Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
World Rugby has announced that Harare, Zimbabwe, will be the location of the 2016 Under 20 Trophy. The second tier competition will once again feature eight teams, including Uruguay, Namibia, Samoa, and four regional qualifiers yet to be determined – one each from Europe, North America, Oceania and Asia. The tournament hosts have participated on three previous occasions, from 2010 to 2012, sporting a record of two wins and one draw from 12 matches.
Georgia defeated Canada in last year’s final, earning promotion to the first tier World Rugby Under 20 Championship, to be held in England. Despite their strong performance, Canada must qualify for the 2016 tournament by defeating neighbors USA, which means that one of the two World Cup nations will not participate, a situation strongly criticized a year ago and one that will draw the ire of North American rugby fans and administrators yet again.
The dates of the 2016 event are also questionable, starting three weeks earlier than in 2015. While the flagship Championship continues to take place in June, the Trophy will be played from April 19 to May 1, dates which will likely cause conflicts for those players enrolled in post-secondary education courses.
Victory in the tournament brings prestige but most importantly promotion to the Tier 1 Championship level the following year. Georgia moved up this year, while Samoa’s one point defeat to Italy saw them relegated to the Trophy.
