2023 Super Rugby U20s

[Bovidae]

@Stargazer I had overlooked that Moses McGoon is listed too. A prop.

Dawson Smith was there last year (went to St Peter's Cambridge). Paenga-Morgan went to St Paul's and GBHS.

As to Brown, it will depend on whether he signed a contract with HB before the Crusaders got him. Kemara, signed for Waikato while still at school, for example.

[Stargazer]

@Bovidae Harry Boyle also attended St Peter's; Jae Broomfield and Anaru Paenga-Morgan went to St Paul's (APM was already in the Crusaders U20, last year), Penisimani Fihaki comes from Rotorua BHS.

[Stargazer]

U20 WIDER SQUAD — Blues Rugby

Congratulations to the young men named in the Blues U20s Wider Squad for 2023. Northland: JT Pont-Bellamy , Cody Aull , Kobe Walters , Tamatea Winiana , Kobie Scutt , Tama Anderson , Kiwi Duncan, Nathan Salmon, Rory Woods  North

[Bovidae]

On paper, the Blues should have a very strong team with heaps of NZ U19 and NZ Schools/Barbarians players.

[Bovidae]

The first indication of the Chiefs U20 team.

Chiefs U20
1 Manahi Goulton
2 Taine Kolosi (VC)
3 Gabe Robinson
4 Fiti Sa (C)
5 Zinzan Hansen
6 Andrew Smith
7 Jonty Short
8 Senita Lauaki
9. Marley Murphy
10 Josh Penney (VC)
11 Esau Filimoehala
12 Aki Tuivailala
13 Cody Vai
14 Waisake Salabiau
15 Brayden Drew

Reserves
16. Kaleb Saxon
17. Nicolas Muli
18. William Martin
19. Perry Lawerence
20. Keran Van Staden
21. Tommy Hamilton
22. Xavier Saifoloi
23. Peter Te Kahu
24. Taeao Pomale-Time
25. Grady Forbes
26. Tai Cribb
27. Cohen Brady Leathem
28. Kanavale Helu
29. Jack Harding
30. Te Hamana Te Aute
31. Fatiauma Moeahu-Leota
32. Josh Radcliff

https://www.chiefs.co.nz/news-item/chiefs-u20-squad-to-play-development-xv

Edit: There are some players missing that I would expect to be in the final squad like:

Jole Naufahu
Cody Nordstrom (in the Dev team)
Toby Taylor
Malachi Wrampling-Alec

[Stargazer]

@Bovidae So, not Max Radcliffe in the Chiefs U20s, either. That leaves the Highlanders U20s as the only remaining U20 team of which we don't have a clue who's in it. Max isn't in the HB Academy team, nor in the Hurricanes U20s. As one of the players standing out in 1st XV rugby, last year, and member of the Māori U18 team, I'd expect to see him named in one of the squads. Can't imagine him no longer playing after school or not being picked.

[Bovidae]

@Stargazer Without knowing who is unavailable through injury it's hard to know where player X is if they aren't named in a squad and no injured list is also released.

I've decided to go and watch the Chiefs game as the weather has improved.

[Stargazer]

@Bovidae Yeah, and with the situation in Hawke's Bay, Max could be shoveling mud etc as well.

It's a pity the Chiefs and Highlanders haven't published a list of their U20 WTGs.

[Number 10]

Manahi Goulton - Hawke's Bay Under 16, 2019, from Hastings BHS

Max Radcliffe is at Otago University.

[Stargazer]

@Number-10 Thanks for that info! That confirms what I suspected (move to Dunedin). Hopefully, if Max proves to be good enough for NPC (or higher), he'll follow the path of Weber, G Evans and C McLeod and returns to Hawke's Bay after his studies.

[Number 10]

@Stargazer

As you have previously recorded Gus Brown is at Canterbury - was always destined for Canterbury Univ which is why HB could not keep him.

[Bovidae]

@Number-10 said in 2023 Super Rugby U20s:

Manahi Goulton - Hawke's Bay Under 16, 2019, from Hastings BHS

He was in the Waikato U19s last year.

[Stargazer]

@Number-10 The curse of being a smaller province without a university. It's frustrating if it's some of the better 1st XV players that are leaving.

I can't remember Goulton at all, by the way, but with Hastings BHS not publishing their team lists the last few years and at the time, not all games being streamed, I guess some players can slip under the radar (well, mine at least). After a quick google, a photo on Facebook suggests he also played for HB U16s in 2018. In 2019, he was named in the Hurricanes U16 Tournament team. In 2017, he played for the HB U14 team.
Also, I can find him in articles about Hastings BHS 1st XV from 2019 and 2020, but not 2021. 2020 seems to be his last year at school, as he played club rugby for Tamatea in 2021. Interestingly, he still played club rugby in Hawke's Bay (Tamatea) in May 2022, so he must have moved to Hamilton during or after the HB club rugby season.

[Stargazer]

According to the Club Rugby website, there's a preseason game between Chiefs U20 and Hurricanes U20, tomorrow.
Location: Owen Delany Park, Taupō. Kick-off time TBC.

Next Saturday (11 March), there will be a preseason game between Hurricanes U20 and Crusaders U20. Location and k/o time TBC.

Tomorrow's Hurricanes U20 - if this info is correct - won't be full strength because a few U20 players are playing for the Hurricanes Hunters, today. I can't imagine them playing for both teams on consecutive days.

[Bovidae]

Hopefully they (Chiefs and Hurricanes) publish the teams playing. The Chiefs U20s had a large number of players involved in the game against the Chiefs Dev team, but there were also plenty of absentees.

[Bovidae]

Just seen this:

Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua join expanded Super Rugby U20s tournament

New Zealand Rugby’s (NZR) rising stars go head-to-head with the next generation of Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua U20s stars when the Bunnings Warehouse Super Rugby U20 tournament kicks off in Taupō this month.

The 2023 Bunnings Warehouse Super Rugby U20 tournament draw is:

MATCH DAY 1 - Sunday, 19 March

11:05am – Fijian Drua v Blues
12.55pm – Hurricanes v Moana Pasifika
14.45pm – Crusaders v NZ Barbarians
16.35pm – Highlanders v Chiefs

MATCH DAY 2 – Wednesday, 22 March

11:05am – Loser M1 v Loser M3
12.55pm – Loser M2 v Loser M4
14.45pm – Winner M1 v Winner M3 – SF 1
16.35pm – Winner M2 v Winner M4 – SF 2

MATCH DAY 3 – Saturday, 25 March

11:05am – Loser M5 v Loser M6 – 7&8 Playoff
12.55pm – Winner M5 v Winner M6 – 5&6 Playoff
14.45pm – Loser M7 v Loser M8 – 3&4 Playoff
16.35pm – Winner M7 v Winner M8 - FINAL

[Stargazer]

@Bovidae The Drua joining, too! That's great! That also means the return of the NZ Barbarians, which is not a bad thing.

I don't like that format, which goes straight from one "round robin" game to play-offs. Why not play a few games more after the expansion to 8 teams?

[Bovidae]

Obviously they are stuck on only playing 3 games in 7 days. This format means teams don't know who they are playing in advance (after Rd 1) so it does introduce an extra element to preparation and planning.

[Canes4life]

[cgrant]

Konrad Newland ? Is he Clint's son ? The latter was a man mountain.