Kiwis change nine for U20 showdown
Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:17
New Zealand's co-coaches Dave Rennie and Russell Hilton-Jones made nine changes to the team to Argentina in their final pool match at the International Rugby Board (IRB) Under-20 World Championship in Cardiff on Saturday.
Prop Ben Afeaki, lock Sam Whitelock, No.8 Nasi Manu, scrumhalf Grayson Hart, second five-eighth (No.12) Ryan Crotty and left wing Sean Maitland are retained in the same positions in which they started in the 65-10 win over Ireland earlier this week.
The positional changes see Waikato's Trent Renata, who moves from first flyhalf to fullback and Canterbury's Kade Poki, who moves from right wing to outside centre.
New Zealand is on 10 competition points and leads Argentina by one point in Pool A.
Rennie said Saturday's game was crucial.
"This game is basically a quarterfinal, with the winner advancing to the top four play-offs," Rennie said.
"The Argentina side is strong up front and will provide a stern test to our forward pack.
"Our performance against Ireland was a step up from our previous encounter with Tonga and we are looking for further improvements in this match."
New Zealand: 15 Trent Renata (Waikato), 14 Joe Hill (Wellington), 13 Kade Poki (Canterbury), 12 Ryan Crotty (Canterbury), 11 Sean Maitland (Canterbury), 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick (Wellington), 9 Grayson Hart (Auckland), 8 Nasi Manu (Canterbury), 7 Hugh Reed (Hawke's Bay), 6 Mathew Luamanu (Wellington), 5 Sam Whitelock (Canterbury), 4 Chris Smith (North Harbour, captain), 3 Ben Afeaki (North Harbour), 2 Ash Dixon (Hawke's Bay), 1 Paea Fa'anunu (Auckland).
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald (Tasman), 17 Rodney Ah You (Canterbury), 18 Josh Townsend (Otago), 19 Peter Saili (Auckland), 20 Aaron Smith (Manawatu), 21 Jackson Willison (Waikato), 22 Zac Guildford (Hawke's Bay).
Date: Saturday, June 14
Venue: Cardiff Arms
Park, Cardiff
Kick-off: 17.00 (16.00 GMT)
Referee: James Leckie (Australia)
Touch judges: Romain Poite (France), Andrea Pasquin (Italy)
