Baby Boks to defend title in France

With just days to go until the Junior World Cup kicks off in France, the future stars of world Rugby lined up for the official tournament launch in Nantes.

The 12 teams are now settled at their bases in Nantes, Vannes and La Roche-sur-Yon in north-west France with all captains have their sights on lifting the trophy.

Building on last year’s record breaking tournament here in South Africa, the Junior World Cup will be beamed to almost 317 million homes around the world, in 184 countries, a record broadcast for the competition, which is now in its sixth year.

This will account for more than 280 hours of broadcast time during the prestigious Under 20 tournament. 17 matches will also be streamed live on www.irb.com.

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “Talking to the captains this afternoon, you get a sense of just how exciting this year’s tournament is going to be. There are some mouth-watering matches in store and personally I can’t wait to see France take on England in “Le Crunch” at La Roche-sur-Yon on Wednesday.”

French Rugby Federation President Pierre Camou added: “The FFR is proud to organise the event as being the host is a sign of confidence from the IRB. I know the committees of Pays de Loire and Brittany have the ability to succeed.”

Spread over five match days, the action will take place with a series of double headers in Nantes, La Roche-sur-Yon and Vannes, with the final taking place on June 23 in Vannes.

For the players, the event not only delivers an opportunity to test themselves against the cream of their generation, but it also provides an invaluable development and educational platform to prepare them for the future.

Since 2008, the Junior World Cup has provided the springboard for more than 200 players to graduate to the Test arena, including 2013 British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton, and Rugby World Cup 2011 winners Aaron Cruden, Sam Whitelock and Zac Guildford.

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The 12 captains …

Junior RWC captains

From left to right: Sam Ah Sam (Samoa), Luke McGrath (Ireland), Tom Bliss (USA), Jack Clifford (England), Curtis Browning (Australia), Paul Jedrasiak (France), Ruan Steenkamp (South Africa), Ardie Savea (New Zealand), Esikia Macu (Fiji), Ellis Jenkins (Wales), Felipe Ezcurra (Argentina) and Jonny Gray (Scotland).

One Comment

  1. I will be there for the SA vs England and SA vs France games! Going to be good to support the son and the Babyboks.

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