Tournament details | |
---|---|
Host nation | Ireland |
Dates | 2007-04-04 – 2007-04-21 |
No. of nations | 24 |
Final positions | |
Champions | New Zealand |
Runner-up | South Africa |
Third-place | Australia |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 60 |
Top scorer(s) | Leigh Halfpenny Wales |
← 2006
|
The International Rugby Board (IRB) awarded the 2007 Under 19 Rugby World Championship to the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the Ulster branch hosted it. The Tournament, which took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland from 4–21 April, was split into two divisions of twelve teams. Division A games took place in Belfast at Belfast Harlequins' Deramore Park, Ulster Rugby's Ravenhill Stadium, and Cooke RFC/Instonians' Shaw's Bridge complex. Division B games were held in Queen's University of Belfast's The Dub complex and Malone RFC's Gibson Park in Belfast, and Bangor RFC's Upritchard Park in Bangor.
Defending champion and top seed Australia began its title defence against Ireland on 5 April as part of a Round One double-header at Ravenhill that also included number three seed New Zealand against France.
The seedings of all teams in Division A and the top six teams in Division B were based on the final standings at the 2006 Tournament. Seeds 7 – 12 inclusive in Division B represented teams who had qualified for 2007 via regional tournaments and their seeding was drawn randomly. All 24 participating teams were confirmed on January 2007.
This was the final Under 19 World Championship. The IRB decided to fold its under-19 and under-21 world championships into a two-tiered under-20 tournament structure starting in 2008. The top tier, the IRB Junior World Championship, will feature 16 teams, while eight teams will compete in the second-tier IRB Junior World Trophy.