International

Six men’s U20 players to watch in 2021

Published

1 year ago

June 11, 2024

Following a hiatus of more than a year, rugby fans around the world will have a chance to run the rule over some of the men’s game’s brightest emerging talents this month.

The U20 Six Nations 2021, which was delayed as a result of COVID-19, will take place in Cardiff between 19 June and 13 July, as England go in search of a ninth title.

Next Friday, meanwhile, South Africa will welcome Argentina, Georgia and Uruguay to Stellenbosch for the U20 International Series.

Ahead of the action we picked out six players who could be set for a couple of months to remember.

Oscar Beard (England)

Beard made his English Premiership debut for Harlequins at Sale last Friday, lining up on the left wing and earning plaudits for his willingness to put his body on the line in defence.

It is in the centre that Beard has caught the eye at age-group level, though, and he appears to be the man in possession of England’s number 13 jersey as the U20 Six Nations approaches.

Still only 19, the outside-centre is a product of the Harlequins academy having played in the junior ranks of both Alton Rugby Club and Farnham RUFC, as World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee Jonny Wilkinson did.

Beard will be joined in the England U20 squad by Harlequins team-mate Fin Baxter, and the young prop is another player to keep an eye on.

Joshua Brennan (France)

One of several players included in the France U20 squad with a famous surname, Brennan is the son of former Ireland international Trevor.

Brennan, who like his older brother Daniel came through the Toulouse academy, made his Six Nations U20 debut during last season’s curtailed tournament, and captained France against Wales.

The Dublin-born second-row played twice for the Toulouse first-team this season and scored a try in the final as the academy side beat Perpignan to the junior championship title.

Brennan’s Toulouse pack-mate Théo Ntamack, brother of Romain and son of Émile, is also in the France squad and will hope to carry his good recent form into the tournament in Wales.

Jordan Hendrikse (South Africa)

Fly-half Hendrikse will not turn 19 until 28 June, but his undoubted quality has already earned him first-team opportunities at Gauteng franchise, the Lions.

Hendrikse turned in a Player of the Match performance when he wore the number 10 jersey in the Lions’ 39-37 defeat to the Stormers last month, kicking 12 points in the process.

“He has got a special talent. More than him kicking the ball prodigiously, it’s the confidence that he brings in the way he organises everyone around him,” Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen said after the Rainbow Cup contest.

If selected for the matches against Argentina, Georgia and Uruguay, Hendrikse will follow in the footsteps of older brother Jaden, who represented the Junior Springboks at the World Rugby U20 Championship 2019.

Ben Muncaster (Scotland)

Born in North Berwick, Muncaster travelled south of the border when he won a cricket and rugby scholarship to Rugby School in England.

Although he had a trial with Middlesex, it was with an oval ball that he excelled and his performances for Rugby, where William Webb Ellis is said to have invented the game almost 200 years ago, caught the attention of Leicester Tigers.

Muncaster spent his formative years in the Tigers academy before being lured back up to Scotland with Edinburgh last summer, and he subsequently made his senior debut during the Rainbow Cup win over Zebre in April.

Back-row forward, Muncaster has represented Scotland at both U18 and U19 level and has been included in his country’s squad for this year’s U20 Six Nations.

Davit Niniashvili (Georgia)

It remains to be seen whether Niniashvili will travel to Stellenbosch with Georgia U20 such has been his impact with the full Lelos squad.

Niniashvili has admitted that he felt “dazzled and excited” when he was first called up to the seniors last May, aged just 17.

But, he has gone on to excel on the test stage, winning his first caps as a replacement in the Autumn Nations Cup matches against Ireland and Fiji.

Full-back Niniashvili has since started matches against Russia (twice) and Spain, and scored his first international try in a 23-6 defeat of the Russians in Kaliningrad in March.

It has also been confirmed that he will move to Top 14 club Lyon next season with countryman Beka Saghinadze.

Joaquín Oviedo (Argentina)

Number eight Oviedo was the surprise inclusion in Mario Ledesma’s training squad for Argentina’s 2020 test matches, receiving the call-up on his 19th birthday.

Oviedo did not make it onto the pitch in any of Los Pumas’ official matches, but will have learned an incredible amount training alongside Rodrigo Bruni and Facundo Isa.

He will now hope to put those lessons into practice when Argentina U20 face South Africa, Georgia and Uruguay in Stellenbosch.

Oviedo’s older brother Leonel is a hooker who featured at the World Rugby U20 Championship in both 2017 and 2018, and went on to play for the Argentina XV at the World Rugby Nations Cup 2019.

International

Fans flock back to see the Boks in action

Published

4 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Huge Rugby

The Springboks came close to a claiming a fifth Castle Lager Rugby Championship title this season, and although there was disappointment in the end, the men in green and gold still performed very well, with a number of Boks dominating the individual statistical analysis of the competition, while South African rugby supporters made the most of the opportunity to return to stadiums.

Due to the COVID-pandemic, the Boks last played in front of fans in South Africa in 2019, and this year just under 300,000 supporters streamed through the gates at the six Tests in South Africa.

For the three Tests against Wales (in Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Cape Town), and the three Castle Lager Rugby Championship encounters on home soil (in Nelspruit, Johannesburg and Durban), 297,298 supporters – or a superb 98.91% of full capacity at the six stadiums – saw the Boks in action in South Africa.

Jacques Nienaber’s team finished the Castle Lager Rugby Championship with four wins from their six matches, their most since 2014 and 2013, when they also finished second behind New Zealand with four wins.

South Africa beat Argentina twice (38-21 and 36-20 for a nett points’ difference of +33), won one against Australia – their first away win in the competition over the Wallabies since 2013 – and lost one Down Under (24-8 and 17-25 for a nett points’ difference of +8), and ended equal with New Zealand on one win and one defeat (26-10 and 23-35 for a nett points’ difference of +4).

Zoning in on individual performances in the last two months of international rugby, Malcolm Marx’s influence in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship was clear for all to see, with the Springbok hooker dominating in a number of key areas.

Marx scored two tries – the same as his team-mates Damian De Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Kwagga Smith – which placed them joint-third on the list of top try scorers, behind All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho with five, as well as flankers Juan Martin Gonzalez of Argentina (4) and Fraser McReight of Australia (3).

But Marx also dominated on the ground, where he topped the list of breakdown turnovers won, with seven. Second on the list was Springbok captain Siya Kolisi with six, followed by Pumas captain Julian Montoya (five).

The All Blacks duo of Ardie Savea and Sam Whitelock, and Argentina’s Pablo Matera, were all on four, while Kwagga Smith and Steven Kitshoff won three each.

Lood de Jager made the most tackles of any Springbok with 62 (he placed fourth overall, behind the Pumas trio of Marcos Kremer (79), Montoya (66) and Gonzalez (66), while Marx and Kolisi came in at joint-ninth with 54 tackles each.

The Boks’ strongest ball carriers were Jasper Wiese (51 carries for 307m won), De Allende (48 carries for 333m) and Marx (40 carries for 222m).

Four players were tied at the top of the list for average metres gained per carry, namely SA’s Mapimpi, Lukhanyo Am, Canan Moodie and New Zealand’s Caleb Clarke, all with an average of 13m, with Clarke’s 540m the most metres gained by any player in 2022, while Mapimpi’s seven clean breaks were the most this season.

The Boks’ starting locks ruled in the air, with De Jager’s 26 lineouts won topping the list, and Etzebeth coming in second with 25.

The top points’ scorers during the competition were Argentina’s Emiliano Boffelli and New Zealand’s Richie Mo’unga, both of whom scored 71 points in their six games, with Bok flyhalf Handre Pollard coming in at third with 32 points in three games.

Content & Images from - South Africa Rugby

International

Barrett relishes opportunity in 12 jersey

Published

5 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Huge Rugby

It didn’t take long after Saturday’s 40-14 Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship win over Australia for new second five-eighths Jordie Barrett to feel the effects of his changed role.

While he played nearly three-quarters of the earlier Test against Australia in the position, it was a full-fledged effort on Saturday. He remarked that he wouldn’t have to wake up in the morning to feel the effects of the different, and more physically challenging, role at second five-eighths.

He was already feeling the effects.

“It’s different. I felt like I couldn’t get out of fourth gear, particularly with accelerations, decelerations, and more collisions.

“That’s just the nature of being in the midfield. I still love playing 15 [fullback], and I love playing 12 [second five-eighths]. I just enjoy an opportunity to play for the All Blacks.”

Barrett was able to give something back by causing his markers to feel his strength with some charging runs at their line.

“Rugby hasn’t changed, and if you can get some gain-line off set-piece and nullify it on the other side of the ball, you go a long way toward winning a match.

“They’ve got some outstanding carriers, Valentini, Pete Samu and some good outside backs and midfield players with some feet.”

He said he prepared for the traffic that came to his area and concentrated on that in his preparation.

“They have some big ball carriers particularly off set-piece and if they can get some ascendancy and gain-line it bleeds out into the rest of their game so I knew that if we knocked it on the head there that we could bring their game to a bit of a halt so it was a big mover there tonight.”

“If we could stop them at the gain-line it helps the rest of our boys. Our forwards one to eight were outstanding tonight and it makes the backs jobs a lot easier.”

The All Blacks’ Championship-winning effort was driven by a desire to show their worth to home fans and the closeness of their first Test with Australia.

“We weren’t too proud of our last quarter last week, and it could have gone in a different direction, so we knew, coming back to New Zealand, and Eden Park, it’s a place where we hold a high account, and we wanted to put on a performance that our fans and New Zealand are proud of.

“Consistency is important, it’s what we strive for every day as All Blacks. The last few months haven’t been up to standard but I think we’re heading in the right direction now.”

The scrum and maul had allowed the All Blacks to piggyback their way up the field and then kick to gain 50 metres went a long way toward winning Test matches.

Barrett said his employing the spiral punt was something he had been working on, especially with the Adidas balls used in New Zealand. David Hill and Ian Foster had been encouraging him to use the kick, and he had been practising it a lot.

“If I have got time on the ball I feel like I can peel off an extra 10-15 metres so I was lucky to get a couple away.”

Content & Images from - New Zealand Rugby

6 Nations

Emerging Ireland Matches To Be Streamed on IrishRugby.ie

Published

7 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Huge Rugby

All three Emerging Ireland games in the Toyota Challenge will be streamed live on Irishrugby.ie.

The squad arrive in Bloemfontein today (Tuesday) and will train in Greys College tomorrow (Wednesday) ahead of their opening fixture against the Griquas on Friday 30^th September.

Related News

The game against the Griquas kicks off at 12.45 Irish time and will be available to view live on Irishrugby.ie. The match day 23 to face the Griquas will be named on Thursday.

Emerging Ireland play the Pumas on Wednesday 5^th October (KO 4.00pm) and the Cheetahs on Sunday 9^th October (2.00pm)

Emerging Ireland Squad: Meet the Players – click here