World Rugby have confirmed that the Pool C finale between the Junior Springboks and England at Athlone will go ahead as scheduled on Tuesday night.
Heavy rainfall in Cape Town on Tuesday resulted in the pitch at Athlone stadium being flooded and as a result, the first U20 World Championship game of the day between Ireland and Australia was called off.
As per the tournament rules, both teams were awarded two competition points, with Ireland securing their place in the tournament semi-finals.
However, after re-assessing the conditions, World Rugby officials determined that the pitch at Athlone had drained sufficiently to allow the final two games on Tuesday to go ahead.
This means that France U20 vs Wales U20 (4.30pm) and South Africa U20 v England U20 (7pm) will continue as scheduled.
The decision could be crucial, with the Junior Springboks needing a bonus-point victory over England to stand a chance of progressing to the playoffs.
If the game is called off, shared points between South Africa and England would mean that the hosts would not exit their pool.
The last time the Junior Springboks failed to make the U20 World Championship semi-finals was in 2011 in Italy.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
