World Rugby U20 Championship 2025: six talking points from match round 1

ENG 56-19 SCO: Champions England ease past returning Scotland but room for improvement

Before the World Rugby U20 Championship 2025, England coach Mark Mapletoft spoke of the champions not relying too much on forward power to retain their title, with an emphasis on increased potency from their back division.

And with wingers Jack Bracken and Tyler Offiah to the fore, their opening match against Scotland in Verona went to script in the first half, with five tries taking them to an unassailable 42-12 lead at half time. The pick of the scores came in the 28th minute, when number eight Kane James cut an irresistible line to touch down for a second time. 

But despite set-piece dominance and being camped in the Scotland half for most of the second half, England took until the 72nd minute to score again – an eye-catching finish from full-back Josh Bellamy – thanks to a combination of wastefulness in attack and valiant Scotland defence. 

So, with an impressive-looking South Africa – “an excellent side”, according to England captain Tom Burrow – up next, questions remain about England’s potency out wide.

Scotland, returning to the World Rugby U20 Championship for the first time since 2019, at least had the final say with Hector Patterson giving them a deserved second try.

AUS 17-73 RSA: Shellshocked Australia have no answer to barnstorming Boks backs

Australia captain Eamon Doyle said he was “a bit embarrassed on the boys’ behalf” after his team suffered a comprehensive defeat by South Africa in Pool A in Calvisano. Australia ran out winners in the contest between the two teams in the recent U20 Rugby Championship but that was an experimental tournament for the Junior Springboks, one in which more than 80 players were called up, as coach Kevin Foote began the process of finding his best combinations.

And he seems to have done just that, combining traditional Springbok forward power with devastating pace out wide, all brought together by impressive half-back duo Hassiem Pead and Vusi Moyo.

A length-of-the-field team score in the sixth minute, finished by scrum-half Pead, set the tone for the rest of the match against the Junior Wallabies.

South Africa were particularly impressive from first-phase ball and turnovers. Wing Siyabonga Ndlozi scored twice in the first half, either side of Pead's second score, and the Junior Springboks ran in 11 tries altogether.

With South Africa captain Riley Norton saying it was “definitely not the perfect performance, definitely things to improve on”, champions England will be on their guard when the two teams meet on Friday.

FRA 49-11 ESP: France still to put their best foot forward after overpowering Spain

U20 Six Nations champions France ran out comfortable winners against Spain in Pool B as they begin their quest to regain the World Rugby U20 Championship crown they lost to England in 2024.

Despite their apparent superiority in all areas, Les Bleuets had to rely largely on forward power to defeat their southern neighbours, five of France’s seven tries coming from their forwards, including two close-range efforts from number eight Mathis Baret near the start of each half.

But with tougher tests to come, France will be concerned about conceding 10 penalties and 50 per cent possession to one of the tournament’s underdogs, despite running in seven tries, including an injury-time effort from full-back Tom Leveque. “We have a really good spirit, which we showed with the last-minute try,” insisted captain Corentin Mezou. “We expect a really tough game against Wales [next], they were really good in the Six Nations.”

Spain, who kept in touch early on through two long-range penalties from fly-half Gonzalo Otamendi, face Argentina next. “I think we did some really good things but we made mistakes that cost you the match at this level,” said captain Luciano Richardis. “We will work on it and finish the tournament as high as we can.”

IRE 35-28 GEO: Fast-starting Ireland come through Georgia test despite ill-discipline

After needing a late try to beat Georgia in last year’s pool stage and coming off the back of a disappointing 2025 Six Nations, Ireland were never going to take today’s opponents lightly. And they came through another tight game, despite conceding an eye-watering 17 penalties.

Sadly for Georgia, they couldn’t take advantage. “We feel very sad,” admitted Georgia captain Andro Dvali, whose side enjoyed more territory and possession than Ireland. “It was a very intense game. We had a couple of chances that we couldn’t take.”

The Junior Lelos also paid for starting both halves slowly, allowing Ireland wing Paidi Farrell to twice score almost straight from the kick-off. This meant Ireland were always able to keep their noses in front, despite being under pressure from scrums and mauls, traditional strengths for Georgia, for whom scrum-half Giorgi Spanderashvili also touched down twice.

“I suppose it’s an emotion of relief,” said Ireland captain Eanna McCarthy at the final whistle. “We knew Georgia were going to bring a physical battle but we won the key moments.”

ARG 34-27 WAL: Argentina edge thriller against Wales after late score completes comeback

The game of the day took place in Verona, where Argentina came from behind to beat Wales.

After scoring a penalty try with the first play of the game, Wales stormed into a 24-7 lead on the half-hour mark, thanks to a superb team try finished by Steffan Emanuel followed by an equally brilliant solo effort from number eight Evan Minto.

But back came Argentina with quickfire tries from Tomas Rapetti and Timoteo Silva to put Los Pumitas within five points. They carried that momentum into the second half, prop Rapetti grabbing his second try to draw the scores level.

With the teams then trading penalties, it was 27-all going into the final quarter. Both had chances to win it, but it was Argentina who prevailed, their superior forward power at close quarters finally telling. Agustín Garcia campos Fiszman gained redemption from a first-half yellow card – when Wales scored 17 unanswered points – to crash over.

“It was a big momentum swing in the game when they scored two quick scores going into half-time,” said Wales captain Harry Beddall. “We’ll regroup, recover and go again.”

NZL 14-5 ITA: Hosts give All Blacks scare but can’t take advantage of scrum dominance

Despite a slippery ball making their slick handling difficult and a scrum that was going backwards, New Zealand overcame a spirited Italy to get the campaign off to a winning start in Pool C.

Tries at either end of the first half – through Manumaua Letiu and Dylan Pledger – both against the run of play, were enough to beat the hosts, who lacked the requisite cutting edge to break down the six-time champions.

This was particularly true when New Zealand were down to 14 men midway through the first half, during which time the Azzurrini laid siege to the Junior All Blacks’ line but came away empty-handed. They could only manage a solitary try through Niccolo Beni just after half-time.

“Just happy to start our campaign with a win,” said New Zealand captain Letiu. “We will think in the next couple of games about how we can get better. We’ve set our goals really high for this tournament.”

The second round of matches takes place on Friday, July 4.

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