2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship
The 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the ninth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in England by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations took part in the tournament, which was held at two venues in Greater Manchester—AJ Bell Stadium in Salford and Manchester City Academy Stadium in Manchester. New Zealand went into the tournament as defending champions. The competition was won by hosts England.
Teams
The following teams participated in the 2016 World Rugby U20 Championship:| Pool | Team | No of Tournaments | Position 2015 | Position 2016 | Previous best result | Notes |
| A | 1 | DNP | 10th | n/a | Promoted from 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Trophy | |
| A | 9 | 7th | 2nd | Fourth | ||
| A | 9 | 1st | 5th | Champions | ||
| A | 9 | 6th | 7th | Runners-up | ||
| B | 9 | 5th | 6th | Runners-up | ||
| B | 9 | 2nd | 1st | Champions | ||
| B | 7 | 11th | 11th | Eleventh | ||
| B | 9 | 8th | 8th | Eighth | ||
| C | 9 | 9th | 3rd | Fourth | ||
| C | 9 | 4th | 9th | Fourth | ||
| C | 4 | 10th | 12th | Tenth | Relegated to 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Trophy | |
| C | 9 | 3rd | 4th | Champions |
Match officials
The following officials oversaw the thirty matches:;Referees
- Andrew Brace
- Thomas Charabas
- Graham Cooper
- Craig Evans
- Cwengile Jadezweni
- Craig Maxwell-Keys
- Elia Rizzo
- Juan Sylvestre
- Paul Williams
- Peter Allan
- Paul Dix
- Tom Foley
- Greg Garner
- Andrew Jackson
- Greg MacDonald
- John Meredith
- Matthew O'Grady
- Ian Tempest
- Phil Watters
- Paul Adams
- Trevor Fisher
- David Grashoff
- Rowan Kitt
- Keith Lewis
- John Mason
- David Rose
- David Sainsbury
- Stuart Terheege
- Geoff Warren
Pool stage
The fixtures were released in December 2015.All times are in British Summer Time
Points were awarded in the Pool Stage via the standard points system: 4 points for a win2 points for a draw1 bonus scoring point for scoring 4 or more tries1 bonus losing point for losing by 7 or less points0 points for a loss above 7 points
If at completion of the Pool Stage two or more teams were level on points, the following tiebreakers were applied:
- The winner of the Match in which the two tied Teams have played each other;
- The Team which has the best difference between points scored for and points scored against in all its Pool Matches;
- The Team which has the best difference between tries scored for and tries scored against in all its Pool Matches;
- The Team which has scored most points in all its Pool Matches;
- The Team which has scored most tries in all its Pool Matches; and
- If none of the above produce a result, then it will be resolved with a toss of a coin.