Mulaina isn't much of a kicker
Well done Logan Williams to make most of the luck and breakout to score a try
34-29 NZ
Best passage of defence there by NZ
Some of these bench players are a big improvement on their starting counterparts
NZ have probably used up all of their luck in this game. So many missed first-up tackles in the 1st half especially.
Now that they've played a game we should expect to see improvement against Arg.
@Mr-Fish said in TRC U20 2026:
How did the players rate for NZ?
The 3 standout starters I thought were 6 Finn Mcleod, 9 Sinton and 15 Norrie.
Muliaina was outshone by his opposite but he was tidy - good kicking out of his own half and good decision making.
The bench was good and impactful - bench forwards had more presence, Reihana and Williams definitely showed something too.
@KiwiMurph said in TRC U20 2026:
Pahulu rightly hooked. He cannot tackle.
Is this the guy who missed basically every attempt he had?
I only saw the highlights, but the Aussie team just looked like they have 1) more size, 2) better basic skills (e.g., passing in front of the man), and 3) better individual tackling technique (1& 3 go together a bit).
They look better coached too and their 10 was a much more finished product that Muliaina. I think they were very unlucky to lose that with 3 tries disallowed and a RC?
If that's the best we have, yikes.
Pahulu had a shocker but he wasn't alone in missing simple tackles.
I'm not sure why Lewai was subbed to move Guerin into centre. Muliaina's goal kicking wasn't great.
We weren't great but still got the W, and we didn't get tp have a warm up game before this tournament, unlike Australia who had two games. So not surprised we looked disjointed at times.Great confidence boost for our boys as.some will never have experienced beating an Australian team before . Am thinking they may play everyone else in the next game
@Kiwidom said in TRC U20 2026:
Great confidence boost for our boys as.some will never have experienced beating an Australian team before .
LOL
had not considered that
but you are correct
@Kiwidom said in TRC U20 2026:
Just did a quick Google and it's only Jake Frost , Micah Fale and Charlie Sinton in the current 20s side, from the 2023 schools team.
Yes, and they were reserves.
Bounce of the ball went NZ way but fair play they stuck to the task
Argentina absolutely destroyed
The SA team look like a sevens team. Over the top explosiveness but still lacking in cohesion at this point
@OomPB said in TRC U20 2026:
Markus Muller is out injured. He and Adams is a once in a lifetime midfield combo..
Jeez that must be a nasty injury.
There is a 50 min ARP video, but this article by Ross Karl likely summarises the main points:
I'm enjoying the Jay Reihana story. Timaru Boys, first year out of school. Locked in with Southland. Has looked inpressive everytime he has taken the field. Seems a guy well.and truly on the up.
@SouthernMann You'll get to see Alex Arnold in action. I mentioned last year that he could be a good chance to make the NZ U20s.
Jericho Wharehinga must be injured as he will be the only player not to have featured in the first two games.
I’ve watched the NZ U20s game against the Junior Wallabies a few times now. I think it’s likely that in most other instances, the Junior Wallabies would win that game: they played 65% of the match in NZ territory, they made 13 line breaks to NZ’s 7, and had 15 entries into the NZ 22 compared to just 8 visits to the Junior Wallabies 22.
Then again, you can also say that the Junior Wallabies managed the game poorly, overplaying against what turned out to be a reasonably robust NZ defence. They kicked just 18 times compared to the 30 kicks from the Baby Blacks, leaving themselves vulnerable to NZ counter-attacks especially when down to 13 men. They’ll be better for the experience. If they can get some reinforcements back for the World Championship, I’d still consider them as one of the main title contenders for that tournament.
So what about the NZ U20s? I honestly can’t really say right now. They were really poor during the first half but showed some glimpses early in the 2nd half. It’s still up in the air, I think, what kind of side they’ll eventually become in 2026. Below are some thoughts that I have, based on this game as well as the upcoming match against Argentina U20.
Looking back: tight five work rate
Before the game I called the NZ U20 tight five workmanlike. It wasn’t meant as a compliment but after this game, perhaps it should’ve been. Both the starters and the replacements put in a lot of effort, both around the field and in the set piece.
Around the field, a special mention should go to Canterbury hooker Josh Findlay. Not only did I count him making 25 tackles (RugbyPass has him at 23 and the match centre stats at springbok.rugby has him making 26), he was also ever present at the attacking breakdown. From my recorded stats, he cleaned 23 attacking rucks while also completing two turnovers at the defensive breakdown, which are some really solid numbers.
Tackles completed, carries and attacking rucks attended by the starting NZ U20 tight five and their bench replacements
The work of the tight five wasn’t limited to defence and the breakdown. Their set piece work was also very solid throughout the game. While the lineout creaked at times – one overthrow and one near steal knocked on by Australia’s Langi – they retained possession from all of their 12 throws, with Max Fale (4 takes), Jake Frost (3 takes), and Finn McLeod (3 takes) all being flawless in the take and transfer. The cohesion-factor is pretty clear: all players, both the thrower and the lineout recipients, play together for Canterbury U19s and Crusaders U20s. In matters of set piece, cohesion can definitely be an added benefit.
Lineout win percentage, lineout steals vs. lost, scrum win percentage, scrum penalties won vs. lost
The scrum wasn’t dominant by any means but similar to the lineout, they retained possession on 100% of their feeds. Even the scrum penalties were in the NZ U20s favour at 2 to 1, although some of the referee calls were a bit peculiar to say the least.
So the tight five is workmanlike indeed, but, on the basis of the previous game, that should be considered a glowing endorsement.
Looking forward: back line X-factor required
Kane Jury has brought forth some changes for the Pumitas game and those changes do make sense. The NZ U20 attack was pretty toothless and one of the reasons for this has to do with what kind of first five Mika Muliaina is.
Muliaina is a pivot in the true sense of the word: he likes the ball in his hands, often and as briefly as possible. What he excels at is creating space for his outsides, giving them the opportunity to break the line. It’s why he’s such a natural combination with Norrie at 15: whereas Muliaina likes to give space to others, Norrie wants to attack this space, using footwork and deception to beat opposition defenders. The results were obvious to see.
Norrie is an excellent attacker from second receiver, running at pace with the ball in his two hands before putting on the footwork. Both times it is Muliaina with the final pass
The problem against the Junior Wallabies was that there were too few X-factor backs for Muliaina to put into space. Both Pahulu and Guerin are more natural centres than wingers: they tend to cut back inside, looking to find gaps between defenders or connect with others, rather than use the space to beat their opposite man. With Guerin in the midfield and Van Der Westhuizen and Reihana on the wings against Argentina, Muliaina might be more effective in further unlocking the NZ U20 attack.
Looking back and forward: improved defence from U18 to U20 level
Speaking of Jay Reihana, his cameo off the bench was, I felt, symbolic of the biggest improvement shown by this group, coming from U18 rep rugby. While the desire to defend has always been there, even during those disastrous U18 encounters from 2025, what was often lacking was defensive insight. When and where to jump out, how to switch between defensive markers, how to stay connected in an aggressive pattern.
With the Junior Wallabies looking for a late winning score, Reihana showed multiple times within the space of a minute that the players had done their homework. Using their typical flat three man shape, with Mackay pulling the strings, Reihana identified the designated receiver correctly twice, smashing the Junior Wallabies ball-and-man behind the gain line.
In the first instance, Reihana correctly spots the pullback-option, jumping past the decoy and cutting down Fenwicke before he can release his outsides. In the second instance, less than a minute later, Reihana anticipates Mackay going flat, smoking Robinson as he gets the ball and forcing the turnover.
The defence can get on top of the attack by getting a read on the opposition first five’s decision making. In both instances, Reihana correctly reads the Junior Wallaby attack, effectively ending their chance for a late win
So where does that leave this year’s team for the rest of the U20 TRC and the upcoming World Championships? While I still don’t think this is a particularly vintage cohort, they do show signs of solid coaching and a resilient team culture, working hard with and without the ball. When the cupboard of talent isn’t perhaps as full as you’d like, the only thing you can really ask for is a team giving it their all. And so far at least, those signs are looking positive.
Samuel Bardenhorst is the grandchild of the late Jan Boland Coetzee, one of the best Springbok fetchers in history, Jan Boland played in the 1976 series against the All Blacks
Rucks in those days we're still rucks. Jan Boland's place.
Craven
When the Stellenbosch under-18 side was formed Jan was the first ever captain. His play improved steadily over the years but after playing one test in 1974 he was on the reserve bench for the Springboks so often he became a bit disheartened. When he was again selected as reserve for the test match against the French in 1975 in Pretoria he told me he didn't want to go.
I told him that he had to accept, that this could turn out to be his big chance. So it happened, and he had to go on as a substitute. The moment he took the field we began to take more than our share of the ball, particularly in the rucks and loose mauls. It was only then that everyone, especially the selectors, realised how stupid they had been not to select him before.
There has never been a better fetcher of the ball than "Jan Boland". A greatly underrated player, who could have been worth even more to the Springboks had he been given a chance earlier. A great human being, also, in my estimation.
@Bovidae said in TRC U20 2026:
I thought that Lewai had a decent game at centre and beat his defender on the left-hand edge in the 2nd half. The problem was that he wasn't used much in attack.
I don’t think he had a poor game necessarily but I find it hard to get a good grasp on Lewai’s game at 13. Whenever I’ve seen him play at 13, he seems to be unable to really impose himself, whether it’s in defence or in attack.
I’m not too sure what lies at the root of that. He does have game-breaking ability, like you refer to when he beat his man early in the 2nd half, but I don’t think that’s enough involvement in itself. According to the match centre stats on springbok.rugby he had just 3 carries and 2 tackles in 57 minutes. (https://springboks.rugby/match-centre/match/the-rugby-championship-under-20/new-zealand-u20-v-australia-u20/e549dbb2-3631-4054-947f-7bc218e29d06). Compare that to Wiseman at 12, 9 carries and 17 tackles. Of course, that doesn’t tell the whole story but it does show that a lot of the game passed him by.
It could be that it’s just unfortunate timing. But it could also be that he needs to be more demanding of the ball. When Guerin shifted to 13 in the second half, he was a lot more visible with ball in hand than Lewai had been.