Aussie under-20s back with a gang
JUNIOR Wallabies captain Fraser McReight believes the return of a dozen players from their 2018 campaign will be pivotal to their chances of ending New Zealand’s dominance on the Gold Coast.
The Kiwi under-20 team have clinched every Oceania Rugby Under-20 Championship trophy at Bond University since the inaugural edition in 2015.
Australia will start their campaign tonight against Japan with a stack of players who featured in their squad last year still eligible. “I think we have 12 boys back so that plays a huge part of our 2019 campaign,” McReight said.
“Hopefully we can use that to our advantage and go from there.
“That adds heaps of experience back to our core but it’s also good because a lot of those boys are actually contracted so they’re working with the best of the best so they can bring all of that knowledge back and help the boys who are trying to rise through the ranks.”
The 20-year-old openside flanker, who made his Super Rugby debut for the Reds last month, spoke of the widespread desire to finally turn the tables on their transTasman rivals.
“It definitely feeds our hunger and the fire in our bellies,” he said.
“I think we have only beaten them once and that was a dead rubber anyway, they had already won the series. All of us really want that one win over them and finally win the Oceania but before that we have two tough games against Japan and Fiji so it is just small steps towards that end goal.”
Japan are back for their first appearance in the annual series in four years.
“We actually played them last year in the Junior World Cup in France, so we sort of know what they are like,” McReight said.
“They are very dominant with low contact, very physical and they’re very evasive but I think we have good key match-ups against their sort of players so hopefully we do our process.”
Gold Coast products Noah Lolesio and Egan Siggs are in the Junior Wallabies squad.
New Zealand will face Fiji in today’s other game.
(BEATING NEW ZEALAND) DEFINITELY FEEDS OUR HUNGER AND THE FIRE IN OUR BELLIES WALLABIES’ FRASER McREIGHT