The competition is hosted annually by Rugby Australia and players must meet an under-19 age requirement.Previously, this tournament was played closer in time to the World Junior Championship and used an under-20 age requirement.[1] The first National U20 Rugby Championship was played in 2014,[2][3] and was contested by teams from New South Wales, Queensland and an Australian Barbarians side (selected from the other states and territories).[4][5] The competition was played over two stages, with a Southern States U20 Championship held in March for teams from ACT, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, as well as New South Wales Country and Queensland Country.[8] In 2018 the competition was changed to an Under-19 championship played six months earlier in the lead in to the Junior Wallabies campaign for the Oceania and World Rugby tournaments.