa or Tonga appeared at the Oceania U20 tournament. As their qualifier last November was between 2018 U20 sides (it should have logically been an U19 match with the U20 groups for this year like it is in the Asian tournament played at the same time), this meant we did not see Samoa play at U20 level at all this year, whilst Tonga had no matches prior to the U20 Trophy.

Samoa and Tonga were both absent from the Oceania U20 Championship

Like in Europe, these failures to even get an U20 side on the pitch, which there was no information from the regional bodies as to why, is really not encouraging. These teams and their players all missed opportunities to measure themselves and their develop programs against international competition.

In the tournament itself, Fiji lost 53-7 to New Zealand in a match they trailed just 8-7 at 35 minutes, before falling away in the second half with a red card, and 16-0 to Australia in wet conditions. Japan also competed as guest competitors but did not fare well at all with three bad losses.

Final placings:
1.  Australia (hosts)
2.  New Zealand
3.  Fiji
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4.  Tonga (based on U20 Trophy as they were absent from continental competition)

South America

This year's South American Championship saw Uruguay score a historic 38-32 win over Argentina. It may not have been the full strength Argentina side that finished fourth at the U20 Championship, but it was not as if it was the U20 version of "Argentina XV" that was completely without their top 30 or so players either. 11 of the starting 15 in that match were members of Los Pumitas U20 Championship squad, all were part of the extended squad, but only 2 in the starting 15 that beat France.

Uruguay celebrate their historic South American Championship win over Argentina

Still beating Argentina's bench and reserve players was a superb result for Uruguay, although it wasn't followed by a great U20 Trophy. Unlike a few years ago Los Teritos do not have so much problem getting past Chile in qualifying any more winning 38-13 to secure their U20 Trophy place, however the Chileans were still much better than Brazil who they beat 39-10. Os Tupis still have a lot of work to do at junior level, so their U20 Trophy results were not as bad as feared they could possibly be.

The South American tournament was cut to 4 teams this year, with U20 Trophy hosts Brazil involved ahead of Paraguay, even though the Paraguayans actually beat them 25-23 away from home last year.

Instead Paraguay later in the year hosted the inaugural Americas Rugby U20 Challenge, alongside Chile, Colombia, and Mexico from the North. That tournament was predictably won by Chile, but the Colombians did show some progress in reducing the very large losing margins they had last year.

Final placings*:
1.  Uruguay (hosts)
2.  Argentina
3.  Chile
4.  Brazil
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5.  Paraguay (hosts)
6.  Colombia

* These placings are based on the South American and Americas Rugby Challenge U20 tournaments. But full strength Argentina finished top 4 at the U20 Championship and whilst that was still a big win for Uruguay clearly not the same level. Also Paraguay are below Brazil as they didn't compete in the South American U20 tournament, but beat them in it last year, and hard to know which of these is higher.

North America

USA missed out on qualification for the U20 Trophy for the fourth time in five years losing in both legs (44-33 & 23-5) of their two match series with Canada at Shawnigan Lake. The Eagles are one of the persistently lower ranked U20 teams relative to their senior ranking, it is unclear how likely this is to change in the future, or even how much value the U20s program is really proving to be for them. If the ARC U20 does ge testablished, it should at least give them a few more games other than just losing to Canada in U20 Trophy qualification each year though.

Opposite of senior rugby right now Canada have maintained a clear
edge over their North American rivals the USA

With the gap between USA and Canada and third best in North America, the rest of the continent doesn't even contest U20 Trophy qualifying. However they did still play a 4 day U19 mini tournament, with 40 minute matches, and a 70 minute final. The next best in North America was clearly Mexico who retained their title from last year beating Trinidad & Tobago and Cayman Islands resoundingly, and then USA South in the final. After this Mexico U20 participated in the Americas Rugby U20 Challenge, losing all three games to the South American opponents, but that offered a good step up from the North American opposition which hopefully helps them in future.

Final placings:
1.  Canada (hosts)
2.  USA
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3.  Mexico (based on the U19 mini tournament)
4.  Trinidad & Tobago
5.  Bermuda
6.  Cayman Islands
7.  Jamaica
8.  Barbados (hosts)
9.  Curaçao

Africa

Kenya staged a massive upset beating perennial African qualifiers Namibia 21-18 in a topsy turvy match. It was the first time Namibia have missed out on this tournament since 2012, and the first time Kenya have ever qualified (although they once got in as hosts back in 2009). The Kenyans were only playing in the top division where qualifying was possible as they were hosts. It will be interesting to see whether this was just a one off in their home ground, or whether they can repeat an upset next year.

Kenya U20 wing Beldad Ogeta super try to help them beat Namibia to qualify for the U20

Trophy for the first ever time (Ogeta was unfortunately injured for the tournament itself)

Below that Madagascar beat 2016 U20 Trophy hosts Zimbabwe 27-25 in Harare to win promotion to the top division for next year (them hosting that in front of their passionate crowd would be good fun). Zambia beat Uganda in Kampala to win promotion from the third to the second division. Both Zimbabwe and Uganda rank somewhat lower in Africa at U20 level compared to senior, and would have been disappointed to have not gained promotions from their divisions playing at home.

North African teams did not fare well though. Tunisia were relegated from the top division, copping a 73-0 defeat to Kenya on the way, whilst Morocco were relegated from the second division, and also took a heavy 65-0 defeat to Madagascar. Probable assumption is they didn't have French heritage players.

Final placings:
1.  South Africa (do not play continental competition)
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2.  Kenya (hosts)
3.  Namibia
4.  Senegal
5.  Tunisia (relegated to the second division)
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6.  Madagascar (promoted to the first division)
7.  Zimbabwe (hosts)
8.  Ivory Coast
9.  Morocco (relegated to the third division)
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10.  Zambia (promoted to the second division)
11.  Uganda (hosts)
12.  Ghana

Asia

For the last six years Hong Kong have played in the U20 Trophy, although as mentioned before they very nearly missed out this year getting upset 17-13 to South Korea, only for the Koreans to then mess it up losing to Taiwan 7-5 in their next match meaning Hong Kong went through on points difference.

Hong Kong suffered a shock loss to South Korea in qualifying
but reached the U20 Trophy anyway after Korea then lost to Taiwan

Korea have gone from being twice U20 Trophy qualifiers in 2008 and 2009, to a bit of a joke at age grade level in recent years, battling it away in the second division losing to the UAE last year whilst Hong Kong kept walking to qualification with zero serious competition. The previous time they played Hong Kong was back in 2014 they lost 58-7. So even though they blew their opportunity, they did still get that win, and hopefully this tournament will no longer be such a formality for Hong Kong.

There was also a second division which was won by Singapore, and notably saw China make their debut in age grade competitions, finishing bottom with losses to both Singapore and Philippines.

Final placings:
1.  Japan (do not play continental competition)
-------------------------
2.  Hong Kong
3.  South Korea
4.  Chinese Taipei (hosts)
5.  Sri Lanka
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6.  Singapore
7.  Thailand (hosts)
8.  Philippines
9.  China

End of year awards:

Top team:  Georgia &  Fiji (joint)

Top non-RWC team:  Portugal

Most improved:  Netherlands

Most regressed:  Hong Kong

Biggest upset:  Uruguay 38-32 Argentina 

Top team try:  Kaminieli Rasaku (vs  Scotland)



Top individual try:  Raffaele Storti (vs  Tonga)



Top tackle:  Futo Yamaguchi (vs  Portugal)