NZ U19s

[Stargazer]

Arrggh. Another bad pass. So sloppy. Fast is good, but only if you can actually throw the ball to a team mate.

[Stargazer]

Essendon Tuitupou scores his second. Defence absent.

[Stargazer]

Haha, the commentator saying that the video of the game will help the South Africans prepare for the U20 RWC next year. Not sure who our U20 coach is (is that Hammett, too?), but this team is far from the finished product; also, there are some big names missing from the NZ team.

[Stargazer]

Very good try to Ajay Faleafaga.

HT: Junior Lions 5 - 19 NZ U19

[OomPB]

@Stargazer 33 degrees at altitude. It's hot

[Stargazer]

@OomPB Wow, why aren't they playing this game later in the afternoon?

[Stargazer]

I agree with the commentators. This ref is too whistle-happy.

[Stargazer]

The many interruptions having a big effect on this second half. I hope the injured Junior Lion is okay.

[Stargazer]

Another good win from our U19s, although the score should have been much higher. Ball handling - particularly in the first half - let the NZ team down.

All in all, a good tour, but only one game where the opposition really was strong enough to make them work hard. The team assembled on 11 September, so have been together for 3 weeks and 3 days. With more time together, the preparatory U20s camps, I hope we'll have a good U20 team, next year, with hopefully some of the current absentees also in the squad (although some will again be absent due to Super Rugby). Despite this tour, still no idea how strong this team really is (internationally).

Some good off-field lessons for the players, too, with plenty of new experiences. I hope this becomes an annual event, with - hopefully - a few games against stronger opposition, maybe U21 teams? It doesn't matter if they get beaten; they'll learn more from it than from easy games.

The team will fly back to NZ, tomorrow.

[OomPB]

@Stargazer they must schedule it a month earlier and play in the same anual international tournament with France and England.

France and England do this to prepare for u20 six nations.

[Bovidae]

The fact that Hutchinson did play fullback was exposed with those kicks in behind.

As to the ref, he didn't favour one team over the other but made some strange decisions. I thought that NZ was lucky not to have a player in the bin in the first half as he gave repeated warnings for the same offence (early push defending the lineout drive). The scrum penalties seemed to be a lottery at times (both ways). Nordstrom didn't look out near the end when Williams scored.

This was the worst performance of the backline on tour as numerous passes went behind runners. The forwards ability to defend mauls improved throughout the tour but doing that against international teams will be a different story.

We'll see how different the U20 team looks next year.

[SBW1]

@Bovidae Great to be able to watch this live, an unexpected surprise. One of the tries was not awarded towards the end when there was a big injury break. Were there any members of this squad in the Under 20 Oceania Cup this year?

[Bovidae]

@SBW1 said in NZ U19s:

Were there any members of this squad in the Under 20 Oceania Cup this year?

The captain Cahill, Nordstrom, Hurley and Lauaki. Tuitupou was also named in the U20 squad but must have been injured.

Some others are still eligible for the U18s.