We bring you some interesting statistics on past semi-finals at the World Rugby U20 Championship before hosts South Africa tackle Ireland and defending champions France take on England on Sunday in Cape Town.

  • Eight teams have contested an U20 Championship semi-final in New Zealand, England, South Africa, France, Australia, Wales, Argentina and Ireland.

  • Of these only Argentina have never reached the final.

  • France, Ireland and South Africa qualified as pool winners in 2023 with England the best runner-up.

  • South Africa have only missed out on the semi-finals on one occasion, back in 2011. England are next best with two absences (2012 and 2019), while New Zealand have now missed the semi-finals at three tournaments (2016, 2019 and 2023).

  • By contrast this is only the third semi-final for Ireland in 13 editions of the U20 Championship. They finished fourth in 2014 and were runners-up in 2016.

  • France have reached the semi-finals on six occasions now. They lost the first three appearances (2011, 2015 and 2017) before going on to secure back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.
     
  • The fastest try scored in an U20 Championship semi-final was by England winger Christian Wade after just three minutes of the 2011 encounter with France in Treviso. England went on to win 33-18.

  • A total of 1,122 points have been scored in the 24 U20 Championship semi-finals to date, which averages out to 46.75 points per last four encounter.

  • The most points scored in a single semi-final is 65 from New Zealand’s 39-26 win over France in 2017 at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi, although the 2018 battle between South Africa and England came close with 63, the latter winning 32-31 in Narbonne.

  • The fewest points scored in a single semi-final is 23 in 2018 when France edged defending champions New Zealand 16-7. This came close to being beaten in 2019 when France beat South Africa 20-7 in Argentina.

  • One point has been the winning margin on two occasions, both featuring South Africa. In 2013 Wales edged South Africa 18-17 to reach a first U20 Championship final, while England beat the Junior Springboks 32-31 in 2018. 

  • The Athlone Sports Stadium in Cape Town becomes the 15th venue to host an U20 Championship semi-final after Rodney Parade (2008), Cardiff Arms Park (2008), Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium (2009), Estadio El Coloso del Parque (2010), Stadio Comunale di Monigo (2011), Newlands (2012), Stade de la Rabine (2013), QBE Stadium (2014), Stadio San Michele (2015), the Manchester City Academy Stadium (2016), Mikheil Meshki Stadium (2017), Stade d'Honneur du Parc des sports et de l'Amitie in Narbonne and Stade Aime Giral in Perpignan (2018) and the Racecourse Stadium in Rosario (2019).

  • Sixteen is the fewest points scored by a winning semi-finalist – by France in overcoming New Zealand in 2018.

  • Forty-five points is the most points scored by a winning semi-finalist – by New Zealand in ending France’s hopes of a first final in 2015.

  • A total of 131 tries have been scored across the 24 semi-finals to date. Ninety-five of these have been turned into seven-pointers.

  • The most tries scored in a semi-final is nine, which has happened twice – in 2017 when New Zealand beat hosts France 39-26 and in 2018 when England beat South Africa 32-31.

  • The first player to score any points in an U20 Championship semi-final was Leigh Halfpenny, who kicked a sixth-minute penalty in Wales’ 30-6 loss to New Zealand in 2008.

  • The longest wait for a try in a semi-final is 43 minutes, the point at which Romain Ntamack scored for France in their win over New Zealand in 2018.

  • The side scoring the most tries in almost every semi-final to date has been the winning side, the exceptions being Wales’ win over South Africa in 2013 and England’s win over the same nation in 2017 – when the sides both scored two and three tries respectively – and 2018 when South Africa scored five tries in to England’s four in defeat.

  • The only sides not to score a try in a semi-final appearance are Wales (2008 and 2012) and Argentina (2012).

  • Only five times has the team scoring first not gone on to win the semi-final – Wales in 2008 and 2012, Australia in 2011 and 2019 and New Zealand in 2014

  • The most penalties kicked in a semi-final is seven, which has been achieved twice – in England’s victories over South Africa in 2009 and New Zealand in 2013. The fewest is one in two matches featuring France, their 2015 encounter against eventual champions New Zealand and in 2019 against the Junior Springboks. 

  • The only drop goal to have been slotted between the posts in a semi-final was kicked by England’s Howard Packman in 2014.

  • Three red cards have been issued in an U20 Championship semi-final to date with South Africa’s Rynhardt Elstadt sent off in their 2009 loss to England, Argentina’s Santiago Pulella in their 37-7 loss to Ireland in 2016 and Australia's Michael McDonald in a 34-13 win over Los Pumitas in 2019.