2012 IRB Junior World Championship

[PaarlBok]

Anyway its going to be a big final. Clouds gathering and rain forcast for the whole weekend. Already close to 20,000 tickets sold for the BB vs BB final.

 

[p.Tah]

An IRB press release has said they have now sold 30,000 tickets and expect an extra 5,000 to buy tickets on the day. Amazing. Hopefully the weather holds and everyone does turn up.

 

[tigerland12]

So may be a bit early but who has seen players they think will be playing at the highest levels over the next few years?

I haven't watched many games but i saw 2 French and 2 Argentine games, and I think #8 Chateau (?) from France and #7 Matera from Argentina have big futures.

 

[qwerty51]

Yeah Argies 7 is only 18 I think they said, crazy..

The Ireland 10 for sure.

 

[churchills cigar]

You guys don’t get it with regard to Nucifora.

I belive these tours to him are not and never were about the team. In my opinion Yhey are more likely about David Nucifora promoting himself as the next Wallaby coach. To do this he must show he is a good coach (fail) and secondly he does it by ‘finding’ players.

In his time at the Auckland blues he probably formed some very solid contacts and could have fed a number of NZ players into the Australian system, primarily through Nudgee College. Players such as Kimami Sitauti who while gaining a Brumbies gig has essentially failed to deliver. Didn't he go to Nudgee. Wasn't Todd Dammers the coach?

Many of you have wondered at the team selections. Well here it is in a nutshell. In my opinion Nucifora more than likely sees himself as the next Wallaby coach and could have had very high hopes for a coup this year. He had possibly hoped for success in Sth. Africa and believed the Wallabies would falter against the Welsh. Both those scenarios if true are now in tatters and his credibility at the ARU is shot to pieces, particularly as Robbie Deans’ supporters are now probably aware of the incipient coup if there was one.

Secondly, and you are all correct, his team selections smelt terrible.

No 1: James Dargaville is not a wingers bootlace, so why did he get so much game time ahead of other wingers, particularly as he had never played wing before? simple – is it not possible he was doing Todd Dammers (who is now forwards coach at Sydney Uni) a favour? Dargaville has been plucked out of the obscurity of the Uni colts ahead of far more credentialed players and we may now see a concerted push for him?

No 2. Nick Frisby. In line with being a finder of talent, Frisby, the stand in #9 at the Reds was basically played exclusively at #15 this tour – Frisby hates #15 – he has always been a #9 or #10 but now Nucifora might if he were inclined lay claim to discovering the next great fullback.

No 3. Kyle Godwin. Why was such an underperforming player retained at #10 when better players were available – again, you will find Nucifora had plans for his promotion. In the face of performance, Nick Styles and those at the Force should have already thrown in the towel in trying to correct his kicking game yet Nucifora persisted against any logical thinking to the contrary. Hmmm?

No4: Ujay Seutini has been a failure as well but he is another player who in my belief was possibly discovered by Nucifora while overseas in NZ and fed into the Australian system through Nucifora’s contacts. Did no one ever ask how did it come to pass that Ujay came out of complete obscurity from the islands thru Adelaide to an ARU fully funded scholarship at T.S.S. and then a Reds EPC from having played no games since 2010.

#5: The best thing to possibly happen to Lewis Holland was to reinflame his hamstring injury. He was not in my opinion going to receive a lot of game time. He, Crook and Con Foley are already well and truly on the ARU radar with extended Sevens contracts and i dont see any mileage for Nucifora in giving them exposure when he could gain more from exposing others but it became too obvious that something was rotten in Denmark when he persisted with Godwin and Dargeville when Frisby and Crook were the clearer the better alternatives in those positions. Isn't this feasible?

Well wonder no more and relax, Nucifora through his totally errant and obviously blatant favoured selections this tour has pretty well crucified himself. Even Anthony Eddy who still shows signs of selection solidarity should be making movements to distance himself from Nucifora once the tour is through, wouldn't you?

Kings in grass castles indeed.

 

[ACR]

^^^ Interesting read.

Paarl, I just had a look at Sportsbet. It has NZ U20's down as firm favourites at $1.57 to South Africa's $2.43. To me, this seems a bit ridiculous considering NZ's stuttering campaign. This years side is definitely not as strong as previous years and has too many lapses of poor decision making. Personally I would say that the Boks are slight favourites playing at home in front of a potentially massive crowd.

They're also offering a line of 4 points at $1.90 showing how inflated the head to head price is.

Pessimist as I am I have the Boks to win by 6. It is junior rugby and anything could happen on the day. What are your thoughts/picks?

http://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting...outh-Africa-U20-v-New-Zealand-U20-325346.html

 

[SuperGrover]

JWC preview: Baby Boks v Baby Blacks

Host nation South Africa go into the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship Final against holders New Zealand as underdogs at Newlands on Friday.

The champions, who for the first time in many a year have not had a smooth passage to the last hurdle, face a team that has grown in confidence.

South Africa began with a defeat to Ireland but from there recovered and have not looked back, dispatching Italy, England and then Argentina. Meanwhile, New Zealand had their own sticky patch when losing to Wales on a mud bath in Stellenbosch. Revenge was taken in the semis.

New Zealand boss Rob Penney admitted that this is probably the weakest squad the Baby Blacks have brought to a JWC in recent years. However, they have navigated their way to the finale after stand-out players Jordan Taufua and Jason Emery performed when it mattered last week.

Home advantage has undoubtedly aided the Baby Boks as fans hoping to watch Tuesday's game Cape Town Stadium could not get through the turnstiles in time for kick-off and so decided to turn back for home - such was the demand to cheer on their Junior charges.

One blow for the hosts is that captain William Small-Smith suffered a knee injury against Argentina and is out of action for at least three months. Small-Smith's place in the squad will be taken by Dean Hammond, with Dawie Theron explaining that the loss is a setback.

"We feel for William, as he was a real stand-out and proved an inspirational leader, but injuries are part of rugby and we can only wish him a speedy recovery. We are again in a fortunate position that we can bring in a player that has been with the team for a long time and can slot in immediately," said the head coach, who has a team with momentum.

Small-Smith's absence adds extra weight onto the shoulders of Jan Serfontein, who was excellent against the Pumas with his direct running and angles. That performance and others have led to the 19-year-old centre from Port Elizabeth being nominated for the JWC Player of the Year Award. With Vodacom Cup experience already under his belt after a debut for the Blue Bulls this year, he's shown himself to be a class player with good distribution. Serfontein has also been described by commentators as being similar to Brian O'Driscoll.

He will need to be on the top of his game outside schoolboy Handre Pollard, who apparently is now behind with his studies and will have to catch up following the tournament. His battle with Hawke's Bay's Ihaia West could prove pivotal in where the result goes as New Zealand aim for a fifth straight Junior World Championship for what would be their toughest to date.

Ones to watch:

For South Africa: Nominated for the IRB Junior World Player of the Year Jan Serfontein was superb against Argentina in the last round and should be rewarded with Super Rugby next year because of it. However he's missing his centre partner and in-form captain William Small-Smith this week, so the onus will be very much on Serfontein to lead the line outside Handre Pollard. Otherwise watch out for the abrasive openside flank Shaun Adendorff.

For New Zealand: Two players have stood out head and shoulders above the rest in this inexperienced Baby Blacks outfit and they are centre Jason Emery and number eight Jordan Taufua. The latter man from Canterbury's style is reminiscent of Hurricanes eight Victor Vito as his athleticism, strength and speed have made Taufua one of the best players in the tournament - those who saw his try against Wales will no doubt have been impressed.

Prediction: With the lower tiers of Newlands set to be filled, let's say SA to win by 2!

The teams:

South Africa: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Kobus van Wyk, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Tshotsho Mbovane, 10 Handrè Pollard, 9 Vian van der Watt, 8 Fabian Booysen, 7 Pieter Steph du Toit, 6 Wiaan Liebenberg (c), 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Mark Pretorius, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Oliver Kebble, 19 Braam Steyn, 20 Shaun Adendorff, 21 Abrie Griesel, 22 Tony Jantjies, 23 Travis Ismaiel.

New Zealand: tbc

Date: Friday, June 22
Kick-off: 18:45 (17:45 BST, 16:45 GMT)
Venue: Newlands Stadium
Referee: Greg Garner (England)
Assistant referees: JP Doyle (England), Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Television match official: Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)

http://planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_7832703,00.html

 

[SuperGrover]

So may be a bit early but who has seen players they think will be playing at the highest levels over the next few years?

I haven't watched many games but i saw 2 French and 2 Argentine games, and I think #8 Chateau (?) from France and #7 Matera from Argentina have big futures.

Well Paarlbok, among others, have been singing the praises of the young 10 Handre Pollard.

Another 18 year old getting big wraps is the Baby Blacks centre Jason Emery.

Scouting report: Jason Emery

With the Junior World Championship taking place, Planet Rugby's scouts headed over to Newlands Stadium to see New Zealand's centre in action.

Who is he?

Emery is an 18-year-old former Palmerston North Boys' High School student who is playing in his second season of U20 rugby. The youngest player in the New Zealand squad at the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship, Emery caught the eye in the opening fixture - against Samoa - when he had a hand in so much good rugby the Baby Blacks had played. Apparently, New Zealand TV commentator and former Wales full-back Shane Howarth apologised for mentioning his name too often, which gives an idea of how highly the youngster is thought of in his homeland. He is an outside centre with an impressive ability to slip tackles as those who have watched the action in Cape Town and Stellenbosch will have noticed. Currently, Emery - a second cousin of NZ rugby league great Stacey Jones - is on a development contract at Manawatu, with his first appearance for the Turbos in the 2012 ITM Cup surely now fast approaching.

Attributes:

Physique: Face-to-face he is not the tallest at 1.79m while he weighs in at 86kg, but it is his speed in contact and ability to slip a tackle that makes him stronger than one would expect. It is worth mentioning again that Emery, at 18 years old, is playing above his age group in South Africa this season and is obviously still growing. When he does mature, we should expect him to have greater ability to bust tackles in the style of Blues wing Rene Ranger. What is interesting at Manawatu is that their recent success stories have been the 'smaller' men like Aaron Cruden and Aaron Smith. Emery could be next to make the step up.

Handling: No problems here and it seemed he was New Zealand's go-to man for line breaks, so more often than not Emery was the player being asked to run and not create. Although due to his ability to break the tackle, he does offer his supporting runners ample opportunities to capitalise - like we saw against Samoa. We noted a couple of offloads while his background in touch rugby - he was named in New Zealand Boys' touch squad in 2011 - means that he has the handling skills when called upon. His only bad pass in the game was from a set move that saw mistiming on the loop between him and Ihaia West.

Defence: He made ten tackles against Wales while he was bumped off on two occasions, one of which he recovered from quickly to complete the tackle on the second go. Positionally he was sound and with the coaching of Jason O'Halloran at Manawatu and Rob Penney with the Baby Blacks, he is sure to learn week by week. Furthermore he won a turnover on Sunday at the breakdown and also charged down a Welsh chip that looked ominous.

Threat: A total of eight tackle busts from the youngster while his go-forwards against Wales in the semi at Newlands were noticeable, even with his calf heavily strapped. Afterwards he revealed it was a problem he sustained against the Fijians in the previous fixture and it was clear he was uncomfortable following making a break as he limped back into the backline. Emery crossed for an impressive individual try early in the second half, slipping two tackles and then reaching out for the whitewash. But his first game in the tournament, against Samoa, was undoubtedly his best showing and it's unfortunate that Baby Boks captain William Small-Smith is ruled out for Friday's final as that duel would have been interesting.

Chat with Planet Rugby:

PR: So what is your situation at Manawatu?

JE: I'm on a development contract at Manawatu at the moment but hope to make the step up in the future. For now though I am just concentrating on the Junior World Championship.

PR: So it looked like you were struggling a little bit out there with your leg strapped up?

JE: That is a calf injury I picked up against Fiji in the Pool.

PR: Who has helped your game recently? I hear Johnny Leota has been coaching you.

JE: Yeah, Johnny helped me as coach in Palmerston North before he went to Sale.

Conclusion: Emery has all the attributes and skills to make it at the top grade but will have to be eased into the open age game, as we are sure he will in New Zealand. Some game time in the ITM Cup should be on the horizon while a full-time contract for the Turbos now seems likely after his efforts in South Africa this past month. It was clear that his team mates realise he is one of the stars of the Baby Blacks, with Manawatu coach O'Halloran having spoken in the past, to the Manawatu Standard, that Emery is a model professional who has a fantastic work ethic and is also a great student of rugby. Definitely one to watch in New Zealand.

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16017_7825357,00.html

 

[PTB]

he was doing his good mate, Todd Dammers (who is now forwards coach at Sydney Uni) a favour.

also explains melrose's selection ahead of two much better options in the warringah or eastwoods first grade 7's

 

[PaarlBok]

^^^ Interesting read.

Paarl, I just had a look at Sportsbet. It has NZ U20's down as firm favourites at $1.57 to South Africa's $2.43. To me, this seems a bit ridiculous considering NZ's stuttering campaign. This years side is definitely not as strong as previous years and has too many lapses of poor decision making. Personally I would say that the Boks are slight favourites playing at home in front of a potentially massive crowd.

They're also offering a line of 4 points at $1.90 showing how inflated the head to head price is.

Pessimist as I am I have the Boks to win by 6. It is junior rugby and anything could happen on the day. What are your thoughts/picks?

http://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting...outh-Africa-U20-v-New-Zealand-U20-325346.html

Boet if you hold a gun against my head and ask me which one is the favourate I'll go with the Bokkies because I am sitting here in my Bok and Paarl Gym jersey as we speak. They stutter and played like shite in the first outing but improved a lot since.

 

[PaarlBok]

An IRB press release has said they have now sold 30,000 tickets and expect an extra 5,000 to buy tickets on the day. Amazing. Hopefully the weather holds and everyone does turn up.

The whole Paarl will be there. We'll probably get 40,000. Boks vs Blacks at Newlands is HUGE.

 

[Bruce Ross]

In his time at the Auckland blues he formed some very solid contacts and he has fed a number of NZ players into the Australian system, primarily through his good mate, Todd Dammers who for many years was Nudgee College 1st XV coach. Players such as Kimami Sitauti who while gaining a Brumbies gig has essentially failed to deliver.

No 1: James Dargaville is not a wingers bootlace, so why did he get so much game time ahead of other wingers, particularly as he had never played wing before – simple – he was doing his good mate, Todd Dammers (who is now forwards coach at Sydney Uni) a favour – Dargaville has been plucked out of the obscurity of the Uni colts ahead of far more credentialed players and you will now see a concerted push for him.

Not a particularly promising start from the new member.

Todd Dammers states unequivocally that he has never met David Nucifora.

Todd Dammers is not "forwards coach at Sydney Uni".

I don't know about the rest of his diatribe but on the basis of his information on Dammers there is no cigar for churchills cigar.
.

 

[Braveheart81]

Sydney Uni Rugby Club is at the centre of every major controversy in both the 20th and 21st century.

According to Churchills's Cigar and Mudskipper they've been responsible for Brumbies players getting cut out by passes, players being selected in international teams without merit, 9/11, aliens landing at Roswell, New Mexico, the JFK assassination.

Come to think of it, where were you on November 22, 1963 Bruce Ross?

 

[qwerty51]

I have gone a massive wager on Boks +5.5

They should be favourites, don't let me down Saffers

 

[PaarlBok]

I have gone a massive wager on Boks +5.5

They should be favourites, don't let me down Saffers

You owe me commision. on the winnings.

 

[PaarlBok]

JWC final a sold out
SARugby

All available seating at Newlands has been sold for today’s IRB Junior World Championship Final between South Africa and New Zealand Under-20. Computicket confirmed that 35 000 fans have bought tickets for the final.

It is important to note that whilst all available seats have been sold, the scholars areas and standing room areas at Newlands have not been made available for sale for this event, which has a mutually agreed signed-off capacity of 35 000 seats only. The previous IRB record for a JWC final was 22 000.

No further tickets will be available for sale at the ground and only those supporters with valid tickets will be afforded access to the stadium. The IRB, SARU and Western Province want to thank the public for their amazing support for the event.

 

[tigerland12]

Holy shit that is awesome, well done South Africa, GO THE BABY BOKS!

 

[p.Tah]

Todd Dammers states unequivocally that he has never met David Nucifora.

Utter bullshit Bruce. Dammers and Nucifora go on holiday regularily with each other.

This is David and Todd on their way to a fancy dress party in Venezuela. The theme was dictators. Nice to see they went to a solarium beforehand.

and here they are at the Wellington Sevens. Todd second from the left, David is in the middle

 

[PaarlBok]

Holy shit that is awesome, well done South Africa, GO THE BABY BOKS!

Ja we live in the laager, warm and safe in the arms of delusion.

 

[kiap]

7th Place Play-Off 22 Jun, 16:30
University of Western Cape Stadium, Cape Town

England Under 20 vs Australia

1 Alec Hepburn (London Wasps)
2 Koree Britton (Gloucester Rugby)
3 Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
4 Dominic Barrow (Leeds Carnegie)
5 George Merrick (Harlequins)
6 David Sisi (London Irish)
7 Chris Walker (Leeds Carnegie) (C)
8 Jack Clifford (Harlequins)

9 Dan Robson (Gloucester Rugby)
10 Tom Heathcote (Bath Rugby)
11 Charlie Walker (Harlequins)
12 Ryan Mills (Gloucester Rugby)
13 Sam Hill (Exeter Chiefs)
14 Marland Yarde (London Irish)
15 Ben Ransom (Saracens)

16 Nathan Morris (London Wasps)
17 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs)
18 Ross Harrison (Sale Sharks)
19 Ben Nutley (Northampton)
20 Billy Vunipola (London Wasps)
21 Ben Spencer (Saracens)
22 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
23 Tommy Bell (London Wasps)


Australian Under 20 vs England

1 Pettowa Paraka (Easts)
2 Maile Ngauamo (Sunnybank)
3 Oliver Hoskins (Manly)
4 Jed Holloway (Southern Districts)
5 Sam Jeffries (Sydney University)
6 Curtis Browning (Queensland University)
7 Liam Gill (C) (Sunnybank)
8 Benn Melrose (Sydney University)

9 Jock Merriman (Sydney University)
10 Kyle Godwin (Associates)
11 Allan Faalavaau (Endeavour Hills)
12 Apolosi Latunipulu (Southern Districts)
13 Con Foley (Queensland University)
14 Chris Feauai-Sautia (Souths)
15 Ulupano Seuteni (Easts)

16 Silatolu Latu (Sydney University)
17 Leslie Makin (Queanbeyan)
18 Allan Ala'alatoa (West Harbour)
19 Steve Cummins (Eastwood)
20 Sean McMahon (GPS Ashgrove)
21 Alex Northam (Manly)
22 Nick Frisby (GPS Ashgrove)
23 James Dargaville (Sydney University)