The National Under 20s Championships concluded last weekend, and a squad of 29 players was chosen yesterday for the upcoming Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions Under 20 Championship, which will be held at Bond University in Queensland.
Australia and three other teams who will compete in the World Rugby Under 20s in June—Japan, Samoa and New Zealand—will play each other on three match days: 1 May, 5 May and 9 May. The Aussie boys will arrive early to have training sessions and workshops.
Winning the tournament will be on the agenda but the boys will have the World U20s in north Italy in mind also. Since Head Coach Adrian Thompson will be taking 28 players to Italy in June their spots are probably assured (except for one player) but they will be competing against each other for starting positions in the important games.
But the boys should beware: Thompson will prefer players who show they can help their team win; not necessarily those who play well individually.
How they can fit in with other players in combination at Bond will be key, as will be the ability to play in different positions and in game after game in a short time. That is the reality of the World U20s and they had better be as impressive off the field as on it, because that is another reality in a touring group.
The Squad
The first surprise was the size of the squad. Last year 34 attended at Bond for a camp and a couple of games against Samoa; six were cut for the final camp in Sydney before going to the World U20s.
This year Thompson has chosen just one extra for the early camp. The larger selection in 2014 seemed a better arrangement to provide a healthy tension amongst the boys to get in the touring party, but there’s no way that I will be second-guessing Thompson.
He said that the touring squad was not finalised but one thinks that if a player is in the squad at Bond University, it’s their spot to lose.
The Australian Under 20 squad for the Oceania Rugby Unions Under 20 Championship
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Loosehead props: Cameron Orr, Fereti Sa’aga, Aaron Pleash
Tighthead props: Matt Sandell, Tyrel Lomax
Hookers: Folau Fainga’a, Connal McInerney
Locks: Ned Hanigan, Lukhan Lealaiauloto-Tui, Harrison Williams, Riley Winter
Openside flankers: Michael Gunn, Brad Wilkin
Blindside Flanker: Adam Korzyck, Hayden Anderson
No. 8s: Olly Kamp, Lolo Fakaosilea [/one_half]
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Scrumhalves: James Tuttle, Harry Nucifora
Flyhalves: Andrew Deegan, Duncan Paia’aua, James Dalgleish
Centres: Alex Newsome, Sione Tuipolotu, Campbell Magnay
Back Three: Jonah Placid, Harry Jones, Andrew Kellaway, Henry Hutchison [/one_half]
The players were not chosen by position but I have placed them where I think they will perform. Some of them were selected for versatility so expect them to appear in different jersey numbers from game to game.
I imagine that the side that plays against NZ in the Oceania U20s will be the team they consider their best, and the jersey numbers they use in that game should be be noted. It may be the team that plays in their first pool match in the World U20s and the third, against the Junior Springboks.
Selections
There were some surprises in the squad as there always are, and some have been mentioned in our forum.
For me the biggest surprise was the omission of Mitch Short at scrumhalf. He has the best pass of a player of his age I have seen for years, but maybe the selectors were looking for more sniping and bossing.
Another surprise was the inclusion of Lealaiauloto-Tui in a 29-man group, though I hoped he would be included in a large squad to help with his development. This lad who is 195cms and weighs 120kgs is still in his U19 year, and raw; but it looks as though he was chosen in the smaller squad as the finished product.
Well done that young man and it signals that they are looking for size against the likes of pool rivals South Africa in the World 20s—and England should they meet later in the tournament.
But his inclusion in a smaller squad meant that the excellent Nick Kellaway was excluded. Nick can play lock like a specialist and call the lineout. He played well in lead-up games at lock and 6 but NSW started Hanigan and Williams in every game in Canberra at lock, and Kellaway was rotated at 6 with Sam Croke, who was in the Aussie U20s last year. It turns out that both missed selection for the Bond camp, and that Korczyk got the 6/lock berth.
The positions
Assuming that the squad named for Bond is near enough the World U20s touring side:
Front row
This will be an excellent front row. It may not scrummage as well as the 2014 team, which had Allan Ala’alatoa at tight head prop but it will still be good by our U20 standards beforehand.
I expect the NSW front row to be the starting three but I will reserve judgement until the Oceania game against NZ. Orr will be the best scrummager of the loose head props but the others will be better around the park.
At tight head Sandell is small by THP standards but can scrummage well and is effective in the tight despite that. Big bopper Lomax will provide impact later in games: sometimes from a seagull position.
Fainga’a (no relation to the twins) is a young tough-nut and I expect him to start, but McInerney is also an impressive hooker for his age.
Second row
I expect Hanigan to be the primary loose head lock and the lineout caller as well. This is despite his being not the tallest nor heaviest, but a Rocky Elsom type who can play in the second row in this age group.
The principal tight head lock should be a bruiser and strong and skilled enough to help his prop at scrum time. I don’t know Winter; so my jury is still out on these lads to fulfill that role as their main opponents in Italy will be able to do.
Openside flanker
Gunn played for the Reds last week and Wilkin for the Aussie Sevens in Hong Kong. Any team that has two opensiders that force the exclusion of the excellent Jack McCalman is blessed with talent in that area.
People may say that one of these fellows should play on the blindside, and McCalman should have been picked also, but they need all the size in the 6 jersey they can get.
Blindside flanker
It would good to have a big bopper here for the obvious reasons. I don’t know Anderson but I expect Korzcyk, who was the player of the national U20 tournament, to get the spot, though not a bruiser. His lineout ability will give versatility elsewhere.
Number 8
If Kamp is not the preferred no. 8 and Fakaosilea is, it will be on the matter of physique and not physicality because Kamp can be dominant in tackles and in other close work. Reports from good judges in Canberra were tepid in their appraisal of “Junior” in the Canberra tournament and glowing of the skilful and tough play of Olly.
Scrumhalf
If Nucifora and Tuttle, who I haven’t seen since they were at school, are better these days than Short is, I am happy for the team. Let’s see.
Flyhalves
They have chosen three, all of whom can pitch in as fullback and probably at inside centre. I expect that Deegan will be the pick of this bunch and if he isn’t, that is a good situation for the Aussie U20s.
Having three flyhalves is over-egging the pudding and I expect one of these fellows to be omitted to cut the group to 28.
Centres
Tuipulotu was a surprise selection but he is a grand player though still in his U18 year, and is a specialist inside centre—at least whenever I saw him play.
This is not usually a mixture that gets you into a national Under 20 squad but let’s see. The other centres pigeon-holed by me in the midfield can also play in the back three: Magnay, who has been playing wing for the Reds’ senior team—and Newsome a smokie, but a quiet achiever that very team needs, and who used to play on the wing in his school days at Hunters’ Hill.
Back three
Likewise winger Hutchison can play in the centres and although small can tackle like Sammy Tuitupou. Andrew Kellaway is a centre by choice, but never gets to play there much. He may be kept on the wing so as not to interfere with the try-scoring ability he showed last year in the position
The team is filled with compromises as it always has to be. The key will be to sort the team out in the Oceania U20s and deal with the strengths and weaknesses.
And as Thompson has mentioned: this is not the final squad: a change to it here and there before the team is finalised could make a significant difference.
Photos by Lee Grant
Note – I deliberately did not mention how many were chosen from each state. I didn’t care and I don’t think the selectors did either. For those who are interested in that kind of thing the details are in yesterday’s media release from the ARU here.
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