World Rugby Statement: Ireland – Australia match cancelled

Due to heavy rainfall in the Cape Town region on Tuesday 9 July, the pitch at Athlone Stadium has been assessed in partnership with organisers and match officials and currently declared not safe to play. As a result, the first match scheduled at this venue between Ireland U20 and Australia U20 has been cancelled and as per the tournament rules, both teams have been awarded two competition points.

The pitch will be assessed again ahead of the two remaining World Rugby U20 Championship matches due to take place at this venue and will only go ahead if the weather conditions improve, and the pitch is sufficiently drained for rugby to be played in safe conditions.

Update on World Rugby U20 Championship (15:55 GMT+2)

After further assessments made by organisers and match officials at Athlone Stadium, the pitch has been sufficiently drained to allow rugby to resume in safe conditions.

World Rugby U20 Championship matches remaining at the venue including France U20 v Wales U20 (16:30 GMT+2) and South Africa U20 v England U20 (19:00 GMT+2) will go ahead as scheduled.

Weather and pitch conditions will continue to be monitored closely through the rest of the day.

World Rugby U20 Championship – Match Day 3 
Athlone Stadium

• 14:00 – Ireland U20 v Australia U20 – Cancelled
• 16:30 – France U20 v Wales U20 – Confirmed
• 19:00 – South Africa U20 v England U20 – Confirmed

A fans poll has ranked rugby’s five biggest d***heads

We all love to hate. For every force of good there is in rugby union, there is an equal force of bad to provide balance. A yin to their yang. For every hero, a villain.

As much fun as it is to see the sport’s most treasured icons succeed, audiences can sometimes take equal pleasure in seeing a star plummet from the heavens and fall to the depths below.

We’ve ran a poll to discover who, whether it be for their antics on or off the pitch, have developed an unenviable reputation in the game.

Find out the top five below.

#5. Dan Biggar (Wales)

Biggar is the epitome of players you hate until they are on your team.The way the fly-half continues to moan to referees vociferously has seemingly only got worse throughout his career. It got so bad that popular online personality and diehard Scotland fan Glove39 made a video called ‘birdman’ mocking the way in which he always raises his arms in frustration to officials.

Dan Biggar facts:

1. Biggar has twice been selected to tour with the British and Irish Lions (2017 & 2021)
2. On 7 December 2015, Biggar won the BBC Cymru Sports Personality of the Year Award
3. Biggar came through the Ospreys development pathway, having attended Gowerton Comprehensive School in Swansea
4. The fly-half has his own routine before kicking goals, which fans now call “The Biggarena” after Los Del Rio’s 1995 hit, Macarena

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