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Baby Blacks remain focused with another ‘job to do’ at U20 Championship
By Finn Morton
They may have won the inaugural Rugby Championship U20 crown on Sunday but New Zealand U20 have “still got a job to do” in a matter of weeks as they look to end the nation’s title drought at the World Rugby U20 Championship.
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Hooker Asafo Aumua scored a hat-trick and other future All Blacks in Dalton Papali’i, Luke Jacobson and Stephen Perofeta also got on the scoresheet as New Zealand secured the 2017 world title with a 64-17 win over England.
But the Baby Blacks’ dominance at U20s level has taken a hit in the more recent tournaments. New Zealand have only finished as high as fourth on one occasion while France have emerged as the team to beat with three tiles in as many events.
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France, England, Ireland and Australia could very well be in the mix to take out the title in South Africa later this year, but there’s also every reason for New Zealanders to dare to dream of the U20s program returning to its former glory.
New Zealand took out the first-ever Rugby Championship U20 title with a thrilling 36-25 win over Australia on Sunday evening. It was all to play for in that decider but the Kiwis made the most of their opportunities as they overcame some hardships.
That’s one trophy locked away for another year but the Baby Blacks want more.
“We got the job done here, we’ll celebrate as a team but we’ll keep in mind we’ve still got a job to do later in the year,” captain Vernon Bason told RugbyPass on Sunday.
“That’s something that… it’s been a long time since New Zealand U20s or the Baby Blacks have won that.
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“Looking at this group, I think we’ve got real big potential to be able to break that streak and hopefully come away with it.”
With the massive trophy up for grabs, New Zealand were locked in a fierce battle with Australia midway through the second half. Junior Wallabies wing Will McCulloch had just scored his second try in three minutes to give the hosts a slender lead.
Baby Blacks captain Bason was replaced on the one-hour mark after putting in a solid shift, and in-form loose forward Malachi Wrampling-Alec followed just a few minutes later with what appeared to be a leg injury.
New Zealand were without their captain and star player, and they also trailed on the scoreboard. They had their backs up against the ropes, and their quest for Rugby Championship glory took another hit soon after with first five Rico Simpson shown a yellow card.
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“I was literally on the edge of my seat,” Bason reflected after the match.
But the men in black weren’t going to go down without a fight.
They threw everything at their opponents and eventually took the lead, with a final try to centre Xavi Taele with four minutes to play the icing on the cake.
Bason received the honour of becoming the first-ever captain to lift that trophy, and the New Zealanders burst into a state of euphoria as their skipper ran over to the squad with the gigantic trophy.
Meanwhile, about 20 metres away, the Junior Wallabies stood with blank looks on their face. They had come off second best in a thrilling battle against a worthy champion.
“I’m still pretty lost for words. It’s the first time ever this competition has been held and to be able to have New Zealand’s name on it first, it just gives us a lot of sense of pride.
“Over the moon. It took the full 80 to get that. It was something we had to work for, it wasn’t given to us. Just real happy.
“This specific tournament gives us great momentum carrying on into that South Africa (tournament), that World Cup later in the year,” he added.
“Just to be able to play different sides each week, different opponents and trying to get an understanding of how they like to strike, how they like to play.
“You take that into our books and how we can better ourselves.”
Not sure what the context was, but the highlights showed one scrum against Aussie where the baby Blacks were going backwards at a pace.
The pack has been the issue since 2017, so they might be in for another reality check soon. This tournament should really have been two rounds, would have learned a lot more.