The Under-20 Six Nations Championship returns in 2023, with five rounds of fixtures offering fans the opportunity to see some of rugby’s most exciting players take to the international stage.
The Under-20 Championship kicks off on February 3, 2023, with a ‘Friday Night Lights’ first round of fixtures that will see defending champions Ireland travelling to Wales, England at home to Scotland, and Italy host France.
Ireland are at home to France a week later, followed by a rest week either side of a trip to Italy. In March, Richie Murphy’s young guns will travel to Scotland for the penultimate round before hosting England in the final round of games.
The Championship will run until March 19, 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 clash.
In Ireland, RTÉ and Virgin Media will deliver coverage, while BBC and S4C will cover the Championship in the UK. L’Equipe will be showing every game in France, and Sky Italia will continue their support of Six Nations Rugby in Italy.
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 World Rugby U-20 Championship, due to restart in 2023.
“Hopefully even more fans will enjoy what is set to be another unmissable Under-20 Six Nations.”
UNDER-20 SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP – 2023 SCHEDULE:
Round 1 – Friday, February 3
Wales v Ireland, 7pm
England v Scotland, 7pm
Italy v France, 8pm
Round 2 – Friday February 10
England v Italy, 7pm
Scotland v Wales, 7.15pm
Ireland v France, 8pm
Round 3 – Friday, February 24
Italy v Ireland, 7.15pm
Wales v England, 7.15pm
France v Scotland, 8pm
Round 4 – Friday, March 10
Italy v Wales, 7.15pm
Scotland v Ireland, 7.15pm
England v France, 8pm
Round 5 – Sunday, March 19
Scotland v Italy, 2pm
Ireland v England, 5pm
France v Wales, 8pm
Source: Irish Rugby