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Australia-France final set to delight on Saturday as Under-20 Championship draws to a close

Australia's Fraser McReight is hoping to add the World Rugby Under-20 Championship trophy in Argentina to the Oceania Championship cup clinched versus New Zealand in May on the Gold Coast (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

World Rugby’s Under-20 Championship semi-finals turned out to be a bit of damp squib due to inclement weather in Rosario, but they have laid the foundations for what promises to be a thoroughly compelling final on Saturday.

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Australia were the first to book their places in the competition’s showpiece event thanks to a 34-13 victory over hosts Argentina. They once again rode their luck with a red card, albeit this time they had to cope for just the 38 minutes rather than the 78 that they were down to 14 men for against England.

Joining the Junior Wallabies in the final are France, the reigning champions who saw off a strong South African side 20-7 in their semi-final later.

The Junior Springboks will feel like they didn’t fire enough shots, especially after having looked impressive in their three straight wins in the group stage. However, there is no denying that France were the much better team on the day.

It’s been an interesting year in the under-20s grade. No one team has stood out as clear front-runners, and a number of teams are all capable of beating one another on the right day. That said, if one team has managed to distance themselves from the pack, it has arguably been Australia.

The Junior Wallabies put in a clean sweep at the Oceania Under-20 Championship, beating Japan, Fiji and New Zealand. That secured them their first title in that tournament’s five-year history, with New Zealand having won the competition in every other year of its existence.

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Australia then backed that up this month with comfortable and composed victories in Argentina over Italy and Ireland in the group stage. The one derailing of their train came at the hands of England in the final group match, although that was heavily influenced by the second-minute red card picked up by Patrick Tafa.

Prior to that pool finale, England had been having a below-par tournament. With a man advantage, they played their best rugby of the competition and managed to put 56 points on the young Australians. The Junior Wallabies did respond with 33 points of their own and showed plenty of heart despite being outmatched on the day.

The semi-final win over Argentina righted the ship for Australia, with Jason Gilmore’s side showing much better control and execution in the Rosario deluge despite once again being plagued by indiscipline reducing them to 14 players.

It’s not a criticism that can solely be levelled against Australia. A number of teams have struggled to deal with the new decision-making framework that surrounds high tackles at the tournament, but it is certainly something they will need to clean up if they are to clinch their first-ever World Rugby Under-20 Championship title.

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Australia’s only other final appearance came in 2010, coincidentally the last time the tournament was hosted by Argentina. They were comfortably beaten by New Zealand on that occasion and it was followed by a tough time for Australia.

Their best performance since then until 2019 was a third-place finish in 2011, with the Junior Wallabies failing to make the semi-finals for seven years until this month’s breakthrough.

France, meanwhile, have been almost the opposite of Australia over those years. Having failed to make much impact in the tournament’s formative seasons, they have since become an age-grade powerhouse.

Not only did France win the competition last year on home soil, but they have also begun pumping out major contributors to the Top 14 and a number of these young talents have already put their hands up for senior international selection.

There is plenty of consistency in the French side from the group that won the title last year, with Jordan Joseph, Louis Carbonel, Julien Delbouis, Jean-Baptiste Gros and Killian Geraci spearheading the squad’s bid for back-to-back titles this year.

Tighthead prop Demba Bamba, who has since graduated to the French senior side, has been missed at scrum time as the French set-piece isn’t as destructive as it was last year.

Romain Ntamack’s playmaking has also not been replaced and there is a larger burden on Carbonel to pull the strings in the back line. Despite the team not performing as dominantly this season, they are still a very dangerous group, one that is more than capable of lifting the trophy.

Australia find themselves in a similar situation. A number of second-year players are leading the way and face their last shot at glory at this level.

Captain Fraser McReight has been in sensationally good form throughout the competition and has arguably been the stand-out player in Argentina over the first four matchdays.

Alongside back row colleagues Will Harris and Harry Wilson, the Australian loose forward trio has shone. But they will certainly have their work cut out keeping Joseph quiet in the final. The success he and Bamba had in last year’s final against England was crucial to France lifting their first ever title at this level.

Front rowers’ Angus Bell and Lachlan Lonergan have stood out with their work in the loose and will again need to be effective as the French pack comfortably exerted their physicality on South Africa in the semi-final, something which was no mean feat given the quality in the Junior Springboks side.

One area where Australia may fancy themselves enjoying an advantage is in the midfield where Noah Lolesio and Semisi Tupou have been the most cohesive centre pairing we have seen at the tournament so far.

Coupled with Isaac Lucas’ proclivity for popping up in the back line and helping link the midfield with the wings, Australia have looked just as good in space as their forwards have looked in the tight.

The biggest blow to the Junior Wallabies’ hopes comes in the form of missing fly-half Will Harrison, who had played with aplomb against Italy and Ireland before suffering a concussion against England. He missed the semi-final win over Argentina and, based on the protocols around return to play, will also miss the decider against France.

Ben Donaldson coped well at fly-half against Argentina, but in Carbonel he will find himself up against a very composed operator, someone whose senior experience clearly shines through in his play at this level.

France’s threats in the midfield might not be quite as potent as Australia’s, but if the French pack can deliver front-foot ball, Carbonel is more than capable of running a back line that can cause the Junior Wallabies plenty of problems.

Whichever way the result goes on Saturday, the future looks bright for both of these teams, with a number of the individuals involved potentially going on to win senior caps as soon as next year when international Test teams begin to build for the 2023 Rugby World Cup cycle.

One interesting attendee at Australia’s semi-final win over Argentina? Eddie Jones.

Whether the Australian was just enjoying his native nation prospering at this level, taking in Argentina as a guest of Daniel Hourcade, or eyeing the future strength of the Wallabies, the England head coach will certainly have been impressed by what he saw in Rosario.

WATCH: The new RugbyPass documentary, Going Pro, about the Saracens women’s team and their successful attempt to win back to back English titles

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H
Hellhound 40 minutes ago
South Africa player ratings | 2024 Autumn Nations Series

There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.


Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.


Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.


They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.


Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.


Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen

4 Go to comments
J
JW 55 minutes ago
'They smelt it': Scott Robertson says Italy sensed All Blacks' vulnerability

No where to be seen OB!


The crosses for me for the year where (from memory);


This was a really hard one to nail down as the first sign of a problem, now that I've asked myself to think about it. I'd say it all started with his decision to not back form and fit players after all the injuries, and/or him picking players for the future, rather ones that could play right now.


First he doesn't replace Perofeta straight away (goes on for months in the team) after injury against England, second he falls back to Beauden Barrett to cover at fullback against Fiji, then he drops Narawa the obvious choice to have started, then he brings in Jordan too soon. That Barret selection (and to a lesser extent Bell's) set the tone for the year.


Then he didn't get the side up for Argentina. They were blown away and didn't look like they expected a fight and were well beaten despite the scoreline in my opinion. Worst performance of the year in the forth game and..


Basically the same problems were persistent, or even exaggerated, after that with the players he did select not given much of an opportunity, with this year having the most number of unused subs I can remember since the amateur days.


What I think I started to realise early on was that he didn't back himself and his team. I think he prepared the players well, don't get me wrong, but I'll credit him with making a conscious choice in tempering his ambition and instead choosing cohesion and to respect (the idea of it being important in himself and his players) experience first and foremost (after two tight games and that 4th game loss). I think he chose wrong in deciding not to be, and back, himself. Hard criticism.


And it played out by preferring Beauden to Dmac on the EOYT (though that may have been a planned move).


I hope I'm right, because going through all the little things of the season and coming up with these bullets, I've got to wonder when I say his last fault is one we have seen at the Crusaders, playing his best players into the ground. What I'm really scared of now is that not wanting a bit of freshness in this last game could be linked with all these other crosses that I want to put down to simple confidence issues. But are they really a sign that he just lacks vision?


Now, that's not to say I haven't seen a lot of positives as well, I just think that for the ABs to go where they want to go he has to fix these crosses. Just have difficult that will be is the question.

24 Go to comments
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LONG READ 'Steve Borthwick hung his troops out to dry - he should take some blame' 'Steve Borthwick hung his troops out to dry - he should take some blame'
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