England Rugby partners Canterbury and insurance business Vitality will support the future stars of the game at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Manchester this June 7-25.
Hosted by the RFU, the tournament take places at the AJ Bell Stadium, home of Sale Sharks, and Manchester City’s Academy Stadium.
The annual event, which took place in Italy last year, is contested by 12 national teams at under-20 level.
It’s offered a pathway for players to progress to the highest international test stage.
Since 2008, 24 senior England players have progressed through the U20s programme, including Henry Slade and Jack Nowell as well as Jack Clifford and Maro Itoje who were winning captains in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
RFU development director Steve Grainger says: “We are delighted to have the support of two of our valued partners in Canterbury and Vitality.
“The World Rugby U20 Championship offers us a real opportunity to carry on the growth of the game throughout the country, particularly in the north, so to have two partners of this prestige join us in supporting the event is a massive boost.”
