Australia U20 ready for Oceania comp
Aussies name strong squad to face NZ, Fiji and Samoa
Queensland’s champion Super Under-20s team have dominated the squad for the upcoming U20s Oceania Championship, named yesterday. The Reds’ undefeated underage side have 11 players in the 29-player squad, with NSW fielding nine players, ACT five and Victoria three.
Seven of last year’s World Championship squad have been included in the squad for the competition that also involves New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa. Super Rugby and Aussie Sevens duties have also shaped the final squad, with nine players unavailable because of their tournament duties- Sham Vui (Western Force), Jordan Uelese (Melbourne Rebels), Esei Haangana (Melbourne Rebels), Izaia Perese (Queensland Reds), Sione Tuipulotu (Melbourne Rebels), Liam McNamara (Aussie 7s), Henry Hutchinson (Aussie 7s), Simon Kennewell (Aussie 7s) and Lachlan Anderson (Aussie 7s). The Aussies will be looking to build on a series last year in which they beat New Zealand for the first time at underage level. Australia U20 coach Simon Cron said the tournament would be another step towards June’s World Championships in Georgia.
“We had a very short national camp last week and have coached some of the basic areas we need to do well to be successful,” he said.
“As a squad we had a chance to work on some cohesiveness in our ball skills and talk about key fundamentals around which we will base our attack and defensive systems.
“We’ll head into camp on the Gold Coast on Tuesday, April 25, and we need to continue on from where we left off.
“We have to keep building on the boys’ rugby brains as well as the tactical and technical coaching. “There are some great boys in the group and I am looking forward to working with them more in detail over the coming weeks.” The Oceania Rugby championship kicks off on April 28 at Bond University, with Fiji and Samoa included in the tournament for the first time. Round 1, Friday April 28- New Zealand v Fiji, Australia v Samoa.
Round 2, Tuesday May 2- New Zealand v Samoa; Australia v Fiji
Round 3, Saturday May 6- Samoa v Fiji; Australia v New Zealand Prop- Harry Johnson, Harry Chapman, Vaauli Faamausili, Dan Matthew. Hooker- Tom Horton, Efi Maafu, Sama Malolo. Lock- Harry Hockings, Angus Blyth, Ryan McCauley, Darcy Swain. Backrow- Lachlan Swinton, Angus Scott-Young, Reece Hewat, Liam Wright, Angus Allen. Scrumhalf- Harry Nucifora, Ryan Lonergan, Theo Strang. Flyhalf- Hamish Stewart, Jack McGregor. Centre- Tony Hunt, Nick Jooste, Dylan Riley, Len Ikitau. Wing- James Ramm, Jayden Ngamanu. Fullback- Semisi Tupou, Jack Maddocks.