U20 Six Nations - Players to Watch

Whilst excitement levels are understandably peaking for the 2018 edition of the Six Nations, it’s younger counterpart, the U20 Six Nations, is also set to kick-off this weekend.

It provides not only fans with a glimpse into the future of their respective national teams, but it is also a hugely important competition for coaches and rugby recruitment folks, who get an opportunity to see some of the most talented youngsters on the planet step up to a new level and witness how they cope in an environment different to the one they have been nurtured in as schoolboys and academy members.

England will be keen to defend the title they won last season and maintain their stranglehold on the tournament, having won it six out of the 10 times it has been contested, but there will be plenty of competition this season, with the Welsh and French squads looking particularly strong on paper.

We have picked out a player from each nation to keep an eye on over the next seven weeks.

Ben Loader, England and London Irish

People are well-aware of Ben Earl and Ben Curry thanks to their impact in senior rugby and Gabriel ibitoye was a Junior World Player of the Year nominee last season, so we have gone with a newcomer to the set-up in Loader.

This talented wing has already started to see senior rugby in the Challenge Cup, an impressive feat given that he is in his first year out of school, and has the perfect blend of size, agility and speed to develop into a well-rounded player at the senior level. He is also comfortable playing at full-back and the chemistry between him and fellow London Irish player Tom Parton, England’s incumbent full-back, could be something to watch this season.

Big and brutal ball-carriers Sam Moore and Tom Willis will be prominent in England’s back-row, too, whilst early impressions are that Marcus Street could be something special at tighthead prop, if he continues to develop.

Cameron Woki, France and Bordeaux Bègles

There are certain trends that permeate nations at this level and one of those is that France will always have a cadre of talented scrum-halves. That is no different this year, with Arthur Coville particularly worth watching, but we’ve gone for a back-rower in Woki.

Another product of the RC Massy club, who helped develop Sekou Macalou, Yacouba Camara and Judicaël Cancoriet, Woki is similar in style to Macalou, with the speed to be dynamic in the loose and the height and reach to be a valued weapon at the lineout. That highly-prized combination has already seen him start to feature semi-regularly for Bordeaux in the Top 14 and Challenge Cup.

It’ll be an interesting couple of years for Woki, who will have to manage the requirements to put on more weight at the senior level, but who will hopefully not lose that dynamism he currently has. He is in a good situation at Bordeaux, in fairness, with the club having proven to be very trusting of younger players in the senior squad.

Ronan Kelleher, Ireland and Leinster

Kelleher went a little under the radar last season, with the bigger talking point in Ireland being Tadgh McElroy’s omission from the World Rugby U20 Championship squad due to his impending move to Saracens, but that shouldn’t detract from what was an impressive season from Kelleher.

The hooker stepped up well in McElroy’s absence and took hold of the jersey out in Georgia and now returns in his second year, ready to make a statement and throw his hat into the mix as a prospect to compete with Niall Scannell, Rhys Marshall and the other senior hookers after the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Look for a solid set-piece and bullocking runs from Kelleher to be at the heart of Ireland’s efforts this season.

The fly-half duel between Harry Byrne and Angus Curtis will also be something worth watching, as are powerful props James French and Jack Aungier.

Antonio Rizzi, Italy and Petrarca

Alongside tighthead Marco Riccioni and No 8 Giovanni Licata, Rizzi was one of the three standout players for Italy last season, pulling the strings at fly-half and helping make Italy look a more threatening proposition than they often are at this level.

Trying to find a genuine “franchise” fly-half has been a persistent issue for Italy since the days of Diego Domínguez and though you don’t want to put that kind of pressure on young shoulders, Rizzi is arguably the most polished-looking stand-off Italy have had at this age-grade. He needs to back up what he showed last season with another good campaign this year, but he must be a player well on the radar of Conor O’Shea and Mike Catt.

If he can exhibit an improved level of control in this tournament, a skill he will certainly need in senior rugby, it could go a long way towards Benetton or Zebre trusting him in a role at fly-half.

Callum McLelland, Scotland and Edinburgh

There are a lot of interesting inclusions in the Scotland side this year, including highly-rated South African prop Nathan McBeth, former Premiership U18 standouts Devante Onojaife, Charlie Chapman and Sam Yawayawa and the French-based pairing of Ewan Johnson and Charlie Gowling.

McLelland, though, has an interesting backstory of his own, converting from rugby league, where he was highly thought of at Castleford Tigers and previously represented England at age-grade levels. It’s a transition that usually occurs a little later in a player’s career but moving over early and getting the opportunity to learn his craft at this level seems like a wise move.

Honestly, we are taking a bit of a punt here on McLelland, with minimal knowledge of his ability in union, but it certainly makes him an interesting player to watch over the next seven weeks, not only to see how he is adapting to union, but also to see what skills he brings from the 13-man code.

Corey Baldwin, Wales and Scarlets

No shortage of players to mention here, particularly with standouts like Rhys Carre, Ryan Conbeer and Max Williams all returning from last season.

Wales have had no trouble whatsoever at producing physically-gifted back line players in recent years and if you combine that with the focus that the Scarlets put on technical ability and being comfortable playing at pace, the result is a player like Baldwin. He has already featured for the Scarlets this season in the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the combination he should form with his regional teammate Conbeer could be electrifying at this level.

When Owen Watkin came through the U20 set-up a couple of years ago, you could see there was something different about him and that same combination of ability and self-confidence can be found in Baldwin, who will certainly make people sit up and take notice this year.