Beaumont Looking Forward To World Rugby U20s

Beaumont was at the launch of the tournament at Manchester Town Hall on Saturday, with all the captains and coaches of participating nations. The tournament begins tomorrow afternoon at the AJ Bell Stadium and the Etihad Academy Stadium.

Beaumont: "I cannot wait for it all to begin. It's exciting when the best young talent in the world are on your own doorstep so it should make for some brilliant games.

"I'm very pleased to see all the clubs in the region getting involved in the competition. I was very keen when we were organising it, that it came here to the North West and came to Manchester, as it's one of the great sporting cities.

"Unfortunately with the World Cup, we weren't able to hold as many games as we would have liked, but it's an opportunity for Mancunians, people from Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria to come watch some great rugby."

He added: "When you look at the past tournaments, all the superstars that play today have come through this tournament - if you look at the current England team: Maro Itoje, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jack Nowell, Jack Clifford, Henry Slade - they all started with the U20's."

Focusing on the teams in the tournament, Beaumont tipped one home nation to do well: "England were disappointing in the Six Nations, but they've got players back now, so hopefully we'll be stronger, so I look forward to England doing well.

"But in any tournament like this, you've got to get passed Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa - and they are pretty formidable at this age group."

See the Future Stars of Rugby at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Manchester this June. For more information, including how to buy tickets, visit www.englandrugby.com/u20championships #FutureStarsofRugby