THE format and fixtures for July’s European Rugby League Under 19 Championship, in which Canada have taken the place of late withdrawals USA, have been confirmed.
Ten teams are involved at CREPS Font Romeu, in the Pyrenees, France, the number setting a poser for administrators in terms of the format and logistics.
The competition will involve six teams in the Championship (comprising three sides each in Pool A and Pool B) with another four contesting the European Shield.
Defending champions England are in Pool A, alongside Scotland and Serbia. Hosts France, together with Ukraine and Wales, are in Pool B. Seedings are in line with results from the last tournament, in 2024.
Teams will play the three nations in the opposite group, with results merged into one league table and the first-placed team awarded the Championship title.
In the Shield, nations will play each other once. The side heading the final table will take the trophy.
Canada, Greece, Ireland and Norway will take part in the European Shield, with the winner guaranteed promotion to the 2028 Championship. Subject to the number of nations applying for that, there may be relegation from this season’s Championship.
“Having ten nations competing has been challenging in terms of formatting and logistics but it has been a great problem to have, and I’m delighted to see the tournament continuing to grow,” said ERL chair Dean Andrew.
Matches will be played on three days, with five games taking place each day.
Hosts France open their campaign on Sunday, July 12 against Scotland in a repeat of 2024’s feisty semi-final, while England face Ukraine in another semi-final repeat and Wales meet Serbia.
Round two, on Wednesday 15, involves England against Wales, Scotland versus Ukraine and France against Serbia.
In the final round, on Saturday 18, Serbia play Ukraine, Scotland meet Wales (who have prevailed in the last two games between the sides) and France clash with England in a potential title decider, the previous three encounters between the sides having a margin of fewer than seven points.
In the Shield, on day one, Greece will make their debut against Ireland, while Norway come up against Canada, before Greece meet Canada in round two as Norway face Ireland. On the final day, Norway and Greece open the proceedings before Canada and Ireland do battle.
Andrew said: “Several of the nations have told me how important the tournament has been not only in inspiring youth players to work hard and achieve selection, but also to their player pathways into their senior teams.
“Thanks to early organisation by the French Rugby League Federation, we’ve been able to work further in advance to give them all greater preparation time than they have experienced in previous years. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the fruits of that on the field.”
Fixtures
Sunday 12 July
Championship: England v Ukraine (2pm); France v Scotland (4pm); Serbia v Wales (6pm).
Shield: Greece v Ireland (10am); Norway v Canada (noon).
Wednesday 15 July
Championship: Scotland v Ukraine (2pm); France v Serbia (4pm); England v Wales (6pm).
Shield: Norway v Ireland (10am); Canada v Greece (noon).
Saturday 18 July
Championship: Serbia v Ukraine (2pm); Scotland v Wales (4pm); France v England (6pm).
Shield: Greece v Norway (10am); Canada v Ireland (noon).