They can’t all be great tag lines. With the Reds out and therefore Super Rugby finished, Wednesday’s Rugby News looks at the Aus U20 and Wales squads named, plus some All Black doom and gloom (oh dear, how sad, never mind).
Six debutants selected to Australian Under 20s
Pravda reports that Australia Under 20 head coach Nathan Grey has named six fresh faces in his 30-man squad to contest the upcoming World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa.
Australia face Georgia, Ireland and Italy in Pool B and Grey has made sweeping changes in a bid to improve last year’s fifth-placed finish in Cape Town.
ACT’s Kadin “I’m ‘ard” Pritchard (outside back) and Dan “Admiral” Nelson (scrumhalf) have been brought in alongside NSW trio Oniti “bye” Finau (hooker), Joe “The CIA got you pushing too many pencils?” Dillon (flyhalf) and Archie “French and” Saunders (winger) with Queensland’s Trevor “Far” King (prop) also returning in a new look 30-man squad. King was a member of last year’s U20 World Championship. Saunders can do 100 metres in 10.3 seconds.
Reds playmaker Harry “shaver” McLaughlin-Phillips adds firepower to the squad after being called into TRC U20 at the eleventh hour with lock Toby “Elle” Macpherson. Brumbies stablemate Nelson have been named captain and vice captain respectively. Forward duo Dom “no reason” Thygesen and Eamon “Mrs” Doyle also hold onto their berths after entering last month’s tournament as injury cover.
Full squad list in the linked article. I’m not attempting nicknames for everyone.
Grey’s coaching team has been bolstered by the inclusion of former Wallaby backrowers Matt Cockbain and Ben Mowen, who will take over the forwards portfolio with Laurie Fisher joining Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies.
Scott Robertson fiddles while Freddie Burns
RugbyPass reports that former England flyhalf Freddie Burns (pictured) believes that a 2-0 series win over the All Blacks by England is a ‘realistic chance’ as New Zealand rugby goes through a ‘transition period’.
England first travel to Japan to face former coach (and nasal-sounding horseman of the apocalypse) Eddie Jones and the Brave Blossoms before travelling to the cold of Dunedin to face the All Blacks for the first visit since 2014.
The first Test against England will be new coach Scott Robertson’s first game in charge of the men in black. But despite the All Blacks landing the super coach, Burns believed AB key player losses opens the door for a historic England tour. From the 23 that played in the Rugby World Cup final last November , the All Blacks have lost Aaron Smith, Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock to retirement, Shannon Frizell and Richie Mo’unga to Japanese rugby, while Will Jordan is out with injury along with others like Sam Cane who has been in Japan.
“The Crusaders aren’t the force that they used to be, aren’t quite that same force. I think England have a realistic chance to go down there and upset a few people and come away with at least a series draw, if not a series win.”
Expanding on his logic, Burns believed that the downfall of the Crusaders this year in Super Rugby would influence the All Blacks’ performances. For so long the Crusaders have provided the bulk of the All Blacks players, and after a catastrophic 4-10 season, they won’t be the backbone of the side this year.
“But I think it’s England’s best chance to get something done.”
England’s last victory over the All Blacks was the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final in Japan, with only one Test played since then which ended with a 25-all draw at Twickenham in 2022.
Reliving AB World Cup final pain
RugbyPass also reports that retiring All Black skipper Sam Cane has given a raw and emotional recount of his red card in the Rugby World Cup final after his tackle on Springboks centre Jesse Kriel.
Cane told his story on Episode 2 of the All Blacks: In Their Own Words series, a review of the 2023 season and the ill-fated* Rugby World Cup campaign. I’m tipping that to be a lot more fun to watch than Stan’s disaster movie.
“I know in Test matches it is about regaining momentum and nailing our next moment,” Cane said.
After gaining some key territory, a lineout throw inside the Boks’ 22 from Codie Taylor went array which was picked up by Damian de Allende and shovelled onto Jesse Kriel. The Springbok centre spun around before running at the All Black captain, which he said caught him “off-guard”.
“Jesse’s done a full U-turn and he ended up running back towards me,” he recalled. “I was caught off-guard a bit, it was quite an upright tackle. Then sure enough they stop play, yellow card. Then the sideline official came over and just said ‘it’s going to be upgraded to a red’. Even now just saying those words I feel tension and a sense of shock that I encountered in that moment, hits me again now.”
The moment became even more emotional when Cane locked eyes with his family members, sitting close by in the stadium. A rousing half-time speech led to a resurgent second half where they scored the game’s only try and just fell short by one point by 12-11, leaving two opportunities to take the lead on the tee.
Mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka said the team was “standing on the precipice” of writing the “greatest chapter in All Black history” having completely taken control of the game in the second half.
“As a kicker you always dream of those situations, and why some may see it as a high pressure moment, which it is, it’s just an awesome privilege to be in that position,” Mo’unga said. Mo’unga hit the kick cleanly, expecting the ball to curve back right but the ball stayed dead straight and missed to the right of the posts. “That still haunts me as a kicker you know. That could’ve changed the whole game,” he said.
Jordie Barrett’s penalty came with seven minutes remaining but again it sailed slightly left, “you just hope that you luck out really and have a pure strike.”
(*probably worse than not getting out of a pool)
Wales name four uncapped players for South Africa and Aust tour
Sky Sports reports that Wales have named four uncapped players in summer squad to face South Africa and Australia as Josh Adams and Will Rowlands are rested (as opposed to “are arrested”, which is more of a league thing).
Warren Gatland’s side play South Africa at Twickenham on June 22 before a two-Test tour against Australia in Sydney on July 6, at the “home of sport” Melbourne a week later. The Wales tour peaks (as do all of the players’ lives – even those who are dads) with a game against the Queensland Reds on 19 July at Suncorp Stadium. Wales finished bottom with the wooden spoon in 2024 Six Nations, after quarter-final exit at Rugby World Cup (not that we’re throwing stones there).
Cardiff scrum-half Ellis “Commodore” Bevan and fullback Jacob Beetham, Ospreys wing Keelan Giles and 20-year-old Gloucester wing Josh Hathaway have all been included for the first time – the latter a former England U20 international. No captain has been named in the group, whose average age is 25, with Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan, Taine Plumtree, Christ* Tshiunza and Ben Carter each returning from injury. Lake and Palmer Morgan do so having been co-captains at the Rugby World Cup in France last year.
Wing Josh Adams, second row Will Rowlands and hooker Ryan Elias have all been rested, while experienced trio Liam Williams, Cory Hill and Henry Thomas have earned recalls.
(*seriously)
