Waratahs Gen Blue tie with Pampas XV

Curtain raiser

The NSW Under 20s had a good hit-out before main game

Some of the recent crocks were back on deck: winger Harry Jones, prop Matt Sandell and flyhalves Andrew Deegan and Corey Tulloch were all on the park. That block of players will be influential in the National Under 20 Championships in Canberra starting on March 20.

Jones was out of his moon-boot: recovered from his lisfranc foot injury and was charging down the right wing and scoring tries in his usual style. He was also kicking the ball a mile with both feet.

Tulloch played well and Sandell and Deegan were on track but needed a little longer to get back into game shape.

Big boppers: lock Lukhan Lealaiauloto-Tui and 130 kgs THP Francis Brown looked a lot fitter than they were two months ago. Each is in their U/19 year and very raw but I am more hopeful now for them being picked for NSW in 2015, rather than just for next year. They looked dominant and sharp yesterday compared to how they did earlier.

Ben O’Donnell who played flyhalf for the NSW Under 20s earlier in the pre-season, and fullback yesterday, has been impressive in both positions and is showing his utility value.

The Yellow team were so superior to the Blue team in the first half that I to check to see if the scrubbers were in the Blue team. Not with those names though. Then in the second half the Blue team whacked the Yellows. In the end I think it was seven tries apiece.

It was a game of two halves !!

Andrew Kellaway and Ned Hanigan had a good experience in the senior game against the Pampas XV.

Flanker Jack McNamara, winger Henry Clunies-Ross, outside back and goal-kicker Alex Newsome have also played for the senior team which is a guide to how well highly they are rated.

There was one other player, with the 13 jersey, that looked familiar. Indeed it was Henry Hutchison who played wing for Australian Schools as a 16 year old in 2013. Also he ran 100 metres in 10.79 for Riverview in the 2014 GPS athletics meet, but missed out on national school rugby selection because of injury.

He was playing 12 for the ACT A seniors team two weeks ago and its good to see him back where he belongs.

With LHP Cameron Orr a virtual national certainty, Folau Faniga’a a standout hooker, the others mentioned above, and handy back-ups (if they are back-ups), plus a killer back row – they are going to have a handy pack if they show up to play in Canberra.

There’s going to be some tough selection issues throughout the team which augurs well for the NSW U20s who won the nationals last year and look impressive now.

But talk is cheap isn’t it?

The Australian Under 20 coach Adrian Thompson told me that the squad of Australian Barbarians Under 20s will be formidable. They were players from outside of the Waratahs and Reds Under 20 squads who had just finished their selection tournament in Adelaide, won by Western Australia.  There were some outstanding prospects, he said.

There hasn’t been a lot of news emanating from the Reds Under 20 team but Green & Gold sent an intrepid reporter out to Bond University today for a brief report on their warmup game with Bond University seniors.

by “redhead”

Queensland Under 2o scored six tries to nil against Bond University.

After an unsettled first 20 minutes the juniors ran away with the game. The forwards were particularly impressive with strong displays by back rowers Lolo Fakosilea, Michael Gunn and lock/6 Adam Korczyk.

Flyhalf James Dalgleish had a good day and slotted several tricky conversions. In the backs Conrad Quick and Isaiah Perese were hard to stop. Duncan Paia’aua had his first run since the concussion he received during a Super Rugby game for the Reds.

Overall the team is well-drilled and forwards in particular look very impressive.

I believe Adrian Thompson was happy from what he saw today. Several players are already making a strong claim for the place in national team.

Photos by Lee Grant

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