U20 Rugby Championship 2025
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@OomPB said in U20 Rugby Championship 2025:
I think we will have a much stronger team next year.
You don't rate this year's group particularly highly? While I don't know the players very well, to me they did show glimpses of being a good side.
Foote and Ackermann will put their soft skills to the test and they'll need to fix some of their lineout issues, but who knows what can happen if the team gels and the game plan clicks.
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They havent select the final group. I do know some of the schoolboy players from the Western Cape. Many of them were still in school last year playing in the Winelands schools. Riley Norton a double SA Schools player (rugby & cricket) is one of them and probably captain. He is in the PSdT mould.
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@OomPB said in U20 Rugby Championship 2025:
Riley Norton a double SA Schools player (rugby & cricket) is one of them and probably captain. He is in the PSdT mould.
I've seen Norton play a few games now, for Paul Roos, SA U18s, and U20s. He certainly seems to be an industrious player. That's some high praise, though, comparing him to Pieter-Steph.
The other U20s lock who was quite noticeable was Morné Venter (Lions). Looks to be very mobile and has a good offloading game. He could be a valuable asset in a more expansive Junior Bok attack.
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As I’ve said in an earlier post, due to the nature of the game against the Japan U23 XV with its many substitutions throughout the match, I’m not sure we can really conclude anything about this particular group of Australian U20 players and how they will perform in the U20 Rugby Championship. But one thing which did stand out in the game was the quality of the Japanese attack, especially in the first half when Japan U23 XV had a lot of possession. As such, it allows us to take a closer look at some aspects of the Junior Wallaby defence, how they set up, what they try to achieve and where it is potentially vulnerable as well.
The Japanese attacking profile
But first, let’s quickly take a look at what the Japanese U23s threw at this defence. I’d argue that their attacking profile was built on 4 prongs of attack, 2 kicking and 2 with ball-in-hand. In terms of kicking, they either went to (1) contestable box-kicks from 9 and wiper kicks from 10, in order to retrieve the high-ball and attack against a fragmented defence, or to (2) long kicks looking for space to gain territory. In terms of ball-in-hand, they sought to (1) attack from edge to edge through double passes out the back, in order to outflank Aussie defence, or they (2) executed switch plays targeting the space close to the ruck in an attempt to exploit the potentially weaker connection between the pillar defender and the first defender outside the ruck.Effective wipers kick leading to line-break
The Japanese U23s were consistently able to reach the edge by standing deeper and passing out the back
Targeting the space close to the ruck, exposed by overchasing defenders
The Japanese U23 attack showcased a lot of small variations, the goal of which was to fracture defensive connections and prevent the Junior Wallaby defensive line from bringing cohesive line-speed. Because while line-speed is an effective tool for any defence, when defenders start hesitating about what the attack is going to do, it has the potential to backfire. Once defenders start coming up at different speeds, gaps start to appear which can then be exploited by the attack, for example, by using depth and a short passing game to expose isolated defenders.
As the game wore on and the Japan U23 XV started feeling more comfortable with moving the ball through the hands in order to find space, it also became more apparent how the Junior Wallaby defence found it difficult to realign its defensive numbers on the fly, leading to overlaps out wide.
Here, we see how the Japanese attack has created a 3-on-1 attacking overlap on the edge by going from side to side after the restart, with the number 11, Cooper Watters, now in complete no man’s land and looking to defend 20 metres of space against 3 attackers.
Unfortunately for the Japanese, Ito’s final pass doesn’t hit his target, allowing the Aussie U20s to kill the attacking momentum. Still, the space is quite clearly there and with better execution, Japan U23 would have had a line-break, with attacking support on their feet.
Junior Wallaby defence
Line-speed, in other words, can be a double-edged sword, especially in the early stages of its implementation with a team when defenders aren’t always in sync, neither with each other nor with the system’s requirements. This became apparent in two ways during the game against Japan U23, namely with the midfield being outflanked a bit too easily and, secondly, with the wingers not always seemingly being clear on what is expected of them in defence.This brings us to the second part, which is what the Australian U20s were trying to achieve with their defence. The Junior Wallabies look to employ a ‘push drift defence’, where the defensive line comes up in order to close the attacking space while simultaneously drifting to the side in a slight diagonal angle, to soak up any numbers from a wide attack. You have designated tacklers who lead the defensive line – for example, the third defender outside the ruck, typically a loose forward, is charged with taking down the ball carrier in the first attacking pod – flanked by defensive support following slightly behind, to be in a position to contest the breakdown. Similar defensive pods make up the rest of the defensive line.
The defence then acts in pods as a way to mirror the attacking pod system, closing up the attacking space in an organized manner. If effectively timed and structured, the more the attack passes the ball out the back, the less time and space they have, as the defensive pods move more quickly from north to south while the attack goes east to west passing the ball. A good working example of this can be seen here.
The defence keeps moving up as the ball is moved by the attack, with defensive pressure eventually causing the knock-on
Another example of this can be seen in the two pictures below, first with Toby Brial (8) leading the line after the first pass outside the ruck, and secondly with Fakafanua and Grover (12 and 13) both coming up as the ball moves past the first receiver.
In this instance, however, the defensive set-up doesn’t work so well, as the Japanese attack starts from quite deep and the Aussie defensive push is laboured, which means that the attack can reach the edge through two passes before the defensive line has even reached them, leading to an easy line-break out wide.
The Japanese winger puts in a chip kick that ends up going too far
So what is going wrong here? Two things stand out: first of all, Fakafanua and Grover need to be quicker in reaching the attacking line, to at least put pressure on the Japanese skill execution. Here, the Japanese attackers have all the time in the world to put Tanaka, the 14, into space, as both Fakafanua and Grover stop at a certain point before they reach their opposites. What the Aussie midfield needs to do is keep moving forwards and close the attackers’ space.
And secondly, the wingers in the Junior Wallaby defensive system are seemingly used as “rovers”, acting as instinctive decision-makers in defence with a licence to try and ‘kill’ the attack. You can see them at times acting as extra sweepers if they think the attack is going to kick while, at other times, they are acting as defensive shooters, sprinting out of line in order to block passing lanes or intercept the ball. In this instance, however, Rubens, the Aussie 14, doesn’t really do anything, coming in narrow alongside Fakafanua and Grover while having nobody to mark. In another instance, Rubens decides to jump out of the line in an attempt at intercepting the ball, which he fails to do.
Rubens in defensive no man’s landAgain, it is a rather desperate play which never looked like it was on. But it also shows how defensively difficult it is for a winger in today’s game, as their interventions often constitute a 14 point-play: get the intercept and race away for the try; get your timing wrong and you’re potentially off the field for 10 minutes while the opposition scores another maul try after being awarded the penalty.
The narrowness of the defensive winger was a problem for much of the first half, which was further exacerbated by a poor alignment between the winger and his fullback. If the winger comes up aggressively, the fullback (or 9 or 10, if they act as sweepers) becomes responsible to guard the space left open, coming up field if play moves in that direction. But in both the example above and here below, there’s acres of space between the winger and the 15, which could be easily exploited by the Japanese second five, Taira, by going to the cross-kick.
See how long the Japanese attacker can run before Wilcox, the Aussie fullback, arrives.
Now imagine Gilermo Mentoe or Stanley Solomon being on the receiving end of this cross field kick. With the amount of time and space afforded here by the Junior Wallaby defence, it’s hard to imagine things ending particularly well.
Summary
As the Australian U20 defence only conceded one try in open play – the other three being scored from the maul – at first glance one would think that the Junior Wallaby defence did its job well. Looking more closely, however, shows that there were some potentially lethal cracks in this defence, which could well be exploited ruthlessly by more potent back threes, with both the NZ U20s and the Junior Boks looking to be well-stocked in this area in 2025. Chris Whittaker will undoubtedly be aware of these frailties and he’ll be trying his utmost to bring across the defensive duties and responsibilities to his midfield and outside backs as clearly as possible.Bringing defensive line-speed can put real pressure on the attacking skillset of the opposition but poor defensive execution of such speed can backfire as well, leaving an abundance of space for the opposition attack to exploit. The key, as always, is communication, especially between those players who need to protect the seams of the defensive line (pillar defenders at the ruck, edge defenders, sweepers at the back) as any attack will seek to exploit any opportunities there. The Junior Wallabies will do well to cultivate the connections between those players, so they’re fully aware of each others' roles at all times.
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Sevens star Harvey added to Australia squad for the U20s Rugby Championship
Australia U20s head coach Chris Whitaker has named a 31-player squad for next month's Rugby Championship U20s in South Africa.
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@Bovidae said in U20 Rugby Championship 2025:
The SA U20s especially, and the Aust U20s have been playing warmup games. In contrast, the NZ U20s only meet up for a camp from tomorrow. I hope they play at least one match before departing for SA as it's not an ideal preparation.
Yeah, looking at those three teams (I haven't really been able to find much on the Argentina U20s), the Junior Boks and Junior Wallabies have been holding multiple development camps and trial matches throughout the year.
Perhaps the NZ U20s have been doing more than they've let on but the level of prep does seem to be lagging behind.
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Junior Springboks squad for U20 Rugby Championship:
Props: Ranon Fouché (Bulls), Jean Erasmus (Bulls), Simphiwe Ngobese (Sharks), Herman Lubbe (Western Province), Oliver Reid (Western Province).
Hookers: Siphosethu Mnebelele (Bulls), Jaundré Schoeman (Bulls), HB Odendaal (Lions).
Locks: Neil Hansen (Lions), Morné Venter (Lions), Riley Norton (Western Province), JJ Theron (Bulls).
Loose forwards: Batho Hlekani (Sharks), Xola Nyali (Western Province), Matt Romao (Sharks), Wandile Mlaba (Western Province), Thando Biyela (Lions).
Scrumhalves: Ceano Everson (Sharks), Haashim Pead (Lions), Elrich Visser (Cheetahs).
Flyhalves: Vusi Moyo (Sharks), Kyle Smith (Western Province).
Centres: Albie Bester (Sharks), Gino Cupido (Western Province), Demitre Erasmus (Bulls), Dominic Malgas (Western Province).
Outside backs: Scott Nel (Sharks), Gilermo Mentoe (Lions), Siya Ndlozi (Western Province), Cheswill Jooste (Bulls), JC Mars (Western Province). -
The best young talent from Western Province included. Like posted earlier Riley Norton and Oliver Reid from PRG. Luke Smith and JC Mars will play for the Stormers, Gino Cupido made his 7s debut last week for the Blitz Boks. Fuller is already in the Stormers squad and have to withdraw
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@OomPB said in U20 Rugby Championship 2025:
The best young talent from Western Province included. Like posted earlier Riley Norton and Oliver Reid from PRG. Luke Smith and JC Mars will play for the Stormers, Gino Cupido made his 7s debut last week for the Blitz Boks. Fuller is already in the Stormers squad and have to withdraw
Five capped Junior Boks named for U20 Rugby Championship
Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote has named a competitive Junior Springbok squad consisting of 31 players for the 2025 edition of the Rugby Championship U20, which will be staged from 1 to 11 May at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.
According to the press release, Divan Fuller's injured. So he might still make the squad for the U20 World Cup. Surprised that Chijindu Okonta didn't make the cut, I thought he looked elusive and creative on the right wing in the trial games.
Hlekani (lock/loose forward), Pead (9) and Mars (fullback) are the returnees from last year's U20 TRC. Hlekani was impressive but Pead and Mars had relatively poor tournaments. Interesting to see how they perform this year. I do think this year's Junior Bok game plan might suit both players more.
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@Bovidae said in U20 Rugby Championship 2025:
I saw this:
On Wednesday, the Hurricanes Hunters and the New Zealand U20s meet at NZCIS. Kick-off is at 12.00 pm.
Went and watched a bit of this. What struck me was the diversity in size and physical composition. Some of the U20s guys looked like kids. Others like absolute beasts. Eli Oudenryn is huge. I reckon he would have been 20+ kilos heavier than Shaun Kempton who replaced him.
Some of the other kids just don't look ready to play against men at NPC or Super level. The Hurricanes 2s got the better of them from time to time up front. Could have just been that some of the players warming up in the first have were the guys first year out of school. Although, I do wonder about always pushing these kids early into open grade.
The ball movement from the kids was pretty good.
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@SouthernMann said in U20 Rugby Championship 2025:
@Bovidae said in U20 Rugby Championship 2025:
I saw this:
On Wednesday, the Hurricanes Hunters and the New Zealand U20s meet at NZCIS. Kick-off is at 12.00 pm.
Went and watched a bit of this. What struck me was the diversity in size and physical composition. Some of the U20s guys looked like kids. Others like absolute beasts. Eli Oudenryn is huge. I reckon he would have been 20+ kilos heavier than Shaun Kempton who replaced him.
Some of the other kids just don't look ready to play against men at NPC or Super level. The Hurricanes 2s got the better of them from time to time up front. Could have just been that some of the players warming up in the first have were the guys first year out of school. Although, I do wonder about always pushing these kids early into open grade.
The ball movement from the kids was pretty good.
What was the score in the end?
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@Canes4life said in U20 Rugby Championship 2025:
@SouthernMann said in U20 Rugby Championship 2025:
@Bovidae said in U20 Rugby Championship 2025:
I saw this:
On Wednesday, the Hurricanes Hunters and the New Zealand U20s meet at NZCIS. Kick-off is at 12.00 pm.
Went and watched a bit of this. What struck me was the diversity in size and physical composition. Some of the U20s guys looked like kids. Others like absolute beasts. Eli Oudenryn is huge. I reckon he would have been 20+ kilos heavier than Shaun Kempton who replaced him.
Some of the other kids just don't look ready to play against men at NPC or Super level. The Hurricanes 2s got the better of them from time to time up front. Could have just been that some of the players warming up in the first have were the guys first year out of school. Although, I do wonder about always pushing these kids early into open grade.
The ball movement from the kids was pretty good.
What was the score in the end?
No idea. No scoreboard. I got there are it started and left halfway through the second half.
Probably saw three tries to the U20s. Four to the Hurricanes 2s.
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@Bovidae said in U20 Rugby Championship 2025:
It would be interesting to know the strength of the Hunters team as a comparison. I did read that Jacob Denyer was playing for them, and he was in the Hurricanes U20s.
From what I could see Clarke, Rova, and older looking hooker, the seven looked tidy (kind of looked like Lakai), Viljoen, Solomon. Those were the guys I think I recognised
