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LONG READ The RugbyPass team of the World Rugby U20 Championship

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Jamie Lyall By Jamie Lyall
The RugbyPass team of the World Rugby U20 Championship
By 
2 weeks ago
World Rugby U20 Championship

The Junior Boks received a glorious welcome at OR Tambo Airport after being crowned World Rugby U20 champions for the first time in 13 years, fielding a squad from all manner of backgrounds, cultures, faiths, ethnicities and languages, and ransacking all before them across the paddocks of Northern Italy.

Unsurprisingly, Kevin Foote’s boys dominate RugbyPass’ team of the tournament after such a rampant campaign, blasting aside most of their opposition before seeing off New Zealand in a tense final.

The <a href=
South Africa U20 team hold the winner’s trophy aloft” width=”1024″ height=”576″ /> South Africa ended a 13-year wait for World Rugby U20 Championship glory in Italy (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)

The Baby Blacks grew into the championship and reached their first final in eight years. By contrast, usurped champions England endured a frustrating few weeks, falling short of the semis, while France failed to win a medal for the first time in five attempts. Bolstered by a mighty pack, Argentina equalled their best-ever finish of third.

Australia’s form improved after a round one trouncing by the Junior Boks, and there were moments of pride and heartache for host nation Italy, Georgia, Spain and newly promoted Scotland. Wales earned few tangible rewards for some notable performances, and Ireland’s 2025 travails continued, avoiding bottom spot only through a late try in the 11th place final.

Below is our team of the championship. Feel free to put forward your choices in the comments section.

15. Sid Harvey (Australia)

We could just as easily have plumped for Gilermo Mentoe, South Africa’s shrewd full-back whose slashing runs and positional awareness were key tenets of their title charge. Bordeaux-Begles regular Jon Echegaray had some classy touches too.

Harvey shades it thanks to a commanding championship, playing every minute of Australia’s five games and carrying more ball than anyone else in the tournament.

One of few young Wallabies who emerged with credit from the Junior Boks mauling, Harvey is tall, athletic and moves with assured grace. He has impressive speed, propelled by long levers on his arcing runs, and a thunderous left boot. The 19-year-old can boss the airways or evade defenders on the ground. Already a sevens international, Super Rugby honours should not be long in coming.

14. Cheswill Jooste (South Africa)

He has the name, the compact, muscular physique, and the confounding skillset. All ‘Chessie’ is missing is the scrum cap.

South Africa seem to specialise in these remarkable little wingers who defy their size and smite the giants before them.

More springy than a grasshopper on a trampoline, Jooste is an astonishing blend of pace, dynamism and cussedness. He is only 5ft 8ins and 72kg, but his power:weight ratio is off the charts. Nine line breaks and three tries are only the tip of the statistical iceberg.

Elsewhere, it is easy to see why New Zealand’s tackle-busting Frank Vaenuku is being coveted by several Super Rugby franchises and Jack Bracken had an eye-catching stint in the English backline.

13. Felipe Ledesma (Argentina)

Such is the dominance of the Pumitas pack, we don’t always get to see the virtues of a talented backline. Captain Ledesma was at its hub, a direct, abrasive, and dexterous warrior in the midfield trenches. He carried ball over 50 times and led his team brilliantly.

It was fitting that in his final match at this level, he skippered Argentina to victory in the third-place final, sparking joyous celebrations in Calvisano.

Dre Pakeho recovered from a calf injury to feature prominently for Australia in the final rounds. Italy kingpin Federico Zanandrea brought typical panache too.

12. Haki Wiseman (New Zealand)

Wiseman, widely known by the Anglicised ‘Jack’ form of his Maori name, had a superb all-round championship. A classic Kiwi second-five, he can pull the playmaking strings or batter down the door himself with his 92kg ballast. Finished a stunning team try in the semi-final win over France.

Albie Bester was a gainline metre-eater for South Africa.

11. Jaco Williams (South Africa)

Didn’t start the pool opener and might not have been first pick had Siya Ndlozi not torn a hamstring – another illustration of South Africa’s vast  – frankly obscene – depth.

Already a URC player with the Sharks, Williams, like Jooste, is a mere 72kg, but he, too, is a pocket-sized assassin. His footwork is outrageous, flummoxing bigger and stronger men, and he clearly has a keen rugby brain to match his physical attributes. Scored one of the tries of the tournament with an 80m scorcher against Scotland and finished up with five in total.

He looks every inch a Springbok in the making.

A word for Maloni Kunawave, who had scant opportunities in the semi-final and final, but undoubted attacking brilliance.

10. Vusi Moyo (South Africa)

Hard to look past the tournament’s top point scorer, as fabulous as Spain’s Lucien Richardis has been in a side unlucky to wind up bottom.

By design, Moyo has been more facilitator than protagonist. He doesn’t need to stand flat and run at defenders with the threats South Africa have further along the backline. He has an arsenal of weaponry on his outside; it’s up to Moyo to punch in the correct codes. His decision-making and execution of those skills – swooping passes to the edge, deft kicks or booming clearances – were most compelling.

The scary thing is, Moyo seems to be operating well below his physical potential. He began the year overweight and boiled fat from his powerful frame to win selection. He’s a tall, well built man and as his running game develops, could become the complete fly-half.

9. Haashim Pead (South Africa)

The name on everyone’s lips after a blockbuster month. A practising Muslim, Pead trains without food or water during Ramadan, and his dedication is held up as an example to team-mates.

Now, his stats are already being compared to Antoine Dupont’s at U20s level, and the South African’s stack up well against the numbers posted by The Great One.

Pead was excellent during the Rugby Championship, but he’s gone stratospheric since. The darting runs from the base, the lethal instincts, cat-like agility and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it acceleration. The smart support lines and canny game management. A six-try haul, and nearly a seventh in the final. Assists galore, putting one on a plate for Mentoe with a cute kick-pass to clinch the title. What can’t the kid do?

Like any young player, Pead will face sterner tests as he ascends the ranks. Senior teams will not afford him the same space around the fringes and get after him harder at ruck time.

But every U20s tournament has a breakout star, and watching Pead set the competition ablaze felt like witnessing the birth of greatness.

Dylan Pledger deserves a mention after backing up his fine 2024 tournament with a 2025 edition oozing quality.

1. Diego Correa (Argentina)

Two Argentine prop stars make our team, a nod to the Pumitas’ incredible and unabashed superiority in the tight.

Correa was at the tip of the wedge which twice dismantled the vaunted French pack, milking penalties and yellow cards from their beefy opponents.

2 Siphosethu Mnebelele (South Africa)

The South African pips New Zealand captain Maua Letiu. 

A massive prospect with his V8 engine and footballing nous. Explosive on the carry and in the tackles, he moves like an athlete, and was described as a “special player” by coach Foote.

Made 10 carries and 14 tackles in the showpiece match, adding an exclamation point to an influential campaign.

Mnebelele has been included in the Bulls Currie Cup squad released this week.

3. Tomas Rapetti (Argentina)

Argentina weren’t sure they’d have Rapetti available for the trip, since he was widely tipped for a spot in the Pumas squad to host England this month.

Instead, he took his scrummaging brutality and close-quarter grunt to Italy, pulverising set-pieces and laying the foundations for much of his side’s supremacy up front.

Has reportedly been snapped up by Toulouse, which says it all.

4. Riley Norton, captain (South Africa)

Before the tournament, each Junior Bok was asked to write down what kind of person, player and team-mate they wanted to be. Norton chose the word “kind” for the latter category. A polite, smiling workhorse from a rugby-mad family, he was head boy at Paul Roos and captained South Africa in age-grade cricket.

Don’t let the clean-cut, perfect son in law vibe fool you. Norton is a beast when the whistle blows. He made a whopping 23 tackles in the final and averaged more than 15 per game, putting him third in the overall charts. He was responsible for a couple of lineout pilfers and a whole load of the quiet donkey work which often goes unnoticed.

Xavier Treacy was similarly industrious for the Junior All Blacks, and Charles Kante Samba a menace in the French lineout.

5. Aisake Vakasiuola (New Zealand)

Selected for his seismic impacts off the bench and lineout nous. Often deployed behind Treacy and the abrasive Jayden Sa, Vakasiuola was all snarl and brawn when unleashed from the pine.

An enormous man – with enormous hair – he has the aerobic engine and anaerobic fast-twitch for repeat efforts in and out of possession.

JJ Theron and Gagui Margvelashvili soldiered manfully for South Africa and Georgia respectively.

6. Bathobele Hlekani (South Africa)

Enrolled at Maties, Hlekani often spends his downtime with the Norton family in Stellenbosch, as the journey back to his village is so long and painstaking. The Nortons adore him, although he does add substantially to their food bill.

Trying to tackle Hlekani is a bit like throwing yourself at a charging buffalo. He’s become a cult figure for those maniacal, shoulder-snapping charges, one of which teed up a memorable coast-to-coast try in the semi-final straight from an Argentina kick-off. Listed at 97kg by the Junior Boks, that figure looks a good 10kg short.

He’s not just a blunt instrument either. The handling, timing and offloading of these South African loose forwards has been beautiful to watch; precision melded to brute force.

Finn McLeod, grandson of the iconic Grizz Wylie, appears to have the tools to emulate his late relative and become an All Black. Connor Treacey was the pick of the bunch for England.

7. Nelson Casartelli (Italy)

Deployed at number eight during the championship having been on the flank for the Six Nations, Casartelli maintained his stellar 2025 output. Whether lunging through tackles on the hoof, wedged over ball or skittling carriers, the Italian was in irrepressible form.

Models his game on Manuel Zuliani and on this year’s evidence, has an excellent shot at following in the Benetton man’s footsteps and wearing the senior Azzurri shirt. Italy has a prolific recent record in bringing players through to the international arena and Casartelli is fully deserving of a crack at some URC minutes this coming season.

Freddie Douglas and Harry Beddall are more conventional opensides and each produced what we’ve come to expect: rugged defence and ruthless jackals.

8. Mikheili Shioshvili (Georgia)

‘Beast’ doesn’t come close. Shioshvili is a monstrous young man; a juggernaut with shoulders hewn from granite and legs like oak trees. This magnificent physique is underpinned by a fearsome will, a refusal to be halted or die with possession unless a few opponents have first been ironed out. It comes as no surprise that Shioshvili is also a boxing enthusiast and practises the noble art outside of his rugby commitments.

His relentlessness thrust Georgia forward again and again. Only Harvey carried the ball more often. Nobody – not even those gilded backs from the Republic – bettered his seven-try tally. And there were some truly vicious finishes among them from the Toulon espoir.

Terrifyingly, he’s young enough to play U20s next year, when an expanded 16-team tournament descends on his homeland.

Reuben Logan ploughed many furrows for the Scots, and Wandile Mlaba showcased his all-court game.

Comments

5 Comments
T
TokoRFC 9 days ago

Excellent article, thanks for also naming the the other candidates! I thought a couple of Frenchmen could have been mentioned despite under performing in the semi

B
BA 19 days ago

Jeesh there were so many good players across the tournament with the ball being chucked around everywhere was actually fun to see the big boi rugby in the final as both teams were able to adapt their game with both teams exciting backs being basically nullified compared to what had come before

D
DP 19 days ago

All these Bok candidates are against the spirit of the game.

J
Jimmy 18 days ago

👌

H
Hellhound 19 days ago

Must be😂

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