The 16 best U20 teams will be on display in Georgia from 27 June in the renamed World Rugby Junior World Championship, where South Africa will be looking to retain their crown. However, the Junior Springboks will face competition from the likes of England and France who will be aiming to extend their impressive records, while Argentina and Ireland will hope to continue their recent form and New Zealand look to secure their first title since the tournament was last hosted in Georgia in 2017.
For the first time since 2009, the World Rugby Junior World Championship 2026 will comprise 16 teams, as opposed to 12 in recent years, welcoming Fiji, USA, Japan and Uruguay. Fiji were relegated from the World Rugby U20 Championship, as it was then known, in 2024, while the other three returning teams were the highest ranked teams behind champions Scotland at the World Rugby U20 Trophy in 2024.
It promises to be a feast of rugby featuring the finest young talent on the planet.
Where is it?
Rugby’s future stars will play matches across two cities in Georgia with each pool allocated a venue for the initial stage. Pools A and C will be played at Avchala Stadium in the vibrant capital city of Tbilisi and Pools B and D at Aia Arena in Kutaisi.
The Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi will also be used for the third-place play-off and the final on 18 July.
What are the dates?
The tournament runs from 27 June through to 18 July.
Round 1: Saturday, 27 June
Round 2: Thursday, 2 July
Round 3: Tuesday, 7 July
Round 4 (semi-finals): Sunday, 12 July and Monday, 13 July
Round 5 (play-offs/final) Friday, 17 July and Saturday, 18 July
What is the format?
The tournament consists of four pools, each with four teams. After the three rounds of pool matches, the knockout stage will be contested by all 16 teams.
Teams will be split into four brackets based on their pool rankings with the winners of each pool progressing to the semi-finals.
The winners of the semi-finals will contest the final, and there will be a third-place play-off while the second-placed teams will compete for fifth to eighth place.
The four third-placed teams will compete for ninth to 12th and the fourth-placed teams will compete for positions 13th to 16th. It means that each team will play five matches in the tournament.
Which teams are involved?
Pool A includes reigning champions South Africa, Wales, hosts Georgia and Uruguay. South Africa were tournament winners in 2012 and 2025 while Wales were runners-up in 2013.
Georgia’s best finish was eighth in 2023 and Uruguay are back in the World Rugby Junior World Championship for the first time since 2009, when they were relegated immediately back to the World Rugby U20 Trophy.
Pool B sees last year's runners-up New Zealand – who have been crowned champions a record six times – take on Italy, Scotland and Japan, who finished third in the last U20 Trophy in 2024.
Four-time champions England head Pool C and will face 2023 runners-up Ireland, Argentina and USA, who return to the Junior World Championship for the first time since 2013.
Pool D includes a France side who finished fourth last year and have frequently made their mark on the Junior World Championship, winning the title three times in a row. Les Bleuets will take on Australia, Spain and Fiji in Georgia.
What happened last year?
South Africa are the defending champions after beating New Zealand 23-15 in the final at Stadio Mario Battaglini in Rovigo, Italy. The victory saw the Junior Springboks end a 13-year drought to claim their first World Rugby Junior World Championship title since 2012 – with a side that included future Rugby World Cup winners Handré Pollard, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Steven Kitshoff – and just their second overall. Argentina finished third after edging out France 38-35 in the third-place play-off.
Final rankings: 1. South Africa 2. New Zealand 3. Argentina 4. France 5. Australia 6. England 7. Italy 8. Wales 9. Georgia 10. Scotland 11. Ireland 12. Spain.
Which teams to look out for
The two most successful teams in World Rugby Junior World Championship history are New Zealand and England, who have made a combined 18 appearances in the final.
New Zealand have won the most titles with six, while England have four – though they have made the final an impressive 10 times out of 15 since the inaugural tournament in 2008. France have been one of the recent stand-out teams, winning three out of the last five tournaments before finishing fourth last year and runners-up in 2024.
Defending champions South Africa have a good record of making it to the semi-finals, but a poor record from there. In 15 tournaments they have made the last four on 13 occasions, but only made the final three times, with a loss to England in 2014 sandwiched between their titles in 2012 and 2025.
They will be keen to retain their crown and will certainly head to Georgia full of self-belief after winning the U20 Rugby Championship title in May, while France won the U20 Six Nations earlier this year with a flawless five wins from five.
Bringing together the best talent from the northern and southern hemispheres promises to produce a thrilling World Rugby Junior World Championship 2026, but who will lift the coveted trophy come finals day on 18 July?
Pool fixtures
Round 1: Saturday, 27 June
Argentina v USA (Tbilisi, 13:00 local time, GMT+4)
Italy v Scotland (Kutaisi, 13:00 local time)
England v Ireland (Tbilisi, 15:30 local time)
New Zealand v Japan (Kutaisi, 15:30 local time)
Wales v Georgia (Tbilisi, 18:00 local time)
France v Fiji (Kutaisi, 18:00 local time)
South Africa v Uruguay (Tbilisi, 20:30 local time)
Australia v Spain (Kutaisi, 20:30 local time)
Round 2: Thursday, 2 July
Wales v Uruguay (Tbilisi, 13:00 local time, GMT+4)
France v Spain (Kutaisi, 13:00 local time)
Argentina v Ireland (Tbilisi, 15:30 local time)
Australia v Fiji (Kutaisi, 15:30 local time)
England v USA (Tbilisi, 18:00 local time)
New Zealand v Scotland (Kutaisi, 18:00 local time)
South Africa v Georgia (Tbilisi, 20:30 local time)
Italy v Japan (Kutaisi, 20:30 local time)
Round 3: Tuesday, 7 July
Ireland v USA (Tbilisi, 13:00 local time, GMT+4)
New Zealand v Italy (Kutaisi, 13:00 local time)
Argentina v England (Tbilisi, 15:30 local time)
Scotland v Japan (Kutaisi, 15:30 local time)
South Africa v Wales (Tbilisi, 18:00 local time)
France v Australia (Kutaisi, 18:00 local time)
Georgia v Uruguay (Tbilisi, 20:30 local time)
Spain v Fiji (Kutaisi, 20:30 local time)
Where to watch
The World Rugby Junior World Championship 2026 will be available to watch around the world, either through a local rights-holding broadcaster or on RugbyPass TV where no deal is present.
Sign-up for free at RugbyPass TV.
