Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

New Zealand U20 begin quest for drought-breaking title against Wales

New Zealand lift the trophy after their victory during The Rugby Championship U20 Round 3 match between Australia and New Zealand at Sunshine Coast Stadium on May 12, 2024 in Sunshine Coast, Australia. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

Tournament hosts Australia U20s watched on at Sunshine Coast Stadium earlier this year as New Zealand U20s captain Vernon Bason collected one of the biggest trophies in rugby. The Kiwis had just won the inaugural Rugby Championship U20 title with a 36-25 victory.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bason celebrated the moment with the rest of the New Zealand squad by lifting the trophy in triumph, but they also knew the job wasn’t done just yet. This is a group that boasts both potential and skill, and they’ll be hungry to etch their names into the history books in South Africa.

As the captain made a note of after that match way back in May, the New Zealanders haven’t won World Rugby’s U20 Championship since 2017. France have taken hold of that tournament with a run of three titles on the bounce and they’ll be eager to make that four.

Video Spacer

Chasing the Sun on RugbyPass TV | RPTV

Chasing the Sun, the extraordinary documentary that traces the Springboks’ road to victory at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, is coming to RugbyPass TV.

Watch now

Video Spacer

Chasing the Sun on RugbyPass TV | RPTV

Chasing the Sun, the extraordinary documentary that traces the Springboks’ road to victory at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, is coming to RugbyPass TV.

Watch now

“We’ve 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 earlier this year.

“That’s something that… it’s been a long time since New Zealand U20s or the Baby Blacks have won that.

“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.”

New Zealand get their U20 Championship campaign underway against Wales U20 on Sunday morning (NZST). It’s a must-win matchup for the Kiwis who will also play defending champions France and Spain to round out pool play.

ADVERTISEMENT

Coach Jono Gibbes has made seven changes to the starting team that defeated Australia a couple of months ago, which includes a potentially significant omission in the backrow due to a tournament-ending injury.

Loosehead prop Will Martin will pack down in the front row along with captain Vernon Bason at hooker and tighthead Josh Smith. Tom Allen and Liam Jack have also retained their spots in the middle row following the win over Australia in May.

Following the injury to Waikato and Chiefs backrower Malachi Wrampling-Alec, the Baby Blacks have been forced into a bit of a backrow reshuffle with Johnny Lee shifting from openside flanker to No. 8.

Related

Tai Cribb comes into the run-on side at blindside flanker while Matt Lowe will carry the responsibility of wearing one of the most famous jersey numbers in New Zealand rugby after being name on the other side of the scrum.

ADVERTISEMENT

As for the backline, Dylan Pledger was fantastic during the inaugural Rugby Championship U20 which included a couple of tries. The Otago halfback will link up with tall first five-eighth Rico Simpson in the halves once again against the Welsh.

Other than the inclusion of try-scoring machine Stanley Solomon on the left wing, the rest of the backline looks completely different. Vice-captain Xavi Taele moves from outside centre into the No. 12 which sees Aki Tuivailala start in the No. 13 jumper.

Frank Vaenuku has got the nod to start on the right wing while the ever-reliable Sam Coles will line up at fullback. Coles played a starring role in New Zealand’s comeback win over Australia on the Sunshine Coast.

“I’m really pleased we arrived when we did so we could acclimatise, and then having a full contact hit out really blew the cobwebs out,” Jono Gibbes said in a statement.

“We were a bit clunky which was to be expected but it will hold us in good stead.

“We’ve watched (Wales) through the Six Nations and what we’ve seen is a good mix; strong set-piece play but also really strong play through the midfield and speed on the edge.”

This match in Cape Town is set to get underway at 5:00 am NZST on Sunday morning. Kiwis can watch on Sky Sport but the match will also be streamed live and free on RugbyPass TV for those outside of New Zealand and some other regions.

New Zealand U20 to take on Wales U20

  1. Will Martin
  2. Vernon Bason (c)
  3. Josh Smith
  4. Tom Allen
  5. Liam Jack
  6. Tai Cribb
  7. Matt Lowe
  8. Johnny Lee
  9. Dylan Pledger
  10. Rico Simpson
  11. Stanley Solomon
  12. Xavi Taele (vc)
  13. Aki Tuivailala
  14. Frank Vaenuku
  15. Sam Coles

Replacements

  1. A-One Lolofie
  2. Sika Pole
  3. Logan Wallace
  4. Cameron Christie
  5. Jeremiah Avei-Collin
  6. Riley Williams
  7. Cooper Grant
  8. Xavier Tito-Harris
ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose star midfielder Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
Search