The Under-20 Championship kicks off on the 3rd of February 2023 with a Friday night lights first round of fixtures that will see Wales taking on current Under-20 Champions Ireland, old rivals England and Scotland looking to claim bragging rights, and the final game of the evening going to Italy who host France.
The Championship will run until the 19th of March, culminating in a Super Sunday of games that mirror the closing fixtures of the Guinness Six Nations the day before.
As with the previous Championship, rugby fans in each host market will be able to watch every single Under-20 fixture. In the UK, BBC and S4C will cover the Championship, in France, L’Equipe will be showing every game, RTE and Virgin Media will deliver coverage in Ireland, and Sky Italia will continue their support of Six Nations Rugby in Italy.
This level of comprehensive broadcast coverage helped to drive year on year average live audience figures up by over 180%, in the six core markets.
The growing popularity for the Under-20 Six Nations was given an added boost this summer when Six Nations Rugby collaborated with World Rugby to stage an Under-20 Summer Series, hosted in Italy.
The Summer Series featured all six nations, as well as Georgia and South Africa. Offering the next generation of rugby stars a valuable opportunity to compete at the highest level, reinforces the continued commitment to supporting the pathway for future rugby talent to develop. This commitment is shared by the host of broadcast partners of the upcoming Under-20 Six Nations; all driving to offer the best possible platform for teams and players to showcase their talent and excite audiences in the process.
Commenting on the 2023 Under-20 Six Nations fixtures, Julie Paterson, Director of Rugby at Six Nations Rugby, said:
“The Under-20 pathway is a fundamental element of our strategy to support the development of rugby, its teams, players, coaches and match officials. The Championship offers a platform for some truly exciting talent to perform at the highest level. Through the support of our broadcasters and partners, there is a route for fans to follow the journey of the teams and players and see the next generation of stars coming through.
The year-on-year growth of the Under-20 Championship as well as the Summer Series, shows there is a increasing popularity for this area of the game. The fixtures planned for 2023 should build on this, bringing a real competitive edge to the Tournament and providing a true high-performance based lead into the Junior World Championship, due to restart in 2023. Hopefully even more fans will enjoy what is set to be another unmissable Under-20 Six Nations.”
ROUND 1 Friday 3rd February 2023
Wales v Ireland 7pm KO
England v Scotland 7pm KO
Italy v France 8pm KO
ROUND 2 Friday 10th February 2023
England v Italy 7pm KO
Scotland v Wales 7.15pm KO
Ireland v France 8pm KO
ROUND 3 Friday 24th February 2023
Italy v Ireland 7.15pm KO
Wales v England 7.15pm KO
France v Scotland 8p KO
ROUND 4 Friday 10th March 2023
Italy v Wales 7.15pm KO
Scotland v Ireland 7.15pm KO
England v France 8pm KO
ROUND 5 Sunday 19th March 2023
Scotland v Italy 2pm KO
Ireland v England 5pm KO
France v Wales 8pm KO
