The Silver Fern

Be hard for those just out of school to make it i would think. Theres too many who are playing NPC or Premier level already and doing so very well.

What positions in the 20s are up for grabs?

Forwards werent too flash last year so i would expect some change there. Bason will likely captain and played very well for the Hurricanes. Front row looks solid with good depth. Second row could be a push with some solid starters but i worry about who is in behind them. Loose trio will be fine.

For me the backs look likely to change a little.

At halfback, Pledger and maybe Tamati would be my two must haves. 1st 5 will be Simpson buylt after him is a toss up. I dont like the defensive qualities of any 10s i watched in Taupo. Very average to say the least.

Midfield will be stacked, especially with Tito Harris back. One of those Canterbury lads or Oconnor perhaps to partner him?

Solomon will play fullback. Hes got a great allround game. Wings is a toss up between a number of quality players, including the fijian boys from canterbury, chiefs have solid wings, denyer from hurricanes and the otago young guy who has already played NPC.

Be good to get an indication from people with no affiliation to a team who they feel stood out for each U20 Super team and could be in line for an NZ U20 invite.

I will rule myself out for the Chiefs but some players that really impressed me from other franchises were:

Blues - Finau, Tatafu, Tuitupou, Woodley, Simpson, Norrie

Hurricanes - Falloon, Irving, Berg-Mclean, Bason, Tamati, Oconnor, Denyer, Solomon

Crusaders - Oudenryn, Mafi, Powell, Mcleod, Kalouda, Cameron, Roberts, Kunawave

Highlanders - Tengblad, Rutledge, Pledger, Muliaina, Harvey, Rangituia

Playoff for 3rd and 4th was entertaining. Credit to all the teams playing 3 games over a week and looking better and better.

Blues
Front row and loosies were powerful. Not only the starters, but the bench forwards were immense. The hookers should pat each other on the back as they were awesome.

Simpson was solid in the backs and led his team really well. Norrie looked fantastic with ball in hand. Made the midfield for the Canes look silly at times in broken play.

Hurricanes
Lets be fair, frontrow is not their strength. They really struggled against a physical Blues front row. Falloon in the second row was working hard but by far the best forward on the field was Berg-mclean playing 7. The smallest forward on the pitch and yet he must have had 5 or 6 pilfers and made a huge amount of tackles. Support play was superb as well.
Tamati and Thompson were excellent in the halves. Really quick ball and used their outsides well. Midfield struggled on D.
Solomon and Denyer, outstanding again for the Canes. These two have had a great tournament. Kennedy try was superb as well. Reserve halfback brought some energy off the bench.

Clutch by the Crusaders last night. When they needed to they kept it close and tight. Both team defences were a mess, much like the first semi final.

The final most wanted will happen Saturday. Chiefs too strong for the Canes. Forward pack were immense and tiatia was all over his opposite. Chiefs gave no room to the canes dangerous outside backs. Some silly play (yellow card jacob kennedy) and poor handling (tight 5 and halfback) let the game get away.

Chiefs vs Crusaders will be epic. Odenryn has been huge for the Saders and Inch will need to play his best vs Tiatia. Big forward packs on both teams.

Difficult to make rankings accurate with teams only playing once p/year.

Perhaps they change it evey year so the NZ Super teams play a different non NZ Super team. They determine rankings via points for and against?

Its not great but neither is current setup.

Anyway, caught up with our nephew and sounds like Chiefs are fighting fit with only minor niggles for Tues game. He said the Canes might have a few players out in the midfield and loose trio.

Not trying to look too far but my head and heart are saying Chiefs for the win and i expect a different Crusaders team to turn up vs the Blues. I think theyll settle down early and run some of those big Blues forwards ragged.

I thought Otago were the better team. Some silly errors in crucial times and defence really let them down.

So how do the semi's work out? Whose playing who?

Crusaders looked oddly average. Credit to MP who had some physical ball runners.

I might be odd man out but i expect 10s to play attack and defence. Cole was great on attack, really impressive. But he wasnt able to stop anything on defence. Numerous times he looked timid and scared on defence. Tackles high. Not my cup of tea.

Forwards were better but still lacking that fire. Bason, Irving and Falloon? Looked great. Once again though, too much depending on their backs. Outsides of solomon, denyer and kenedy look the deal. Oconnor at 12 had nice touches.

Chiefs - wow. Didnt see that scoreline coming. Brutal on attack and their forwards played like a unit for 90% of the game. Good work in the backs, look slick and fast. Big fan of the 9.

How many players are allowed to play?
I see Canes have named 30 for tomorrows match

@Mauss chiefs have a ton out but may be ok due to depth.

Blues have the biggest catchment in NZ so i dont feel so sorry for them lol

Whats the go with the Canes boys that arent there?
They injured, havent made the cut, too young or something else?

Crusaders, Chiefs and Blues look very strong on paper. I hope theres a darkhorse in there somewhere (maybe babaas?) that will shake up the comp a little.

Prediction

1. Crusaders
2. Blues
3. Chiefs
4. Canes
5. Highlanders
6. Babaas
7. Drua
8. Moana

MVP: Oudenryn

Hurricanes team is up but i dont no how to share

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@SouthernMann strong backline. I look forward to the Pledger/Mika combo.

If anyone sees any final team lists id be grateful if you could post here. Ill keep an eye out.

How are Moana Pasifika chosen?
Do they trial lads across the country?

@Bovidae team is locked in and players are aware. Theyve been told an announcement will come Thurs/Friday.

Didnt ask about the locks but our boy did say there were 3 players on stand by for already injured players.

Just heard from my nephew who plays for the Chiefs U20s that there has been significant interest from teams across the ditch to obtain young kiwi players with big money ($200,000 year 1 and increases over 3 years by $50k each year) with a plan in mind to keep them for the wallabies. Coaches and management are all aware but cant do anything about it.

Sad state of affairs.

Hurricanes U20 played and won vs a mixture of Palmy Prems and wider squad Hurricanes up in Palmerston North today.

U20s looked to play their A side in the first 20min of each half and for the most part looked alot better than the game vs Crusaders. Scrums still took a bashing and will be worrying that coaching staff leading into the tournament next week. Definately better ball retention and handling was improved across the board.

Backs were strong with some nice touches in the midfield by Campbell and Stan out the back. The winger *11 (one of the jacobs) scored a couple tries and looks to be one to watch out for with speed and silky footwork.

I know theres big wraps on the 10 from hawkes bay but i dont see how. Very reluctant to tackle and is not a great ball player. I worry this might be a red flag for this team as well as their set piece.

Bench was good. Oconnor from manawatu should probably start at 10 as he looks for more composed and dangerous. Forwards worked hard against some impressive specimen in the Prems and wider Canes.

Couple niggly injuries looked to hit late.

From the two games ive now seen i do fear this team could get run around by bigger, more mobile teams like the Chiefs and Saders. They just lack that flow and cohesion at the moment.

I think the backs are absolutely the stars of the show with a strong midfield, Stan at fullback and Jacob *11 (maybe denyer?) on the wing. Oconnor, if he starts could be the best thing this team does to overcome some tough games.

Some of the comms from the different franchises and club rugby are hard to follow or contradict one another.

Thanks for the update!