Host nation and new teams named for expanded 2026 World Rugby U20 Championship

Georgia will host the World Rugby U20 Championship for a second time in 2026, with the tournament expanding from 12 to 16 teams.

Four teams who regularly competed in the lower-level World Rugby U20 Trophy in the past – Fiji, Japan, Uruguay and USA – will be added to the 12 teams taking part in this year’s tournament in Italy.

Fiji have been included as the relegated team from the 2024 edition of the U20 Championship, while Japan, Uruguay and USA finished second, third and fourth in last year’s U20 Trophy behind champions Scotland.

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

For Uruguay and the USA, it will be the first time in over a decade that they’ll be involved in a U20 Championship, while Japan last graced the tournament in 2023.

World Rugby have confirmed that there will be no relegation from the 2025 U20 Championship, which teams were notified about pre-tournament, so the loser of the 11th-place play-off between Ireland and Spain on Saturday will drop out of the age-grade elite. Details on promotion and relegation for 2027 will be announced by the game’s governing body in due course.

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Georgia last hosted international age-grade rugby’s premier competition in 2017, when New Zealand, who are through to this year’s final, won the last of their six U20 titles.

The Junior Lelos finished 10th on home soil after a narrow defeat to Ireland, with Bega Saginadze, Akaki Tabutsadze, Tedo Abzhandadze and Tornike Jalagonia among those from that squad to have gone on to play test rugby for the Lelos.

The tournament will again be staged in the cities of Tbilisi and Kutaisi, with the dates to be confirmed by World Rugby and the Georgian Rugby Union in due course.

World Rugby Chief of Rugby Competitions, Performance and Development, Nigel Cass said: “We are delighted to bring the World Rugby U20 Championship back to Georgia – a nation with a deep passion for the game and a proven track record of hosting world-class events.

“The return of the tournament to Tbilisi and Kutaisi, now expanded to 16 teams, is a significant step forward in our mission to enhance global competitiveness and provide more young players with the opportunity to shine on the international stage.”

Georgian Rugby Union President Davit Kacharava said: This is the second time we have the honour of hosting the World Rugby U20 Championship – an event that holds great significance not only for the development of Georgian rugby but for our country as a whole. The tournament is growing in scale, and in 2026, Georgia will welcome 16 teams instead of 12. We must rise to the challenge and, as we did in 2017, deliver a world-class championship.

“The active support of our national government has been instrumental in this achievement. Their backing was essential to securing hosting rights, and without the guarantees provided by our authorities, this would not have been possible.

“I firmly believe that hosting the U20 Championship will spark a new wave of interest in rugby across Georgia.

“Matches will take place both in Tbilisi and Kutaisi, which will further elevate the popularity of rugby in Georgia. Rugby fans from both Eastern and Western parts of the country will be able to attend the games and be part of this great celebration of the sport.”

The World Rugby U20 Championship 2025 concludes in Italy on Saturday with New Zealand and South Africa to meet in the final at Stadio Luigi Battaglini in Rovigo, a repeat of their 2012 showdown at a sold-out Newlands in Cape Town.