New Zealand Under 20 side named for World Championship opener against Scotland

May 30 • General News, International • 1422 Views • Comments Off on New Zealand Under 20 side named for World Championship opener against Scotland

New Zealand Under 20 Head Coach Craig Philpott has named his side to face Scotland in their opening game of the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Georgia, starting Wednesday evening NZT.

The team is:

1	Ezekiel Lindenmuth	Auckland
2	Asafo Aumua	Wellington
3	Ryan Coxon	Waikato
4	Isaia Walker Leawere	Wellington
5	Samuel Slade	Auckland
6	Dalton Papalii	Auckland
7	Tom Christie	Canterbury
8	Luke Jacobson – Captain	Waikato
9	Ereatara Enari – Vice captain	Canterbury
10	Tiaan Falcon	Hawke’s Bay
11	Tima Faingaanuku	Tasman
12	Orbyn Leger	Counties Manukau
13	Braydon Ennor	Canterbury
14	Josh McKay	Canterbury
15	Will Jordan	Tasman

16	John (JP) Sauni	Auckland
17	Tim Farrell	Hawke’s Bay
18	Alex Fidow	Wellington
19	Sam Caird	Waikato
20	Marino Mikaele -Tuu	Hawke’s Bay
21	Kemara Hauiti Parapara	Wellington
22	Thomas Umaga-Jensen	Wellington
23	Caleb Clarke	Auckland

New Zealand Under 20 Head Coach Craig Philpott said it was a tough task selecting his first 23 to take on Scotland.

“All 28 guys in our squad have earned the right to wear the black jersey, so there was a lot of discussion around our selection. We have chosen an experienced team to kick off the tournament.

“We expect Scotland to be direct, physical and passionate on both attack and defence, so we have picked our team accordingly.

“Obviously, we want to make a good start to the tournament. It’s been the best part of three weeks since the Oceania Championships, so we want to get back up to where we were at that tournament in terms of our attack and defence.”

Under 20 World Championship Pool:
Wednesday 31 May, 9.00pm NZT v Scotland
Sunday 4 June 11.30pm NZT v Italy
Thursday 8 June 11.30pm NZT v Ireland

Information on World Rugby Under 20 Championship
http://www.worldrugby.org/u20

Watch the World Rugby Under 20 Championship on SKY Sport (NZT)
Wednesday 31 May, 9.00pm NZT v Scotland on SKY Sport 3
Sunday 4 June 11.30pm NZT v Italy on SKY Sport 1
Thursday 8 June 11.30pm NZT v Ireland SKY Sport 1