Hamish dalzell nz u20s proof 1

WORLD RUGBY U20 CHAMPIONSHIP 2015 & 2016

New Zealand U20s

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Perofeta inspires NZ U20s

By Jared Smith

Stephen Perofeta Stephen Perofeta and his New Zealand Under 20s team finished their Junior World Cup with a flourish to beat Australia 55-24 in the playoff for fifth in Manchester yesterday.

In a tight match where Australia led 24-21 early in the second half, the Whanganui export had a good game at No10, with a direct hand in two of New Zealand’s eight tries.

Because of injuries, at one point New Zealand had all four of their specialist first-fives on the field. England won the title by beating Ireland, who had previously beaten New Zealand, by 45-21 in the championship final.

NZ U20s hoping to end with a flourish Scott Robertson has named his side for

New Zealand’s 5th/6th playoff.

The New Zealand side will seek to wrap up their World Rugby Under 20 Championship with a flourish, and a fifth place finish, tomorrow morning against their trans-Tasman rivals Australia in Salford.

Head coach Scott Robertson, along with his assistants Craig Philpott and Willie Rickards, has made three changes to the match-day 23 which recorded an impressive 71-12 victory over Wales last Tuesday.

Prop Ayden Johnstone replaces Sean Paranihi who drops to the bench, Marino Mikaele-Tu’u reclaims the No 8 jersey from Hapakuki Moala Liava’a, while Wellington’s Peter Umaga-Jensen, nephew of Tana Umaga, will start on the left wing, having flown over to join the squad as injury cover. The utility back, who had a superb career for Scots College First XV, was originally named on the bench, but replaced Jonah Lowe in a late change.

Robertson was understandably delighted with the performance against Wales.

“It was a great day. The shackles were off and we just wanted to express ourselves and take a little of our frustration and disappointment at not getting through to the top four. We played some good footy, which

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is what we’re here for. These young guys are very talented and they showed that. I was most impressed with our ruthless execution and our ability to play from anywhere. Our kicking into space turned them around. They only left one player in the back field and we exposed that.”

The fifth place decider against Australia gives Robertson’s young charges another opportunity to face a team they drew 1-1 with earlier in the year in a tight Oceania series.

“The game plan this week is around playing to our strengths and creating opportunities and being fully respectful of Australia. In our preparation we’ve realised that they’ve played some really good footy and they’ve got some really good players across the board.

In our review and preview for this game, we’ve discussed what was the difference between our preparation between the first and second tests against Australia, as it wasn’t as good second time around. That lesson’s long learnt and we’re really focused. It’s very exciting: if we’re going to play any team in your final game it might as well be Australia.

“We haven’t changed too much for this game and we’re keen to keep on expressing ourselves. We want to finish well, although it’s never going to make up for our disappointment, the least we can do is to make everyone proud at home and ourselves as well. It’s a really tight group, as tight as last year, and they’ve worked as hard as last year.”

Australia was always going to struggle to make the semifinals after losing to Scotland on day one.

New Zealand’s game kicks off at 3.45am (NZT) live on SKY Sport 1.

NZ Under 20s squad v Australia: Shaun Stevenson, Caleb Makene, Sio Tomkinson, Jordie Barrett, Peter Umaga-Jensen, Stephen Perofeta, Sam Nock, Marino Mikaele-Tu’u, Mitch Jacobson, Luke Jacobson, Hamish Dalzell, Quinten Strange, Sefo Kautai, Leni Apisai (c), Ayden Johnstone Reserves: Asafo Aumua, Sean Paranihi, Alex Fidow, Isaia Walker-Leawere, Hapakuki Moala-Liava’a, Jonathan Taumateine, TJ Va’a, Orbyn Leger - NZ Herald

New Zealand have responded to missing out on the World Rugby Under 20 Championship semi-finals by thumping Wales 71-12 in Manchester.

In their final pool match just three days ago, it took an 80th minute penalty for New Zealand to snatch an 18-17 win over Wales. Today the script couldn’t have been any more different as Scott Robertson’s side scorched to a 28-0 lead after just 10 minutes to set up a fifth place play off against the winner of the Scotland-Australia match.

The signs were ominous in the opening minute as Jonah Lowe hit the line from a well-executed move from the top of the lineout to run in a try after just 40 seconds. It was to be the first of 11 tries as New Zealand made use of a rare dry track to put on an attacking masterclass against Wales.

Lowe’s try was followed up by tries to lock Hamish Dallzell, wing Caleb Makene and fullback Shaun Stevenson to complete a remarkable opening 10 minutes.

A shell shocked Wales did well to slow the New Zealand scoring and go into the break at 35-5 down.

New Zealand started the second half like they did the first with an early try as Leni Apisai crossed in the corner to snuff out any chance of a Wales fight back. From there, New Zealand were just simply too good as the forward pack got on top at set piece time and the backs outsmarted the rushed Wales defence with quick ball movement and offloading.

Wing Caleb Makene crossed for two tries in the second half to complete a classy hat trick while fullback Shaun Stevenson added a second to take his tournament tally to five tries.

The rout was completed in the 80th minute as centre Patelesio Tomkinson intercepted and ran 100 metres for New Zealand’s 11th try.

New Zealand coach Scott Robertson said: “We wanted to make a statement and play our style and we managed to do that today. It hurts that we are not in the semi-finals but the boys showed what they can do out there.”

SCORERS: New Zealand 71 (Makene 3, Stevenson 2, Tomkinson, Apisai, Dalzell, Lowe, Strange, Moala-Liav’a tries, Barrett 7 con, Perofeta con) Wales 12 New Zealand U20’s fall to clinical Ireland at World Championship

By Campbell Burnes 8:30 AM Sunday Jun 12, 2016

Jordie Barrett of New Zealand gets stuck in an Irish tackle in Manchester last night (NZT).

New Zealand’s semifinal qualification chances for the World Rugby Under 20 Championship have just got very complicated after falling to Ireland 33-24 in Manchester this morning.

Scott Robertson’s side scored four tries to three, but in truth they were second best for much of the clash against a fired-up and accurate Ireland outfit.

They will still be celebrating in the Emerald Isle after their senior side also upset South Africa in the Republic.

This famous Under 20s’ upset represents the first time an Ireland national side has beaten New Zealand since their women tipped over the Black Ferns at the 2014 Rugby World Cup in France.

It now means that even if New Zealand defeat Wales in their final pool game on Thursday morning (NZT), they may still not be able to qualify

as the best second-placed finisher to advance.

Ireland’s line speed on defence troubled New Zealand all game as light rain fell, while their set-piece was dominant. Their captain and man of the match, lock James Ryan, led by example, they tackled like demons and played to their strengths in a tactically astute and gritty display.

And unlike Wales last night against the All Blacks, they did not fade in the final quarter, keeping the pressure on. They essentially sealed the game in the 71st minute when No 8 Max Deegan had an impeded run to the line - courtesy of an awol Shaun Stevenson - from another wheeled, advancing scrum.

New Zealand again looked to spread the ball from the get-go, but Ireland’s defence was rather stronger than Georgia’s on Wednesday.

However, second five Jordie Barrett did slice through on a good angle for the opening try. Wing Stevenson scored a superb solo try from a sweet chip and regather, but New Zealand were loose with their handling and passing and could not cope with Ireland’s lineout drives, which produced two tries.

New Zealand’s lineout then unravelled and it mattered not that wing Malo Tuitama was a constant threat with two tries.

Not even an injection of fresh legs from the bench, which was so effective for the All Blacks last night, could redress the balance.

In the final analysis, New Zealand were lucky to keep the margin to nine points. Twice they made trysaving tackles, Sam Nock in the first spell on the flying win Hugo Kiernan in the first stanza, and then Jordie Barrett holding up replacement Kelvin Brown over the line in the second.

In the other Pool B clash, Wales could only beat Georgia 10-9. The big upset of day two saw Argentina defeat South Africa 19-13.

Ireland 33 (Craig Jones, Adam McBurney, Max Deegan tries; Bill Johnston 2 con, 2 pen, Johnny McPhillips con, 2 pen) New Zealand 24 (Malo Tuitama 2, Jordie Barrett, Shaun Stevenson tries; Barrett 2 con) HT: 20-14 - NZ Herald

Rugby: U20s make few changes before Ireland clash

By Campbell Burnes 8:43 AM Saturday Jun 11, 2016

Sam Nock of New Zealand is tackled by Giorgi Tsutskiridze of Georgia during a World Rugby U20 Championship match. Photo / Getty The New Zealand team have kept changes to a minimum ahead of their second outing in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Manchester.

New Zealand have made just three changes to the starting XV from the squad that blanked Georgia 55-0 to face Ireland in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

The main features are the return from injury for fullback Jordan Trainor, who has not played in around seven weeks after a lacerated liver, and an unchanged forward pack that battled with a powerful Georgian scrum.

“We haven’t got too much time to make too many changes as a group,” coach Scott Robertson explained.

“There’s got to be subtle moves and slights tweaks to structures, but you have to have some rotation, you can’t play five games in a row because of the fatigue factor.”

He was pleased with the initial hitout against a Georgian team making their debut appearance at this level, with his side running in nine tries, including seven from the backline.

“It was very successful and a really satisfying performance from a lot of points. We got through unscathed and we trusted our systems. The boys kept their attention. We had a couple of scrum resets, but it was everything we hoped to get out of the game.

“Performance-wise, obviously Mitch Jacobson stood out. He played the whole game and got man of the match and it was probably the strongest performance he’s had in three years he’s been playing Under 20s.

“Sam Nock also showed his class, and why he’s a Super Rugby player.

He just needs game time. I was very pleased with his leadership and his pass. Shaun Stevenson and Jordie Barrett had strong games as well.”

Nock retains his place in the No 9 jersey, and will form a new combination with Stephen Perofeta at first five, replacing TJ Va’a who drops to the bench. Stevenson switches from fullback to the right wing to accommodate Jordan Trainor’s first appearance, while Malo Tuitama completes the back three after coming on as a replacement and touching down in the opening game.

Robertson was impressed with the contribution from his bench against Georgia and will be looking for more of the same against the Irish.

“The impact off the bench is the strength of the squad: we talk about 23s not 15s. When you name a side, it’s how you create a group when you play 80 minutes, the strength and power of the boys who played off the bench just created a little bit more. When the rain set in it became pretty torrential very quickly, but they finished the game well for us.

We got a result, we rolled the bench with 20 minutes to go and we had plenty of subs left. That was part of the plan, so we kept the guys fresh for the next four games.”

He is expecting another tough challenge against an Ireland side who squeaked home 26-25 against their Celtic cousins Wales in the first round.

“Any Irish side is strong and passionate. All the Six Nations squads are really strong, especially around set-piece, and there are some really good boys who will be a real challenge for us.

“We know their strengths around their lineout and getting down to our end of the field and putting pressure on us, so we need to mitigate this as much as we can, trust our defensive system, minimise our penalties and when we get the ball we hold on to it.”

The match kicks off at 12.30am New Zealand time.

NZ Under 20s squad v Ireland: Jordan Trainor, Shaun Stevenson, Sio Tomkinson, Jordie Barrett, Malo Tuitama, Stephen Perofeta, Sam Nock, Marino Mikaele-Tu’u, Mitch Jacobson, Luke Jacobson, Isaia Walker-Leawere, Quinten Strange, Sefo Kautai, Leni Apisai (c), Ayden Johnstone Reserves: Asafo Aumua, Sean Paranihi, Alex Fidow, Hamish Dalzell, Dalton Papali’i, Jonathan Taumateine, TJ Va’a, Jonah Lowe - NZ Herald

World Rugby U20 Championship launched in Manchester

11:32 AM Sunday Jun 5, 2016 World U20 Championship launch in Manchester, England.

The World Rugby U20 Championship has been launched, just three days before the tournament kicks off in Manchester, England.

All 12 teams have arrived in the north-west of England, where New Zealand will aim to retain the trophy they won last year in Italy.

Matches will be played at Manchester City Academy Stadium and AJ Bell Stadium on June 7, 11, 15 and 20, with the final held at the AJ Bell Stadium on June 25.

Speaking at the launch, World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper said: “The U20 Championship is a perfect pathway for the future stars of world rugby.

“Following Rugby World Cup 2015, Manchester will provide a great backdrop for the games and fans in the region are in for a feast of open, running rugby at a tournament that will showcase some of the stars of the next Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019.”

RFU President Jason Leonard said: “It is a tremendous privilege as host union to, once again, welcome friends from across the rugby world to the tournament, and to meet the future stars of our sport.

“The World Rugby U20 Championship is a tremendous showcase of rising talent, and we look forward to three weeks of exciting rugby. For the RFU as host union, the tournament also plays an important role in continuing the Rugby World Cup 2015 legacy in this country - with more youngsters playing, more older players returning, more coaches, referees and volunteers inspired to get involved.”

The trophy made its final journey into Manchester on Saturday morning, after a trophy tour that visited schools and clubs around England over the past month. Matches will be broadcast to 111 countries around the world.

New Zealand opens their campaign on Wednesday morning (6.45am NZT) against Georgia.

- NZ Herald

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Under 20s to be welcomed ahead of World Championship 8:08 AM Friday Jun 3, 2016 New Zealand are next cab off the rank tomorrow morning (NZT) for the team welcome ceremonies ahead of the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Manchester.

The ceremonies are taking place across England’s north-west to celebrate the world’s top young rugby talent arriving in the country.

New Zealand will be formally welcomed at Broughton Park at 2.30am (NZT).

The welcome ceremonies formally greet each competing team to England ahead of the tournament and take place at the 12 training bases across the north-west. Each ceremony includes an activity relating to a team’s respective country’s heritage and culture, medal presentations to the players, a guard of honour by the club’s minis and juniors and a plaque presentation to the club to mark their role in the tournament.

Bill Beaumont, chairman of England Rugby, said :”Throughout the past couple of weeks we have seen a fantastic buzz across the north-west as the trophy visited clubs, schools and iconic locations as part of the World Rugby U20 Championship build-up. As the teams begin to arrive we have seen this excitement further heightened in anticipation for the start of the tournament, with a number of local clubs and schools getting the chance to meet the future stars of rugby and celebrate this great occasion.”

Argentina were the first team to arrive on English soil, welcomed to their training base Stockport RUFC with a guard of honour from the club’s excited minis and juniors last week. The Pumitas were treated to a BBQ in the Manchester sunshine before being presented with their participation medals.

Current title holders New Zealand will be the next team welcomed to their training base at Broughton

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Park FC, home to Uruguay during Rugby World Cup 2015. The team will take to the stage and perform the haka and waiata for the local children.

Continuing with tradition, France will be treated to a rendition of La Marseillaise by Flixton Brass Band and a traditional English tea party to bring them a taste of the host country during their ceremony at Ashton-on-Mersey on Saturday, while the Scotland team will be welcomed to Bury RUFC to the sounds of their homeland, with a 30-piece pipe and drum band greeting them into their team base on Sunday.

Georgia and South Africa will then be welcomed by their respective training bases on Saturday, before Ireland, Italy, Australia and home team England arrive at their home away from home on Sunday.

Finally, Wales will be introduced to the tournament

by Aldwinians RUFC before Japan complete the introductions on June 12 at Lymm RFC. Alongside the formal proceedings there will be touch sessions, family fun days and barbeques taking place across the team training bases, giving local youngsters the chance to meet the players and celebrate the official start of the tournament. *The tournament will be broadcast to 111 countries.

Some games are already sold out.

New Zealand kicks off their campaign against Georgia on Wednesday morning at 6.45am (NZT).

- NZ Herald

The New Zealand Under 20 is recognised as the senior age-grade side in the country, which formally replaced the Under 19 and Under 21 systems in 2008 when World Rugby (then the IRB) merged the two age-grades to a single tier structure.

Now placed as one of the premier pathways to ITM Cup, Investec Super Rugby and All Blacks selection

(nearly half of the 2011 Rugby World Cup squad had players from Under 20 representation), New Zealand is noted as one of the most successful sides.

The second youngest New Zealand international team won the first four IRB Junior World Championships on offer, but have finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th and the last three events (2012-2014) – with England winning the last two crowns.

Globally over 100 players who have featured in this competition have played Test rugby, with over twenty recent or current All Blacks having won an Under 20 jersey.

Summary for all under 20 matches at the World and Oceania championships up to and including the 2016 World Junior Championship:

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2016 NZ UNDER 20S Alex Fidow Asafo Aumua Ayden Johnstone Dalton Papali’i Fin Hoeata Hamish Dalzell Hapakuki Moala-Liava’a Isaia Walker-Leawere Leni Apisai Lui Luamanu Luke Jacobson Marino Mikaele-Tu’u Mitchell Jacobson Pouri Rakete-Stones Quinten Strange Sam Caird Sean Paranihi Shaun Stodart Caleb Makene Ereatara Enari Jonah Lowe Jonathan Taumateine Jordan Trainor Jordie Barrett Joshua McKay Malo Tuitama Mason Emerson Mason Kean Orbyn Leger Patelesio Tomkinson Peter Umaga-Jensen Sam Nock Stephen Perofeta TJ Va’a

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