2023 World Rugby U20 Championship
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Food for Thought
It's time for a rethink for the New Zealand U20s after another low finish
Since winning the first four World Championships between 2008 and 2011, New Zealand has only won twice since 2015 and has missed the semis three times in the last five tournaments.
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@mikey07 Adam Julian doesn't watch NPC close enough. Many of these U20s players are already in NPC squads, rubbing shoulders with Super Rugby players. Or they have been named in squads, this year.
As an example, one of Hawke's Bay's reps in the NZ U20s (Harry Godfrey) has played Super Rugby and NPC, two others are players on a NDC with the Hurricanes (Cooper Flanders and Hunter Morrison) so have trained with SR players all SRP season, and the youngest was in his first year out of school and may get a NDC, next year (Tom Allen). They all, and another 18-year-old school leaver (Patrick Tuifua) have been named in the Magpies squad. Whether they'll get much game time is another question (Godfrey will, not sure about the others), but they'll be training with and learning from experienced players during the NPC (incl. SR players) and the two youngest will play for our U19s team.
The idea of letting the NZU20s play in the NPC ignores the fact that the U20 cut-off date is the 1st of January. So basically, it would have to be a NZU19s team. They'd be smashed in the NPC. Not to mention that you'd have to uproot players from their home towns/provinces for the duration of the NPC. That would require decent payment so they can survive for that time. That won't happen.
IMO, in addition to exposure to top coaches, they need international tours and tournaments prior to the WR U20 Championship, starting at U18 level, then U19, and then U20, like the teams belonging to the Six Nations have. IIRC France recently won the U18 Six Nations (not sure whether it uses that name). Super Rugby U20s needs to be more than 3 games, but that requires a lot of money to be pumped into that programme (Silver Lake money?) They need to bring the Jock Hobbs Memorial National U19 Tournament back, and better opposition during the NZU19 tour than they had last year (which were mostly very poor teams due to the timing of the tour - and I'm not sure how they can fix that, because the Saffa U18/19 comps run in their own time frames and they do not align with ours). We need a decent international U18 tournament or tour for our NZ Schools' team. (And IMO they need to do the same for school girls and an U20s women's team, because that's happening in the Six Nations, too).
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@Stargazer said in 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship:
They need to bring the Jock Hobbs Memorial National U19 Tournament back
Yes bring back this tournament
Then extend the SR u20s competition, it's too quick. Teams are just forming combinations and then its all over.
We have 5 SR sides plus the Baabaas.. play 5 round robin matches and a final (plus 3rd v 4th & 5th v 6th). Obviously it couldn't be held in a central location anymore, but I think these games would be great as SR curtain raisers
That gives the players two decent competitions in a year. One at NPC (u19) level then a harder competition at SR (u20) level.
Fixing the domestic structure for this age group will help the national side
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@Stargazer that’s right, it was straight in a QF situation. Not long enough
Change that to a multi week competition and the teams and the contests will improve. I think it would rate well on sky as curtain raisers
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@Duluth As a curtain raiser before the first SRP game it could work, but if there are two SRP games in NZ (4.35pm and 7.05pm k/o), that would mean that the second curtain raiser is at the same time as the first SRP game. Okay for locals who go to the games, but not okay for tv viewers.
I think it would actually be really cool if SR U20 games would be played at provincial venues, because they hardly get senior SRP games. Play them on a Sunday, so they don't compete with club rugby and SRP games. Would have to be marketed properly, obviously.
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@Stargazer the cost for Sky to cover the games is a lot lower if they are curtain raisers. Not sure if it works as a stand alone event
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@Duluth During covid, somehow everyone knew how to stream games live and most did so reasonably well. Now, after covid, they've suddenly forgotten how to do it. They wouldn't need the same number of cameras as senior games. Did they use TMOs, this year?
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U20 Trophy news
My orange genes are happy.
Netherlands living the dream after qualifying for World Rugby U20 Trophy 2024 | World Rugby
A 26-16 win over Lowlands rivals Belgium in the final of the Rugby Europe U20 Championship will see them play at their highest level next year.
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