Rugby Africa is proud to be hosting the World Rugby U20 Trophy and I am personally honoured to be presenting the Trophy on behalf of the World Rugby Chairman.
We are anticipating a thrilling final match day and the fitting end to an excellently hosted event in Nairobi, showcasing the capability of African unions on the world stage.
I would also like to congratulate Kenya and Zimbabwe on reaching the Bronze Final, a fantastic achievement and a strong reflection of future potential. They have done their nations proud.
We have seen some outstanding rugby by the future stars of our game. Many will progress from this platform to win full senior international honours, which is exciting
The World Rugby U20 Trophy is an important event in World Rugby’s global growth strategy, enabling more unions to be exposed to a higher level of competition.
Importantly, it provides an important transparent pathway for unions to qualify for the Championship, which either Spain or Uruguay will do today.
This approach is underpinned by Regional competition and Rugby Africa works in partnership with World Rugby to develop pathways and structures that support the needs of our unions.
I would like to thank everyone involved in the hosting of this event for their dedication and enthusiasm. Together, we have shown the best of Rugby, the best of Africa and the best of Kenya.
World Rugby relationship
We share the same vision as World Rugby for a global sport for all.
We must all work together to ensure that rugby is accessible and relevant to attract new participants, audiences and investment.
60% of the sport’s revenues come from two nations and 80 per cent of the world’s players come from 20 nations. We are encouraged that World Rugby wants to change that and has implemented a 10 year growth strategy that focuses on growth markets, women and youth.
It is important that we maintain the high level of collaboration with World Rugby to identify opportunities for Africa on the global stage, not just as an event host, but as a vibrant rugby region with growing unions, a passionate fanbase and huge commercial potential.
We are also encouraged by ongoing plans to revamp the international rugby calendar for men and women, providing a genuine pathways for all. This is fundamental to growth.
We are meeting with World Rugby in London next week and look forward to those discussions.
World Rugby event hosting
This Trophy has demonstrated that African nations are excellent hosts.
We are a rich and diverse region full of potential and look forward to exploring with World Rugby how we can continue to bring marquee events to the region.
We would love to see a women’s or men’s Rugby World Cup hosted in Africa.
