04-07-2025
England vs South Africa: Teams and latest updates from World Rugby U20 Championship
England continue their World Under-20 Championship campaign this afternoon as they take on South Africa at Stadio Comunale Mario Battaglini in Rovigo. England, who are the defending champions, got their campaign up and running with a comprehensive 56-19 victory over Scotland in Verona last Sunday, courtesy of eight tries. Speaking ahead of the game, Pathway Scrum and Defence Coach Nathan Catt wants to see the side continue to raise their performance levels.
'South Africa always promises to be very testing yet exciting fixture. We want our boys to commit to the moment throughout and build strongly together,' Catt said. 'A core principle of our campaign is to make lifelong memories through raising our levels of high performance every week, and this match will be no exception.'
England will be without the services of forward George Timmins for the rest of the tournament after he was handed a five-match ban due to being sent off early in the second half of the victory over Scotland.
South Africa thrashed Australia 73-17 in their opening match of Pool A to get their tournament up and running in style. Their head coach Kevin Foote has spoken about the honour of playing the defending champions.
'There is a huge amount of excitement around Friday and the magnitude of this match,' said Foote. 'We know how important this is, playing against the defending champions. It is an honour to be involved in such a game and a real challenge for us this week. We cannot wait for it. We are very proud of the guys in terms of how focused and humble they are staying after the victory over Australia, and just how hungry they are for the next challenge against England.'
These sides have met in the last two editions of the Under-20 World Championships. A year ago England came out on top, winning 17-12 during the group stages, but back in 2023 South Africa ran out 22-15 winners in the final. Kick-off from Rovigo is at 5pm BST.
