2014 Junior World Championship Overview
by “Bardon”
The Junior World Championship is a good snapshot of where the top tier nations are in their youth development. So where exactly are they?
The Winners
England have shown their strength throughout the tournament and won their second JWC in a row. Often the immense power of their pack created the platform for victory but it was their backs that kept them in the final.
England – worthy winners
South Africa have had an excellent tournament and beating New Zealand twice will stand to this group of players. They ran England very close in the final but came up just short. In Pollard they’ve uncovered a real star.
New Zealand might not view third as a success but they put it up to an excellent South African side and in Li and McKenzie they have two very exciting prospects.
Ireland had a superb tournament achieving their best ever finish in fourth place. In Gary Ringrose they’ve unearthed a possible successor to Brian O’Driscoll.
Australia will be much happier with their fifth place finish than many would expect. Their preparation and performances were a big leap forward from previous years.
The Losers
France showed that they learn to be inconsistent at a very your age. Having swept aside all comers in this year’s U20 Six Nations they failed to perform to the same standards. A sixth place finish wouldn’t have been on the agenda pre-tournament.
Scotland made no real progress finishing tenth as they were well beaten by Argentina having earlier suffered heavy defeats in their pool.
Italy finished eleventh with the highlight of their campaign being their pool win over Argentina. Two heavy defeats in their pool and their loss to a poor Scotland side shows there still work to be done.
Fiji lost all of their games, only being competitive in their play-off with Italy. They went down 22-17 and finished twelfth and last.
The Rest
Wales, who finished seventh, had a mixed tournament with an early pool defeat to Ireland blocking progress into the sharp end of the knock-out stages. Their performance in beating France was a real highlight but defeat against the same opposition highlighted a lack of consistency.
Samoa put in some decent performances in the pool, beating Scotland and keeping it close against South Africa. But a very one sided defeat in the play-offs against Australia was followed by defeat to Wales and an eight placed finish.
Argentina would be pleased with being competitive against both Australia and England in the pool. They would be less pleased by their defeat to Italy. Good wins against Fiji and Scotland saw them finish ninth.
Handre Pollard – Player of the Tournament – with unknown veteran
Player of the Tournament
Handre Pollard deservedly scooped the player of the tournament award with Earle (England), Li (New Zealand) and Ringrose (Ireland) the other nominees.
We must remember that the JWC is only a snapshot. The result of one tournament should not be the only means by which we judge the development efforts of these 12 nations.
One thing is for sure though; the standards at the JWC are on the rise and a good structure is essential for any nation wanting to make an impact at future tournaments.
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