The most promising youngsters in Australia are gearing up to compete in the 2015 National Under 20 Championship to be held in Canberra from 21-25 March.
City teams from Queensland and Sydney plus a third team called the “Australian Barbarians”, made up of the top players from the rest of the country, will be banging heads against each other and sides from Tonga and Fiji.
The Pacific nations won’t be bringing too many shrinking violets to Canberra, the last I heard.
All the boys will want to win for themselves and their team mates, and to get crowing rights, but while they are smashing each other, doing brilliant stuff and throwing the odd handbag, some steely-looking old guys with clipboards will be jotting down a few notes.
More important for the youngsters than results, will be to impress the old guys. The Championship will be their first real step on the national stage to gain selection for two more stages. The second is the Oceania Under 20 Rugby Championship in April, and the third is the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in June.
Callum Smith (ACT) grabbed by Ned Hanigan (NSW)
The juniors will be in top shape: the boys from the two large rugby states have had a rugged training and trial regime for the last four months that Ming the Merciless would have been proud of.
Teams from Western Australia, Victoria and the ACT, plus country sides from Queensland and NSW, had to compete in their own February tournament in Adelaide before they got chosen as Barbarians for the “nationals” in March.
Youngsters from smaller junior rugby unions participated in a Division II series, but they could have been picked as Barbarians also.
Head coach Adrian Thompson
Chief old guy will be Adrian Thompson, the Australian Under 20 coach for the third year in a row (apart from other things like being in charge of the Junior Gold Cup programme).
Australian Under 20 Head Coach – Adrian Thompson
He is excited about the Oceania Under 20 Rugby Championship in April which is a new four-nation competition held between the March nationals and the World Rugby Under 20s in June.
Yes we have driven that. New Zealand are very keen as are Samoa and Japan. It isn’t quite the Six Nations Under 20s, but it’s a great starting point.
It could be the extra thing needed to break into the finals as they nearly did last year but for a player error against England.
Yes, that was costly. One more try would have given us one bonus point or possibly two. It was disappointing to win four from five and just finish fifth.
Thompson was enthused about the talent that was on show in Adelaide where the Australian Barbarians side was chosen. They nearly won the national title in Canberra last year and would be tough again in 2015.
They can’t get together for training so they arrive early for the Championship to have a couple of days together, plus a warm-up game against Tonga.
Although Western Australia beat Victoria and the ACT in Adelaide Thompson said:
There wasn’t much between the three teams in the end. It was pleasing that the Country teams from Queensland and NSW have come on and four were selected in the Barbarians’ side.
Blake Walsh – One of four Country Barbarians
On the national front Thompson didn’t give too much away but he expected the scrums to be strong again in 2015. He said that Cameron Blades had been appointed full time to work with the state and national Under 20s—plus the Junior Gold Cup and Sevens’ programmes.
As to whether the Australia Under 20s would have first call on contracted Super Rugby players such as Andrew Kellway, Jonah Placid and Campbell Magnay:
In theory we have first option over them for the World Rugby Under 20s, but we use some common sense and deal with it case by case. Obviously our biggest priority is for our Super teams to be successful.
We will have access to Brad Wilkin who is contracted to Sevens: he’s a good backrower.
Brothers in arms
This year there will be two sets of brothers playing together in the Under 20 nationals.
Nick Kellaway, a versatile player who will cover lock and the blindside flank for NSW and is good in the lineout, will join his (non-indentical) twin brother Andrew, who scored a record number of tries in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship last year from the wing.
Nick Kellaway – part of twin threat for NSW .
Victorian loosehead prop Fereti Sa’aga a will captain the Australian Barbarians; so younger brother RJ on the tighthead side, will have to behave himself. Fereti represented the Samoa Under 20 team last year but remains eligible for Australia in 2015.
Imagine the food bill for these large lads every week. But wait – there’s more: youngest brother Alex, captained the Rebels’ Under 14 side in New Zealand last season. Put his name down for the Under 20s in years to come.
After the Under 20 nationals are completed a squad will be chosen for a camp on the Gold Coast prior to the Oceania Under 20 Rugby Championship to be held there from 28 April to 9 May.
After banging heads with New Zealand, Samoa and Japan, the selection of the touring party will be finalised. The players will go into their second camp in Sydney on May 19, and play an Australian Barbarians senior side before leaving for overseas.
Jack Redden – NSW Under 20 inside centre
The 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship will be held in four locations in northern Italy from 2-20 June.
Australia is in a tough pool which includes the 2013 Champions and 2014 runners up, South Africa, and they will be tough to beat.
No guarantees about success in 2015 can be made because, in the end, our player depth is smaller than that of recent Championship winners.
But the programme that our boys are participating in, and the coaching they will get from Thompson and his crew at the national level, will give them every opportunity to do well if they are good enough.
Lukhan Lealaiauloto-Tui – NSW lock – one to watch .
Links
Australian Barbarians Under 20 squad
Queensland Under 20 squad
New South Wales Under 20 squad
2015 National Under 20 Championship fixtures
2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship
Photos by Lee Grant
Featured Image (top) is of Andrew Kellaway
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