2017 New Zealand U20s

mimic

Tian must be cursed whenever I watch his games..
Every time I watch him play he looks poor.. good kicking though

Stargazer

@mimic What are you talking about? He had a very good game! He dropped one ball and got held up in a maul, but that was it. Excellent ball distribution, passing and kicks in play, and a great boot. Also scored a try.

Bovidae

I think the 2nd half struggles will be a good thing preparing for the final.

NZ need to work on discipline and defending mauls/lineout drives.

mimic

I missed the whole first half..
In the little bits I watched he knocked the ball on twice (got called once), and he got held up, and then he slipped when going for a run.. but like I said, every time I tune in to watch he always makes an error.. maybe I shouldn't watch the final

His goal kicking and kicking for touch was great

Stargazer

@mimic Sounds like you only saw the errors and didn't see the good stuff. He had a good game with just those few errors. Hardly a reason to say he didn't play well.

Billy Tell

Anyone got highlights?

Stargazer

@Billy-Tell

Highlights:

KiwiMurph

That behind-the-back ball from Falcon was sensational.

Chris B.

That hooker, Aumua, looks a real prospect.

Sort of guy who could get Wellington out of the Second Division!

Rapido

Sounds like a Twickenham 99 come back from the French!

I watched about the first 25 mins during my breakfast: France were a shambles at that stage.

Glad NZ were put under pressure. Flakiness can provide good learning experiences.

Billy Tell

Speaking of Wayne Barnes, that first NZ try was off a fairly clear forward pass.

And what was Carlos Spencer doing playing for the U20s. Haven't seen that sort of cheeky pass in a while.

Some nice French tries in the 2nd 40.

Mokey

I was delighted to see the Baby Blacks made the final, after the nonsense after the haka at the start (good on the ref for keeping his cool while they were wasting time staring at each other) Excellent first half, that first try with that flick pass was great. Troubling in the second half though, when you are up 36-0, you should be burying the body.

Margin_Walker

Sets up an interesting final, with Eng U20s sneaking past SA in the other semi. England have probably over performed this year given the players unavailable. Also not a vintage year for the tight 5, so would expect NZ to have too much in the final, but you never know.

Number 8 Zach Mercer (son of Kiwi RL player Gary) and FH Max Mailins the pick of the England players likely to be involved.

ACT Crusader

That was a fun game to watch other than that YC from the French flanker. Red mist moment.

Our captain has some good pace for a blindside. Chased down that Fench back on the counter attack.

We mixed up the showtime with some really solid footy. France played the last 25-30 minutes with better accuracy at the collision. Better kicking game than ours in the 2nd half.

Watched that England v Baby Boks game and both of those sides play similar to France. Impressed through the tournament by England's loose forwards. If we keep the ball alive and play a good support game, I like our chances.

Margin_Walker

England Team for the final. Couple more out with injury following the SA game, but it does mean that Umaga makes his first JWC start at 12

England U20: 15. Tom Parton (London Irish), 14. Darren Atkins (Bath Rugby), 13. Will Butler (Worcester Warriors), 12. Jacob Umaga (Wasps), 11. Gabriel Ibitoye (Harlequins), 10. Max Malins (Saracens), 9. Harry Randall (Gloucester Rugby), 1. Ralph Adams-Hale (Saracens), 2. Joe Mullis (Gloucester Rugby), 3. Ciaran Knight (Gloucester Rugby), 4. Josh Caulfield (Exeter Chiefs), 5. Jack Nay (Saracens), 6. Dino Lamb (Harlequins), 7. Ben Earl (Saracens), 8. Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby) captain.

Replacements: 16. Henry Walker (Gloucester Rugby), 17. Ollie Dawe (Bristol Rugby), 18. Alex Seville (Gloucester Rugby), 19. Justin Clegg (Worcester Warriors), 20. Josh Bayliss (Bath Rugby), 21. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints), 22. James Grayson (Northampton Saints), 23. Paolo Odogwu (Sale Sharks).

Number 10

New Zealand team for the Final.

Tiaan Falcon ruled out with concussion suffered in the semi-final, so Stephen Perofeta has been rushed over.

The team is:

Ezekiel Lindenmuth, Auckland
Asafo Aumua, Wellington
Pouri Rakete-Stones, Hawke’s Bay
Isaia Walker-Leawere, Wellington
Samuel Slade, Auckland
Luke Jacobson (C), Waikato
Dalton Papali'i, Auckland
Marino Mikaele-Tu'u, Hawke’s Bay
Ereatara Enari (VC), Canterbury
Stephen Perofeta, Taranaki
Caleb Clarke, Auckland
Orbyn Leger, Counties Manukau
Braydon Ennor, Canterbury
Tima Fainga'anuku, Ta$man
Will Jordan, Ta$man
JP Sauni, Auckland
Harrison Allan, Canterbury
Alex Fidow, Wellington
Sam Caird, Waikato
Tom Christie, Canterbury
Kemara Hauiti-Parapara, Wellington
Tamati Tua, Northland
Josh McKay, Canterbury

Stargazer

@Number-10 That's a huge disappointment for the young lad.

Edit: bad birthday present for him; if my info is correct, it's his 20th birthday tomorrow.

Rapido

I thought they were very thin for 10 cover.

Probably the worse injury for the squad to cope with.

Perofeta will be a bit jet lagged. Wonder when he got called over? Can only be days.

Other than this, the squad have been very fortunate with injuries. Almost unchanged 15s over the 4, now 5, games.

Stargazer

@Rapido Perofeta arrived on Friday. They must have brought him over straight away after the semi. I think they lost two other players, including promising prop Tim Farrell. Fortunately for Farrell, he's young enough to be eligible again next year.

Rapido

They lost an openside, I think that is Farrell.

Only 1 by my count. Had a remarkably smooth run.

The Silver Fern

2017 New Zealand U20s