Ahead of the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship, Planet Rugby takes a look back at the players who have won the age-grade tournament before lifting the Rugby World Cup.
Since the tournament’s inception in 2008 – which was created to replace the U19 and U21 World Championships – 15 players have won the competition before lifting the William Webb Ellis Cup later in their careers.
Class of 2008
New Zealand were the favourites heading into the inaugural tournament, and they did not crumble under the pressure.
They defeated Argentina, Ireland and Tonga in the pool stages before dispatching Wales in the semi-finals and crushing England 38-3 in the final.
Three future Rugby World Cup winners featured in the side led by Dave Rennie, with lock Sam Whitelock and wing Zac Guildford winning the World Cup on home soil with the All Blacks in 2011 and scrum-half Aaron Smith winning the tournament in 2015 along with Whitelock.
Whitelock and Smith have played over 100 Test matches in the black jersey, with the former closing in on Richie McCaw’s record of most caps for New Zealand.
Class of 2009
New Zealand defended their title in the tournament’s second edition, defeating Ireland, Argentina and Uruguay in the pool stages and Australia in the semi-finals.
Again, they faced England in the final, claiming a 44-28 victory.
Fly-half Aaron Cruden was the star of the tournament claiming the 2009 World Rugby Junior Player of the Year award. But few would have guessed that he would be starting the Rugby World Cup final for the All Blacks just two years later. He started the win over France after a host of injuries at fly-half for New Zealand and added to that list as he was forced off with an injury of his own.
Cruden was joined the squad by Guildford, who played a second year U20s rugby for New Zealand and would also feature for the All Blacks just two years later. Guildford was the top tr-scorer in the U20 World Championship in 2009, scoring eight tries.
Class of 2010
New Zealand completed the three-peat in 2010 by defeating Australia 62-17 in the final of the 2010 World Rugby U20 Championship.
The side, once again coached by Dave Rennie, had plenty of stars in their ranks, most notably scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow and winger Julian Savea.
Unsurprisingly, Savea finished the tournament as the side’s top try-scorer with eight tries – a tally he would match in the 2015 Rugby World Cup as New Zealand defended the William Webb Ellis Cup. Kerr-Barlow joined his U20 team in the squad and came off the bench in the final against Australia.
Class of 2011
Four years prior to the All Blacks 2015 Rugby World Cup success, six of the eventual squad members won the World Rugby U20 Championship with the New Zealand U20s.
Regarded as one of the finest U20 sides of all time, New Zealand played a strong England side in the final, who they beat 33-22.
Full-back Beauden Barrett, scrum-half TJ Perenara, openside flanker Sam Cane, lock Brodie Retallick and hooker Codie Taylor were included in the starting line-up in the final for New Zealand with winger Waisake Naholo on the bench.
All six players were named in Steve Hansen’s 2015 Rugby World Cup squad, with Retallick being the only starter in the final and Cane and Barrett coming off the bench against Australia, the latter scoring in the 34-17 victory.
Barrett and Retallick have since notched up over 100 Test caps for the All Blacks, with Cane nearing the milestone and is set to captain the side at Rugby World Cup 2023.
Class of 2012
In 2012, South Africa finally broke New Zealand’s stronghold on the U20 World Championship title, defeating the defending champions 22-16 in the final.
Three of their starters that day would go on to feature for the Springboks in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, defeating England 32-12 in Yokohama.
A young Handre Pollard, who was still in school at the time, started at fly-half in the win over New Zealand in the final and was joined by future World Cup-winning Springboks teammates Pieter-Steph du Toit and Steven Kitshoff.
Kitshoff is the only one of the trio who did not start to the 2019 World Cup final but came off in bench as part of the famed ‘Bomb Squad’.
READ MORE: Where are they now? The 2016 England U20 World Rugby champions
The article The 15 players who have won the World Rugby U20 Championship and Rugby World Cup appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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