Dubai To Stage U-19 World Championship
The IRB Under-19 World Championship will break new ground in 2006 by being hosted by the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union in Dubai.
Action from last season’s U-19 tournament in South Africa
The IRB Under-19 World Championship will break new ground in 2006 by being hosted by the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union in Dubai.
It will be the first time ever the Middle East has staged a World Championshp rugby tournament.
The U-19 event, sponsored by Emirates Airlines, is the the first held outside of rugby’s senior tier one nations at this level, and will run from April 4-21, next year.
Mark Egan, IRB Head of Rugby Services, himself a former Irish international at Under-21 and Under-25 levels, said: “Dubai has already proved it can host major international sporting events and we are very pleased that the best Under-19 rugby players on the world stage will be on display in such a thriving sporting metropolis.
The IRB Under-19 World Championship gives rugby’s rising talent exposure to competitive tournament conditions at an early age and some of the players who will compete in Dubai next year will be among the international stars of the future.”
“The IRB has invested significant resources in Under-19 rugby across all of its international Regional Associations and the annual World Championship is the pinnacle of this age grade strategy,” he added.
Ireland secured ninth place at last April’s Under-19 Championships in Durban, beating Scotland 15-8 on the final day.