There has been a change of venue for Ireland U20s' final pool stage game at the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa.
There were three games - Ireland U20 vs Fiji U20, Italy U20 vs Georgia U20, New Zealand U20 vs Japan U20 - scheduled to played at Paarl Gymnasium next Tuesday.
All three matches have now been moved to the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch.
South Africa's winter weather has been bad in the Southern region around Cape Town, and Ireland felt the full effects in their muddy second-half against Australia last Thursday.
Italy and South Africa had it particularly bad, however, as their match was after Ireland's game, and New Zealand vs France, making the pitch practically unplayable by the end of the day.
Italy players are overcome with emotion after their stunning #worldrugbyu20s win over South Africa pic.twitter.com/Eu7f0Qqz3D
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 30, 2023
The move is particularly good news for Ireland as it will give them a better chance at running up a big score on Fiji.
They may not need a big score, depending on the result of England vs Australia, and a win will suffice if Australia are also victorious.
However, Ireland's game kicks-off 30 minutes before England, and they will have to assume that England will win by a comfortable scoreline of 10-20 points.
This means that Ireland will have to run up a big score on Fiji if they are to secure the second seed and avoid France in the semi finals.
Change Of Venue For The Ireland U20s
29 June 2023; Brian Gleeson of Ireland beats the tackle of Max Craig of Australia during the U20 Rugby World Cup match between Australia and Ireland at Paarl Gymnasium in Paarl, South Africa. Photo by Thinus Maritz/Sportsfile
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Tournament director Simon Keeble made the following announcement on the change of venue:
"Following on from match day two and the inclement weather that affected the tournament, we have made the decision to give the facility at Paarl Gimnasium a rest for match day three to ensure where possible that the best available playing surfaces are utilised.
“For match day three, kick-off timings will remain the same, but Danie Craven will be utilised instead of Paarl. Athlone Stadium for match day three will remain as planned.
"It is then anticipated to return to Paarl for match day four and rest Danie Craven, with kick-off timings brought forward as per the other games at Paarl.”
SEE ALSO: What The Ireland U20s Need To Do To Make The World Championship Semis
