France and Australia will square off in the 2019 IRB Under 20 Championship Final on Saturday the 22nd of June.
Reigning champions France will take on an impressive Australian side with the victor set to claim the 2019 IRB Under 20 Championship title. Both teams impressed in the semi-finals and this game promises to be one for the ages.
France v Australia
Saturday 22 June
Racecourse Stadium
20:30
To Win (80 Mins)
France 11/8
Draw 25/1
Australia 8/13
*Forecast Odds
Handicap
France (+2.5) 17/20
Australia (-2.5) 17/20
*Forecast Handicap
France
The reigning champions have delivered the goods again this year putting in some solid shifts on their run to the final. While they did lose to Argentina 26-47 in the pool phase their other three games have seen them run out comfortable victors beating Wales 32-13, Fiji 36-20 and South Africa 7-20 in the semi-finals.
Le Bleu really did catch the eye against South Africa in the semi-finals. Their defensive structure was excellent while their kicking game was on point. A special mention must go to fullback Lebel Matthis Lebel who was dangerous on the counter and picked up a heap of running metres on the kick return.
Australia
The Australians find themselves in their first final since 2010. Ironically enough, that finals appearance came when Argentina were also the host nation. It didn’t end well for the Junior Wallabies on that occasion as they went down 62-17 to cross-Tasman rivals New Zealand.
This Australian side is well-equipped to vanquish the ghosts of 2010, however, and they have displayed that with their on-field performances this year. They beat New Zealand on their way win this year’s Oceania Championship and then topped their pool in the Junior Championship beating Ireland 45-17 and Italy 36-12 before a suffering a heavy defeat to the English. They bounced back from that loss in style, however, beating Argentina 13-34 in the semi-finals.
Verdict: France (+2.5) 17/20 *Forecast Handicap
This should be an extremely tight final with both teams possessing solid defences. I can see France staying within the handicap.
