USA Men's Age-Grade Update
USA Men's Age-Grade Update
World Rugby will not be holding a World Rugby Trophy this year, and will instead implement plans to expand the U20 World Championship for 2026.
What that does, however, is leave a bunch of national U20 programs without a specific competition and, crucially, a funded competition.
USA Rugby is one of those countries and while the organization will be looking at games for their U18s, they have to deal with the U20s.
The plan? Develop for the U20s in 2026.
Every year, USA Rugby South Panthers through their Panther Rugby Academy have fielded the USA's team in the Rugby Americas North U19 tournament against full national U19 teams from Mexico and the Caribbean (generally Canada does not compete). But this year, the USA entry will be a full USA U19 team.
That team is slated to be picked now—players are being informed of their selection and their availability is being established. They will assemble on US soil in July to train for a period of days and then will travel to Mexico to compete in the tournament.
The format in previous years has been for there to be a two-game day on Day One—games would be shortened to fit into World Rugby's U19 time limits.
Then a few days later the placement games would be held. It's possible this format could be changed depending on what teams participate.
The intense schedule means all players will be needed. And while the USA would be favored in the RAN U19s, the plan behind all of this is to foster unity of purpose for these U19 players as they look ahead to a new U20 competition in 2026.
