England U20 duo Jack Bracken and Junior K’poku have been named as the world’s top two U18 players for the 2024 schools rugby tournament.

The top 50 rankings released by NG rugby include 13 Australians, 12 New Zealanders, nine English, nine South Africans, three French, two Japanese and two Welsh.

Second-placed candidate Bracken is the son of former England scrumhalf Kyran, who played 51 games for his country and more than 100 for Saracens. The electric winger scored three goals on his debut for England Under-20s in this year’s tournament.

Number one player Junior K’poku joins Racing 92 and lives in Paris, having previously played for Exeter Chiefs, representing the club at the highest level.

The prodigious talent weighs 117kg and stands 1.98m tall. Speaking to RugbyPass earlier this year, K’poku revealed that two of his brothers play in France, one for Lyon and the other for Bourgoin.

@rugbypass Junior Kpoku is there in this #WorldRugbyU20s #rugby? original audio – RugbyPass

Both 18-year-olds were World U20 Champions in South Africa, with England U20 beating France U20 in the final. Both could feature at this level for years to come.

The third-placed candidate is Australian midfielder Joey Walsh, an age-group product of the Waratahs from St Augustine’s.

Unfortunately for Rugby Australia, this ‘special’ talent has transferred to the Manly Sea Eagles from 2025 and will follow the NRL path after school.

South Africa’s top player is in fourth place, while key player Alzeadon Felix from Grey College, South African schoolboy midfielder and Grey College teammate Pieter Van der Merwe is in sixth place.

New Zealand’s highest-ranked player is Hamilton Boys High School midfielder Hiraka Waitai-Hiranga, who is seeded eighth overall.

Waitai-Hiranga rose to stardom three seasons ago when Hamilton Boys were crowned champions at the 2022 World Schools Festival in Thailand.

The second five-eighth is also heading into rugby league with the New Zealand Warriors, with the team including him in their SG Ball U19 squad.

The next best player from New Zealand was Kelston Boys’ Jarrel Tuiamalo-Vaega, who came in at number 12 and did not make the top 10. He was ranked number 11.

You can find the full list of the world’s top 50 U18 prospects here.