Inclement weather causes Junior World Championship venue change

South Africa’s winter weather at the Junior World Championship has resulted in World Rugby amending some of its plans for the remainder of the tournament, starting with taking the stadium in Paarl out of service for next Tuesday’s final pool matches in order to give the pitch a chance to recover.

Paarl was the venue that staged the second-round U20s pool games last Thursday between Ireland-Australia, France-New Zealand and Italy-South Africa, matches that took place with the rain pouring down heavily on a soft surface that turned to mud in numerous areas.

U20s Six Nations champions Ireland were among the six teams scheduled to play next Tuesday in Paarl but all three matches listed for there – Italy versus Georgia, Ireland versus Fiji and New Zealand versus Japan – will now be staged in Stellenbosch.

Tournament director Simon Keeble explained: “Following on from match day two and the inclement weather that affected the tournament, we have made the decision to give the facility at Paarl Gimnasium a rest for match day three to ensure where possible that the best available playing surfaces are utilised.

“For match day three, kick-off timings will remain the same, but Danie Craven will be utilised instead of Paarl. Athlone Stadium for match day three will remain as planned.

"It is then anticipated to return to Paarl for match day four and rest Danie Craven, with kick-off timings brought forward as per the other games at Paarl."