2018 New Zealand U20s
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There's a strong Southland contingent both on and off the field in the New Zealand side for the upcoming Under 20 Rugby World Cup in France.The squad features two Southland players in hooker Flynn Thomas and halfback Jay Renton, while the coaching staff features former Southland players Willie Rickards and David Hill as well as current Stags coach Dave Hewett.
The squad completed its on-field preparation in an Oceania tournament held on the Gold Coast earlier in the month, the Baby Blacks went through the tournament unbeaten, accounting for Australia, Fiji and Tonga.
- News. Robyn Edie. SouthlandTimes/Stuff. Southland Stags rugby training at Surrey park grounds on Wednesday afternoon. Pictured Stag Flynn Thomas, 19, ex Southland Boys High school recruit.Robyn Edie
They team is currently in camp at Mount Maunganui, and Thomas said it was great to get a bit of heat prior to heading to France.
"It's good to get away from the cold for a wee bit, up into the warmer part of the country.
"I suppose since we are heading up to France, it's going to be a lot hotter than Invercargill, so it's good to have a wee bit of an adjustment period."
For hooker Thomas, having Hewett a former front rower and a man he will be spending a lot of time with in the Southland set-up heading away to France with him suits Thomas down to the ground.
"It's quite exciting we will be able to work in well together before establishing a few things with him, and utilising those skills during the Southland season."
While halfback Renton has spent a bit of time with the Highlanders, he has eyes on another couple of halfbacks when he looks at how he models his game.
"I really like the way Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall plays, while I'm also a fan of the way new All Black Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi plays, they're both very energetic and I like to feel as if I bring a lot of energy to the game."
Both Renton and Thomas have played for the Stags and have had stints in camp with the Highlanders, and Renton said being in those camps helps remove the mystique around some of the top players.
"I'm normally quite talkative, can even be pretty annoying, but I found it quite intimidating in those environments, especially the Highlanders as I didn't know anyone, but by the time I went up to the second camp I felt like I could be myself."
Renton said in the lead up to a top tournament like the Under 20 World Cup, having the experience of being around top players helps with nerves.
Both the former Southland Boys' alumni are predicting the side will play an expansive style, although how they go about that, they're keeping close to their chest.
New Zealand's first game of the tournament will be against Japan next Wednesday.
- News. Robyn Edie. SouthlandTimes/Stuff. Southland Stags rugby training at Surrey park grounds on Wednesday afternoon. Pictured Stag Flynn Thomas, 19, ex Southland Boys High school recruit.Robyn Edie
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Five New Zealand players to watch at the JWC
With the JWC just around the corner in France, RugbyPass looks at five standout candidates to keep an eye on from the defending champions, New Zealand. The JWC has launched a number of careers since its inception in 2008 and this year will be no different.Devan Flanders – Number 8 One of the youngest members of the squad, Devan Flanders was man-of-the-match in the schoolboys test match last year for New Zealand, picking up the Bronze Boot. “I was surprised by that. It was a big accomplishment, but I was quite happy with that,” he told RugbyPass. His size and power will be an asset to the pack, providing a lineout option and solid ball carrying. He was the school 100m sprint champ in Year 12 but he says “all the fast boys came back in Year 13”, an impressive feat for a loose forward. In just six months since leaving school, he has put another 10kgs of size. Expect Flanders to gain valuable experience at the tournament and return next year as one of the key members.Billy Proctor – Centre Billy ‘The Kid’ Proctor is the younger brother of Hurricanes centre Matt Proctor and gets his chance to join the New Zealand under-20s after making the schoolboys side in 2016. He was a highly sought after schoolboy prospect and Wellington made moves to keep him around. After a full season of club rugby under his belt and a provincial debut in 2017, Proctor will be ready for the international stage at the Junior World Cup. He can play at 12 or 13 and will likely be a regular starter in the midfield alongside Bailyn Sullivan or even Caleb Clarke.Vilimoni Koroi – Fullback The ‘star’ of this New Zealand’s under-20 squad is Koroi who is an established New Zealand Sevens player and Otago provincial player. A shock selection in the national Sevens squad as an 18-year-old propelled the ex-Fielding High student onto the international stage last year. He showed his potential on the Sevens circuit, impressing with his speed and stepping ability. Otago and the Highlanders will be watching with interest as their prodigy looks to push for Super Rugby contention.Caleb Clarke – Wing We couldn’t leave a player of his caliber off this list – just last week he was playing Super Rugby for the Blues and lining up against Julian Savea. Clarke will return to the JWC after attending last year’s tournament in Georgia. He will feature prominently again on the left wing with his blistering pace but could also be used as a centre, a position he played in high school and for the New Zealand schoolboys. He scored six tries last year and has a chance to break the all-time record of most tries at the JWC set by Tevita Li (13). Having made his Super Rugby debut in 2018, he will enter the tournament with plenty of confidence.Kaliopasi Uluilakepa – Prop Kaliopasi Uluilakepa represented Fiji u18’s as a schoolboy and attended Marist Brothers High in Suva. As a member of the Hurricanes youth academy, ‘Pasi’ has been playing club rugby in Wellington since. The Tongan-born prop is a force to be reckoned with and will power the front row for the New Zealand under-20’s. His strong ball-carrying will set a solid platform for the side and is a dark horse to provide some special highlights at the tournament. -
@stargazer said in 2018 New Zealand U20s:
Is Flanders from Hawkes Bay? Will he play for them in the Mitre 10 Cup?
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@tim Yes, he has a Magpies contract. Not sure whether it's a full or a development contract. He might play for the Magpies in the Mitre 10 Cup, although I'd expect him to play in the U19s tournament first (unless injuries strike again, and he's needed for the senior squad).
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New lower tackle rule to be trialled.
At what age does the nipple line stop being the 'high point' anyway? TR Jnr plays U13 and the nipple line is thier high point...is it U14 and up where it is same line as adults?
Rugby: World Rugby to lower tackle height to 'below nipple line' | Newshub
The new tackle rule will be trialled during the World Rugby U20 Championship.
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U20 Championship 2018: Did you know ...?
We bring you some statistics to whet your appetite ahead of the start of the World Rugby U20 Championship 2018 in France on Wednesday With only five days to go until the 11th edition of the World Rugby U20 Championship kicks off in France, we bring you some statistics to whet your appetite ahead of what looks set to be the most competitive tournament yet. On the road … The host nation has only won the tournament twice, South Africa in 2012 and England in 2016 Trophy lifters … The 10 winning captains are Chris Smith (2008), Aaron Cruden (2009), Tyler Bleyendaal (2010), Luke Whitelock (2011), Wiaan Liebenberg (2012), Jack Clifford (2013), Maro Itoje (2014), Atunaisa Moli (2015), Harry Mallinder (2016) and Luke Jacobson (2017) Final appearances … England (8), New Zealand (7), South Africa (2), Wales (1), Australia (1) and Ireland (1) Winning percentage … New Zealand have an 85.71 per cent success rate in finals, having won on six of their seven appearances. England have reached eight finals but won only three Semi-final heartbreak … Argentina and France are the only other sides to make a semi-final Record-breakers ... New Zealand ripped up the U20 Championship record books in beating England 64-17 in the 2017 final, scoring the most tries and points in a title decider Welcome back to France … France becomes the second country after Italy to host the pinnacle event of age-grade rugby twice, having first hosted in 2013 Top for tries … New Zealand winger Tevita Li (main picture) scored a record 13 tries across his two appearances in the U20 Championship Ten of the best … Australia’s Andrew Kellaway holds the record for the most tries in a single U20 Championship with 10 in 2014 Welcome back … Japan bounced back to the U20 Championship stage at the first attempt by winning the sister event, the U20 Trophy in 2017 Longest unbeaten run … New Zealand won their first 21 matches in the U20 Championship before slipping to a shock 9-6 defeat to Wales in the 2012 pool stagesFast-tracked … Handré Pollard suffered heartbreak in the 2014 final as South Africa captain and was named Junior Player of the Year, but eight days later the fly-half enjoyed the high of making his Springbok debut against Scotland The future stars of world rugby … More than 570 players have taken part in an U20 Championship and gone on to play test rugby Breeding ground … Argentina boast the most of these U20 Championship graduates with 58 In on the act … Five nations who have never graced the U20 Championship stage have capped players who have played in the tournament in the Bahamas, Hong Kong, Romania, Spain and Zimbabwe World Rugby Men's Player of the Year … Brodie Retallick became the first U20 graduate to receive the accolade in 2014 and was followed by his fellow All Black Beauden Barrett in 2016 and 2017. The likes of David Pocock, Julian Savea, Leigh Halfpenny, Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola have all been nominated for the award. Back to back … All Black Sam Whitelock is the only U20 graduate with two Rugby World Cup winners’ medals RWC winners … There were three U20 graduates in the All Blacks' RWC 2011 winning squad on home soil and 10 four years later in England Quarter-time … More than a quarter of players at RWC 2015 had come through the U20 Championship pathway. If you include U20 Trophy graduates that figure rises to more than a third Kicking competition … In the knockout stages, only once in 10 tournaments has a kicking competition been required to decide the winner of a match – in 2010 when hosts Argentina beat Wales 9-8 to reach the fifth-place play-off after the sides had been locked at 19-19 after extra-time. First draw … France and South Africa played out the first draw in the pool stages of an U20 Championship last year in Georgia, the Junior Springboks converting a last-gasp try to salvage a 23-23 draw Most capped graduate … Sam Whitelock (New Zealand) with 96 tests First U20 Championship graduate … Alatasi Tupou of Samoa made his debut against New Zealand on 3 September, 2008 and now captains Samoa on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Most recent U20 Championship graduate … Mathieu Babillot of France, who made his debut against Wales on 17 March -
The NZ U20s team to play Japan has been named. Probably the easiest opponent of the tournament, so that may explain why this isn't the strongest possible line-up.
Kick-off: 7.00am NZT; LIVE on Duke.
Squad:
1 Xavier Numia - Wellington
2 Flynn Thomas - Southland
3 Tevita Mafileo - Bay of Plenty
4 John Akau'ola-Laula - Auckland
5 Will Tucker - Canterbury
6 Tom Florence - Taranaki
7 Tom Christie - captain - Canterbury
8 Hoskins Sotutu - Auckland
9 Xavier Roe - Waikato
10 Kaleb Trask - Bay of Plenty
11 Leicester Faingaanuku - Ta$man
12 Billy Proctor - Wellington
13 Bailyn Sullivan - Waikato
14 Jamie Spowart - Ta$man
15 Vilimoni Koroi - Otago
16 Ricky Jackson -Otago
17 Sione Asi - Manawatu
18 Rob Cobb - Auckland
19 Waimana Riedlinger-Kapa - Auckland
20 Will Tremain - Hawke's Bay
21 Jay Renton - Southland
22 Harry Plummer - Auckland
23 Scott Gregory - NorthlandIn selecting the team for the first match against Japan, Philpott said workload management was at front of mind. “We’ve got five Test matches in 19 days and a squad of 28; you need to make sure you manage combinations so that you get the very best out of all 28 players. Over these first two games we want to make sure everybody gets an opportunity to contribute and so we are managing the workload accordingly.”http://www.allblacks.com/News/32483/nz-under-20-side-named-world-cup-opener-against-japan
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I admit to being a critic of Sky, but this shows how things deteriorate when Sky isn't the broadcaster in NZ. This year, we can only watch two games from each match day (on tv and online). IIRC, Sky used to televise two games (live) simultaneously on two different channels, and show replays of the other games.
This is Duke's broadcast schedule for match day 1 (on tv and online):
day NZ date NZT Local match where pool watch/results Thu 31 May 4.30am 6.30pm* S Africa v Georgia Perpignan C Thu 31 May 4.30am 6.30pm* England v Argentina Narbonne B Thu 31 May 4.30am 6.30pm* Scotland v Italy Béziers B Duke (live); replay 2.50pm (Thu) Thu 31 May 7.00am 9.00pm* New Zealand v Japan Narbonne A Duke (live); replay 4.40pm (Thu) / 11.35am (Sat) Thu 31 May 7.00am 9.00pm* Australia v Wales Béziers A Thu 31 May 7.00am 9.00pm* France v Ireland Perpignan C ^previous day
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Edit: all games will be livestreamed on the World Rugby website, but may be geo-blocked.
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This is the Japanese squad (15 - 1): Kyohei Yamasawa, Halatoa Vailea, Siosaia Fifita, Yuto Mori, Koga Nezuka, Hiroto Mamada, Shinobu Fujiwara; Asipeli Moala, Hisanobu Okayama, Kai Yamamoto, Ryuga Hashimoto, Kanji Shimokawa, Gakuto Ishida, Miyu Arai, Yusuke Yamada.
Reserves: Yuichiro Taniguchi, Ryunosuke Momoji, Rento Tsukayama, Kaito Aibe, Shota Fukui, Atora Hondo, Yu Saruta, Yoshiyuki Koga.
Some Pacific names in that squad.
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Stats after 14 minutes:
Tackles made:
15 by both teamsTackles missed:
1 NZ
15 JapanThat will be more now. Spowart dots down after a pass from Roe after the line-out. Unfortunately, the pass was forward, so the try is correctly disallowed. 15 minutes gone.
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Wow, what an awesome coast-to-coast try from Bailyn Sullivan! Best try thus far. Should add that Japan's defence is awful.
Very good kick from Trask: 31 - 0 after 22 minutes. This is going to be a massacre. As expected, against the weakest opponent in the tournament.
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