The U20 Rugby World Cup semi-finals will take place on Sunday, 9 July and hosts South Africa involved. The Junior Boks are the only southern hemisphere side in the last four, though, with France, England and Ireland the other three nations still in the running to lift the trophy.

But who will they play in the semi-final? And who is in the other last four game? Here’s all you need to know

Read more: How to watch the U20 Rugby World Cup semi-finals

U20 Rugby World Cup semi-final fixtures

Both semi-finals will take place on Sunday and be played at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. The fixtures are:

Ireland v South Africa, kick-off 3.30pm BST

France v England, kick-off 6pm BST

Each team has had a different journey to securing their semi-final spot.

Ireland

Ireland topped their pool after winning two pool matches and drawing one. But their campaign has been overshadowed by two tragedies that have hit the squad.

Former Scotland international scrum-half Greig Oliver, who was at the tournament watching his son Jack represent Ireland, died in a paragliding accident.

And the team are also mourning the deaths of Andrew O’Donnell and Max Wall, two teenagers known to the squad who have died in Greece.

Ireland have also had to deal with injuries and bans to players. Stars like Harry West and Ruadhán Quinn have sustained injuries while James McNabney and replacement Rory Telfer were banned after their match with Australia. They joined Hugh Cooney, who had already been banned after Ireland’s match against England.

South Africa

South Africa put in a heroic late performance to secure their last four spot.

The team were losing their final pool match 16-7 at half-time against Argentina. However, a valiant effort in the second 40 saw them win the match 24-16 to pip Georgia off the top spot in the pool.

France

France head into the semi-finals as the top seed after winning all three of their pool matches. One of their most impressive performances came against New Zealand where they won 35-14.

One of their breakout stars Posolo Tuilagi won Player of the Match after scoring two tries. If France do eventually lift the trophy it will be their third successive U20 World Cup win stretching across five years. This is the first U20 World Cup since 2019 due to Covid.

England

England qualified for the last four by the skin of their teeth. In their final pool game they conceded a late try against Australia to draw 22-22 which meant they had to wait for other results to come in. England were second in their group and only the best runner-up qualified. They made it through but face a tough opponent in favourites France.

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