NZ Under 20 team named for Oceania Test against Fiji

Apr 28 • General News, International • 1625 Views • Comments Off on NZ Under 20 team named for Oceania Test against Fiji

The New Zealand team to play Fiji in the first Test of the Under 20 Oceania Tournament on the Gold Coast tomorrow, April 28 at 7 pm NZT, has been named.

The team is:

1	Harrison Allen	Canterbury
2	JP Sauni	Auckland
3	Ryan Coxon	Waikato
4	Jacob Pierce	Auckland
5	Sam Slade	Auckland
6	Dalton Papalii (VC)	Auckland
7	Tom Christie	Canterbury
8	Luke Jacobson (C)	Waikato
9	Kemara Hauiti Parapara	Wellington
10	Tiaan Falcon	Hawke’s Bay
11	Jona Nareki	Otago
12	Orbyn Leger	Counties Manukau
13	Tamati Tua	Northland
14	Tima Faingaanuku	Tasman
15	Will Jordan	Tasman

16	Asafo Aumua	Wellington
17	Tim Farrell	Hawke’s Bay
18	Pouri Rakete-Stones	Hawke’s Bay
19	Isaia Walker-Leawere	Wellington
20	Adrian Choat	Auckland
21	Carlos Price	Wellington
22	Ciarahn Matoe	Taranaki
23	Caleb Clarke	Auckland

Note: Robb Cobb has traveled with the Under 20 squad to the Gold Coast as a replacement for Alex Fidow who injured himself just prior to the team’s assembly.

New Zealand Under 20 Head Coach Craig Philpott said the team was coming together well for the tournament, which this year includes Fiji, Samoa and hosts Australia.

“We’ve had some challenges coming over, with a couple of late changes and replacements, but the group is gelling really well and enjoying each other’s company.

“The Oceania tournament provides the first taste of international Test match rugby for several of the players and offers a good step up for them. We’ve had All Blacks Assistant Coach Ian Foster in camp with us for the last three days which has inspired the team and he offered plenty of good advice in training for the boys.

“When selecting the starting teams for this tournament we want to give everyone an equal shot at a game time, to test some different combinations and cement our game plan for the World Championship in June. All the guys will either get a start or come off the bench over the three games.

“This Fijian side is an unknown quantity to us. However, it’s probable they will want to keep the ball alive and not kick too much, play with flair and want to attack. We think we have the combinations to counter the strengths of the opposition.

“For this tournament, we have set ourselves a couple of simple goals around attack and defense. We want to embed the patterns that we have been working on in our earlier camps in New Zealand and in training this week on the Gold Coast. I’m looking to see players to stick with those patterns, regardless of the pressure they come under, so we stay in shape and stay in structure.”

Schedule for Oceania Under 20 Tournament:
Friday 28 April v Fiji, 7.00pm NZT
Tuesday 2 May v Samoa, 5.00pm NZT
Saturday 6 May v Australia, 9.00pm NZT