2023 U20 Championship Teams: Pool C
2023 marks the first Under 20s Championship since 2019, the subsequent events having been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and fans are eager to once again see the youth players of their nations on the biggest stage. There are 12 teams that will be competing for the Championship, spilt into 3 pools of 4. We’ll be taking a look at the different teams ahead of the first match on June 24th in South Africa.
We’re onto the final pool now, we’ve looked at Pools A and B the last two weeks, and the Championship is right around the corner. Pool C contains an interesting and diverse group of Argentina, Georgia, Italy, and South Africa.
ARGENTINA
Best Finish: 3rd (2016)
Coach: Álvaro Galindo
Most Recent Result: 21-59 Loss to New Zealand
Argentina are a team full of passion, grit, and skill. They’ve been an up and down team for most of their time in the Championship. They’ve come away with a pair of fourth place finishes and a third place podium finish, but have also finished 11th twice and 9th three times. They always bring physicality and some excellent skills, they’ll show both off as they look to top the group.
Álvaro Galindo is the main man at the helm for Los Pumitas. The former Los Pumas flanker, who appeared in 13 matches for his country, joined the Argentine Rugby Union in 2017 as a regional academy manager before being promoted to the U18 coach in 2018, and eventually becoming the U20 coach a few seasons later.
Captain and flanker Eliseo Chiavassa is one to watch. The young Jaguares player has featured in 11 matches for the Buenos Aires side in Super Rugby Americas, and has shown himself to be an effective tackler and jackaler. Mateo Soler is another to keep an eye on, a fellow backrower, he was named to the team of the tournament in SAR for Dogos, in addition to winning young player of the tournament. It likely won’t be long before a big European or Super Rugby side comes calling for Soler’s services.
GEORGIA
Best Finish: 9th (2018)
Coach: Lado Kilasonia
Most Recent Result: 41-36 Win over England
Georgia have made their 5th straight Championship, finishing in 10th 3 times and 9th once. They’re a team on the rise now, having defeated England in their most recent match, and coming close to beating them in the match prior. Georgia has always been known as a team with an abundance of power and scrummaging prowess, but their backline is having talent filter in, a prospect other nations should worry about.
Former player and trainer Lado Kilasonia is the current coach for the side. Kilasonia won a European Championship in 2005 with Stade Toulousain and was a trainer for several others as a trainer on staff. He spent his younger years as an academy player for the Sharks in South Africa.
Players to keep an eye on probably starts with massive prop Irakli Aptsiauri. He might only be 20, but he’s already a regular starter for Grenoble in ProD2. This season he made 21 appearances and 15 starts for the French side, giving him 26 total professional starts already. He is a powerful scrummager and a menace around the pitch with his burgeoning physicality, he’s an impressive 6’1 and 122kg. His teammate Grenoble Lasha Pkhakadze, hasn’t gotten the same amount of pro experience with only one appearance to date, but he was the starter at tight head against England. Davit Khuroshvili has shown to be a great talent in the works for Georgia from local powerhouse Lelo Saracens. Georga seem to breed good scrum halves almost as consistently as they do forwards, as Khuroshvili scored a try against England off a great support line, and he regularly delivers clean and quick ball to his forwards while controlling the tempo of the game. Petre Khutsishvili has formed a strong partnership alongside Khuroshvili, the young flyhalf, also of Lelo Saracens, managed 3 tries and 27 points in last years Six Nations Summer Series in 4 matches. He was also the starter in the ten jersey in the recent win over England where he himself bagged a try.
ITALY
Best Finish: 8th (2017, 2018)
Coach: Massimo Brunello
Most Recent Result: 40-17 Win over Scotland
The U20s for Italy have shown immensely bright in recent years, with several key players quickly filtering into the national side, such as Michele Lamaro, Paolo Garbisi, Marco Riccioni, and Lorenzo Cannone to name a few. This current crop just secured their best ever finish in the U20 Six Nations, coming in third, and will look to continue a run of form, interrupted by the pandemic, where Italy had their 3 best finishes in the Championship ever from 2017-2019.
Massimo Brunello is the man in charge for Italy, he is a former international winger, having accumulated 8 test caps, all starts, for his country in the 80s and 90s. He has previously coached at Italian sides Rovigo, Borsari Badia, and Calvisano in stints from 2002-2009 and 2015-2020, in addition to the Italian U18 side in between. He took over for the U20 set up in 2020 and has coached the team to new heights in the Six Nations.
Italian players to watch starts with captain David Odiase, the talismanic Oyannax flanker played every minute for Italy in the Six Nations. He made an astounding 62 carries for 321 meters to go along with completing 61/66 of his tackle attempts. Odiase is an immense figure and will continue to lead from the front in the Championship. Prop Marcos Gallorini tied for top of the try scoring charts in the Six Nations with 5. Only Ireland managed to keep the massive Capitolina tight head, 6’3 and 133kg, from scoring. Gallorini was immense in the scrum and a physical player around the park, his leg drive regularly eating up extra meters. François Carlo Mey, is a talented back that can fill in at several positions, but is primarily a fullback and outside center. The Clermont youngster made his debut for the club earlier this season in the Champions Cup against the Stormers, and has accumulated 3 caps and a start for the side this season. He’s adept with ball in hand and with his boot to gain territory for his side, and showed off his attacking acumen with a pair of tries and a try assist in the Six Nations.
SOUTH AFRICA
Best Finish: Champion (2012)
Coach: Bafana Nhlkeo
Most Recent Result: 47-27 Win over Wales
Hosts South Africa are former champions at this tournament, and are only behind New Zealand and England in terms of success at this competition. They have finished at least third in 10 out of 12 tournaments and finished 4th and 5th in the other two, which is the one more podium finish than both of aforementioned teams, by virtue of titles and 2nd place finishes are they ahead of the Baby Boks. No doubt the lads will be hoping to win some silverware in front of their home crowd.
Bafana Nhlkeo was promoted from an assistant to head coach in 2021, the former position he had held since 2018. He also assisted in coaching the South Africa XV, the national second side, in 2022 and is the former head coach of the Golden Lions U21 team that won the 2018 South Africa Under 21 Championship.
The Boks are captained by Paul de Villiers, the son of former Springboks captain Jean de Villiers. De Villiers is a strong, if undersized, openside flanker standing at 6’0 and 96kg. The Stormers flanker is an intelligent and tenacious defender that leads from the front and carries well in space, he’ll be an important presence for the Baby Boks. Masande Mtshali recently debuted for the blitzboks in the Sevens Circuit, he appeared in 5 tournaments and the speedster will be looking to show off his pace and finishing ability in this tournament. Vice captain Katlego Letebele will be the leader for the backline at the wing position. A young, up and coming prospect for the Blue Bulls, Letebele will be showing off his pace and finishing, this Boks backline will be deadly behind their ever impressive pack.
Pool C is not quite as stacked as the other two pools, of the 7 teams that have ever made a final only one of them, South Africa, appears in this Pool, while the other two groups contain 3 each. This group then seems more cut and dry on who will likely come out on top. Regardless, there are still exciting teams here and there should be some great rugby to watch.
