Why two All Blacks coaches attended New Zealand U20 match in Australia

As the New Zealand U20s ran away for a convincing 43-20 win over Los Pumitas on Tuesday evening, All Blacks coaches Jason Ryan and Leon MacDonald watched on from the stands.

Ryan and MacDonald, who are both part of Scott Robertson’s New Zealand coaching staff, had helped put the Baby Blacks through their paces in Australia’s Sunshine Coast this last week.

With New Zealand U20s coach Jono Gibbes making some headline-changing selection changes following the draw with South Africa, new combinations were tested against the Argentinians.

The new-look halves duo of Dylan Pledger and Rico Simpson impressed in the statement 23-point victory, as did backrower Malachi Wrampling-Alec who ran in for a decisive double.

About 20 minutes after the match, you couldn’t have wiped the smile off Wrampling-Alec’s face. It was a “special” occasion with the New Zealand U20s notching up their first win of the year.

It seems the Baby Blacks have thrived under the tutelage of coaches Ryan and MacDonald while receiving an insight into “what could be in the future” within the All Blacks’ senior set-up.

“They’ve been in and around our camp helping us out, helping our management out this last week, even in Wellington as well,” Wrampling-Alec revealed in an interview with RugbyPass.

“It’s good to have that knowledge. They bring a lot of knowledge and it’s just exciting to see what could be in the future.

“They bring insight from the top and as young fellas, we’ve always got to take that in.

“I don’t think it’s too intimidating. They’re real nice, down-to-earth fellas and they just want what’s best for us.”

After a 13-all draw with South Africa in torrential conditions last week, New Zealand appeared eager to make amends while getting their Rugby Championship U20 campaign back on track.

The Kiwis couldn’t have gotten off to a better start against the Pumitas at Sunshine Coast Stadium with Dylan Pledger diving over for the opening score of the night after 74 seconds.

Wrampling-Alec then crossed for a try in both the fifth and 24^th minutes as the New Zealanders ran up a commanding lead, and they continued to run away with it after the half-time break.

Andrew Smith scored four minutes into the half, and another two tries for the New Zealand U20’s later on helped secure a bonus point which has seen them rise into first on the standings.

“Yeah it’s our first win as a group this year so (it’s a) pretty special to win anytime but the first one for the year is definitely special,” Wrampling-Alec said.

“We nailed our prep, I think, coming into the week,” he continued. “We knew that this was going to be a grudge match, Argentina were going to come in really emotional, really passionate.

“Just nailing our prep helped out there and it showed.”

With the Junior Wallabies beating the Junior Springboks by five points in the other game on Sunday evening, the New Zealanders sit outright in pole position on the ladder.

Argentina and Australia have a win each while South Africa has a record of one win and a draw from two starts. But it’s all to play for in match-day three at the same venue this Sunday night.

New Zealand U20s can claim the inaugural Rugby Championship U20 crown with a bonus point win over their arch-rivals Australia, but every team is still a mathematical chance to win.

But for the Baby Blacks, the message is simple this week: “We’ll just be focused on ourselves this next week.

“(We’ll) look to finish off our campaign strong. We know the Aussies will be hurting after game one and it’ll be interesting just to see how they go against South Africa today.

“I think we’ll just nail our prep this week and we’re good to go.”