England will be based in Newport for the Pool stages of the tournament, with crunch Pool C matches against Fiji, Australia and Canada as they bid to make it to the semi-finals of the tournament which, for the winner of this group take place at Cardiff Arms Park on June 18.
Nigel Redman, who grew up in Rumney Cardiff and whose 20 year old nephew Jamie Corsi packs down at prop for the Dragons, is under no illusions about the task ahead, but will relish the challenge.
“It’s fantastic this inaugural Under 20 competition is taking place in the UK. I’ve been to many of the IRB age grade tournaments and what is so exciting is that every one of them unearths some real stars of the future,” said Redman, who won 20 caps for England, toured with the 1997 British & Irish Lions in South Africa and won 17 major trophies (10 English Cup triumphs, six League Titles and 1 Heineken Cup victory) in 350 games with Bath.
“You only have to look at recent tournaments to see the likes of Gavin Henson, Luke McAlister and Danny Cipriani coming through and there will be more great names unearthed in Wales this year who will grace the senior international stage in the not too distant future.”
“Fans in Wales this summer can literally spend an afternoon or evening watching rugby and whatever game they choose to watch will throw up some future stars of the world game.
“In my opinion, it is a real privilege to see some of those stars in action aged 18 and 19 before they step onto the big stage.”
Redman has been close to the IRB Junior World Cups since the end of his playing career. He took England Under 19 to two FIRA World Cups in 2000 and 2001 and was with the England Under 21 squad at the their equivalent in 2002 and 2003.
He returned to duty with England Under 19 in Dubai in 2006 and Belfast in 2007. Now he hopes to take the currently unbeaten England Under 20 Six Nations squad all the way to the first IRB Under 20 final at the Liberty Stadium.
England are seeded sixth in this competition and although England are flying high at the top of the Under 20 Six Nations table at the moment, Redman believes that is the correct position for his side going into the tournament.
“New Zealand, South Africa and Australia should all be strong sides as you’d expect, but France have a good team and so have Wales so the teams above us all deserve their positions, we just have to ensure we are ready for the challenge.
“We have a very physical pool with Australia, Fiji and Canada. Fiji are first up having stepped up into this tournament and it is vital we prepare well and put in a good performance against them on Day One in order to be ready for the top seeds in the Pool, Australia on Match Day two.
“It is a very clear-cut tournament format but it is brutal in that only one team from each Pool goes to the semis so any slip-up will count dearly.”
England’s 100% record so far in the Six Nations Championship has come from wins over Wales, Italy and France, but Redman says this run of form will have no bearing on the Junior World Championship.
“We are playing some good rugby at the moment but there is a two and a half month break between competitions, so it will be difficult to keep that momentum going. The players go back to their clubs in March so it will be key for us to meet up in May and work hard to be ready for Fiji on June 6.”
One thing Redman can count on is some moral support from two sisters and extended family living close by.
“I grew up less than 10 miles from Newport in Rumney, Cardiff and my sisters live down the road in St Mellons and Marshfield so I certainly won’t be in unfamiliar surroundings.
“From a team perspective, being based in Newport makes it easy for fans in England to provide some much valued vocal support. For supporters in the Bristol, Bath and Gloucester areas in particular, it’s only a short drive to Rodney Parade so I’m hoping that our ‘local’ support will spur us on and help us reach the semis.
“I think that’s probably the objective for all the teams involved but it would certainly be great to break the southern hemisphere’s monopoly of international age grade rugby and get at least two northern hemisphere sides into the top four.”
IRB Junior World Championship WALES 2008 – TICKETS
SINGLE TICKET PER MATCH DAY (inclusive of both matches at any one venue on any given match day)
£8 ADULT
£2 JUNIOR
VENUE PACKAGE (inclusive of all 5 match days – 10 matches – at any one venue)
£30 ADULT
£8 JUNIOR
TEAM PACKAGE (nominate your team at the time of purchase and the team package includes all three pool match days and the relevant semi-final and finals day for your team)
£35 ADULT
£10 JUNIOR
(Junior Ticket available to children aged 16 and under)
Tickets go on sale at 12 noon on Friday 14th March from all four match venues and Ticketmaster (http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/ and 08705 582 582)
Matchday 01 – 6th June 2008
| Match No. | Kickoff | Group | Match | Venue |
| 1. | 17.00 | A | New Zealand v Tonga | Cardiff RFC |
| 2. | 19.00 | A | Argentina v Ireland | Cardiff RFC |
| 3. | 17.00 | B | South Africa v USA | Wrexham AFC |
| 4. | 19.00 | B | Samoa v Scotland | Wrexham AFC |
| 5. | 17.00 | C | Australia v Canada | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| 6. | 19.00 | C | England v Fiji | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| 7. | 17.00 | D | France v Japan | Liberty Stadium, Swansea |
| 8. | 19.00 | D | Wales v Italy | Liberty Stadium, Swansea |
Matchday 02 –Â 10th June 2008
| Match No. | Kickoff | Group | Match | Venue |
| 9. | 17.00 | A | Argentina v Tonga | Cardiff RFC |
| 10. | 19.00 | A | New Zealand v Ireland | Cardiff RFC |
| 11. | 17.00 | B | Samoa v USA | Wrexham AFC |
| 12. | 19.00 | B | South Africa v Scotland | Wrexham AFC |
| 13. | 17.00 | C | England v Canada | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| 14. | 19.00 | C | Australia v Fiji | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| 15. | 17.00 | D | France v Italy | Liberty Stadium, Swansea |
| 16. | 19.00 | D | Wales v Japan | Liberty Stadium, Swansea |
Matchday 03 – 14th June 2008
| Match No. | Kickoff | Group | Match | Venue |
| 17. | 15.00 | A | Ireland v Tonga | Cardiff RFC |
| 18. | 17.00 | A | New Zealand v Argentina | Cardiff RFC |
| 19. | 15.00 | B | Scotland v USA | Wrexham AFC |
| 20. | 17.00 | B | South Africa v Samoa | Wrexham AFC |
| 21. | 15.00 | C | Fiji v Canada | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| 22. | 17.00 | C | Australia v England | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| 23. | 15.00 | D | Japan v Italy | Liberty Stadium, Swansea |
| 24. | 17.00 | D | Wales v France | Liberty Stadium, Swansea |
Matchday 04 – 18th June 2008
| Match No. | Kickoff | Match | Venue |
| 25. | 17.00 | 4th Group A v 4th Group D | Wrexham AFC |
| 26. | 19.00 | 4th Group B v 4th Group C | Wrexham AFC |
| 27. | 17.00 | 3rd Group A v 3rd Group D | Cardiff RFC |
| 28. | 17.00 | 3rd Group B v 3rd Group C | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| 29. | 17.00 | 2nd Group A v 2nd Group D | Liberty Stadium, Swansea |
| 30. | 19.00 | 2nd Group B v 2nd Group C | Liberty Stadium, Swansea |
| 31. | 19.00 | 1st Group A v 1st Group D | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| 32. | 19.00 | 1st Group C v 1st Group B | Cardiff RFC |
Final Day – North Wales 21st June 2008
| Match No. | Kickoff | Match | Venue |
| 33. | 18.00 | Winner Match 25 v Winner Match 26 | Wrexham AFC |
| 34. | 20.00 | Loser Match 25 v Loser Match 26 | Wrexham AFC |
Final Day South Wales 22nd June 2008
| Match No. | Kickoff | Match | Venue |
| 35. | 13.00 | Loser Match 27 v Loser Match 28 | Cardiff RFC |
| 36. | 15.00 | Winner Match 29 v Winner Match 30 | Cardiff RFC |
| 37. | 13.00 | Winner Match 27 v Winner Match 28 | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| 38. | 15.00 | Loser Match 29 v Loser Match 30 | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| 39. | 17.00 | Loser Match 31 v Loser Match 32 | Liberty Stadium, Swansea |
| 40. | 19.00 | Championship Final Winner Match 31 v Winner 32 | Liberty Stadium, Swansea |
*If Wales fail to make the Top 4 they will play their last match at Liberty Stadium as the third match at 15.00
* Please note that all kick-off times are subject to Broadcast arrangements
