Eight back for Baby Blacks
Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:06
New Zealand Under-20 face Tonga in their opening match of the IRB Junior World Championships this weekend, marking the start of a challenging campaign for the young All Blacks.
"The team is in a tough pool with games against Ireland and Argentina to follow our first game. We play a game every four days and the full squad will get some game time during the pool part of the competition," stated co-coach Dave Rennie.
Rennie and Russell Hilton-Jones' starting line-up includes eight players from the IRB Under-19 World Championship final who beat South Africa with a convincing 31-7 in Dublin last year. These include captain Chris Smith (who also captained the New Zealand Under 19 team in 2007), Ash Dixon, Paea Fa'anunu, Zac Guildford, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Peter Saili, Josh Townsend and Jackson Willison.
Six bench players for Saturday's game also played in the Under-19 finl last year, namely Ben Afeaki, Luke Braid, Ryan Crotty, Quentin MacDonald, Trent Renata and Sam Whitelock.
"This competition showcases the best age-grade rugby in the world and we are delighted to be competing in the first ever IRB Junior World Championship.
"Traditionally, Tongan rugby teams have been strong in the forwards and we expect a similar approach from the team we will face on Saturday," Rennie added.
New Zealand: 15 Zac Guildford (Hawke's Bay), 14 Joe Hill (Wellington), 13 Michael Harris (North Harbour), 12 Jackson Willison (Waikato), 11 Andre Taylor (Manawatu), 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick (Wellington), 9 Aaron Smith (Manawatu), 8 Mathew Luamanu (Wellington), 7 Hugh Reed (Hawke's Bay), 6 Peter Saili (Auckland), 5 Josh Townsend (Otago), 4 Chris Smith (North Harbour, captain), 3 Toby Smith (Waikato), 2 Ash Dixon (Hawke's Bay), 1 Paea Fa'anunu (Auckland).
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald (Tasman), 17 Ben Afeaki (North Harbour), 18 Sam Whitelock (Canterbury), 19 Luke Braid (Bay of Plenty), 20
Grayson Hart (Auckland), 21 Trent Renata (Waikato), 22 Ryan Crotty (Canterbury).
Date: Saturday, June 7
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Kick-off: 17.00 (16.00 GMT)
Referee: James Bolabiu (Fiji)
Touch judges: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland), David Bodilly (Wales)
