@Fale009 said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
Norrie has elite acceleration and agility. Quite similar in size and skillset to Harry Godfrey imo.
He reminds me more of Finn Hurley.
The SFs are determined by PD, and it looks like NZ will be either 3rd or 4th seed.
World Rugby Junior World Championship semi-finals schedule
Championship semi-finals
France U20 vs New Zealand U20 – Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi, Monday, July 13, 18:00 local time / 15:00 BST
South Africa U20 vs England U20 – Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi, Monday, July 13, 20:30 local time / 17:30 BST
Fifth-place semi-finals
Argentina U20 vs Scotland U20 – Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi, Sunday, July 12, 18:00 local time / 15:00 BST
Australia U20 vs Wales U20 – Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi, Sunday, July 12, 20:30 local time / 17:30 BST
Ninth-place semi-finals
Georgia U20 vs Italy U20 – AIA Arena, Kutaisi, Monday, July 13, 18:00 local time / 15:00 BST
Ireland U20 vs Fiji U20 – AIA Arena, Kutaisi, Monday, July 13, 20:30 local time / 17:30 BST
13th-place semi-finals
Japan U20 vs USA U20 – AIA Arena, Kutaisi, Sunday, July 12, 18:00 local time / 15:00 BST
Spain U20 vs Uruguay U20 – AIA Arena, Kutaisi, Sunday, July 12, 20:30 local time / 17:30 BST
@Steven-Harris His Wiki stats -
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 148 kg (326 lb)
He has already played twice for Bath prems.
An article about him in the Telegraph says he is 23 stone (146kg).
@Steven-Harris said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
@Fale009 just watched the highlights the NZ v Italy game not wrong about the Italian no 8 ..6’4 120kgs plus at a guess .? What do you reckon ?
Have never seen a no 8 that big at any level.
@Daffy-Jaffy Good god he’s gonna terrify a few tacklers in his career
@Steven-Harris said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
@Fale009 just watched the highlights the NZ v Italy game not wrong about the Italian no 8 ..6’4 120kgs plus at a guess .? What do you reckon ?
Watching him for the first NZ try was hilarious, just jogged from breakdown to breakdown doing absolutely nothing apart from positioning himself on the opposite side of where defence was required and/or leaning on the maul/breakdown with the impact of a fluffy pillow.
Made young Skelton look like Buck Shelford.
@Daffy-Jaffy said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
Those Southern Italians are a bit darker than I remember.
That second try for the BBs shouldn’t have counted. The Italian halfback knocked it on and then played the ball again. I thought play by the same team after an infringement stopped the play?
@ACT-Crusader said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
That second try for the BBs shouldn’t have counted. The Italian halfback knocked it on and then played the ball again. I thought play by the same team after an infringement stopped the play?
No reason why the ref can't keep playing advantage - as long as he hasn't already blown his whistle.
@Fale009 said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
This should be a winnable game. This French side doesn't seem to have the same quality of the past couple of years. The Aussies should have beaten them.
Firstly, the on-screen clock stopped midway through the 2nd half while play continued for a few minutes. Even with that added time why the hell were Aust kicking the ball away at the end?
For NZ, we will need to survive their scrum, defend the inevitable lineout drives and match their physicality in the forwards.
@akan004 said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
@Steven-Harris said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
@Fale009 just watched the highlights the NZ v Italy game not wrong about the Italian no 8 ..6’4 120kgs plus at a guess .? What do you reckon ?
Have never seen a no 8 that big at any level.
Henry Tuilagi would like a word!
Those bloody kiwis at it again.
@stodders said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
@akan004 said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
@Steven-Harris said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
@Fale009 just watched the highlights the NZ v Italy game not wrong about the Italian no 8 ..6’4 120kgs plus at a guess .? What do you reckon ?
Have never seen a no 8 that big at any level.
Henry Tuilagi would like a word!
SU Agen used to field a Nr.8 named Fonua a few years ago. He was well above 150 kg and used as a battering ram.
JUNIOR SPRINGBOKS – 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Markus Muller, 12 Ethan Adams, 11 Khuthadzo Rasivhaga, 10 Yaqeen Ahmed, 9 Hendré Schoeman, 8 Gert Kemp, 7 Luke Cannon, 6 Kebotile Maake, 5 JD Hattingh, 4 Heinrich Theron, 3 Danie Kruger, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele (c), 1 Oliver Reid.
Bench: 16 Liam van Wyk, 17 Rambo Kubheka, 18 Luan van der Berg, 19 Jaythen Orange, 20 Thomas Beling, 21 Risima Khosa, 22 Jayden Brits, 23 Alzeadon Felix.
NZ 20s went down to France this morning 26-22 brilliant French try with about 3 to go
Halftime France 14-12
Credit to the French for what was a superb match winner but the chase from the NZ backs left a lot to be desired
Wasn’t the underlying reason the Baby Blacks lost as the scrum again proved a massive point of weakness also defending mauls
We have no idea
NZ Rugby has to put some resources into tight five development at age group rugby or we are just never going to be successful at this tournament
Often hear at provincial level there is a real shortage of genuine scrummaging props coming through
@Steven-Harris Slow learners. The scrum at this level has been an issue for a number of years. Why hasn't it been addressed?
@Steven-Harris the chase on the kick was poor, 1 player chased hard, then several others 5-10m back, giving them too much room and a poor staggered d line.
@akan004 the feedback I get from HP guys is they want to play high paced game hence they want ball carrying props with high work rates
Ok I get that but when it gets to pointy ends at big tournaments your scrum and lineout maul defence is everything
I don’t think taking pathways has helped every now and then you find that gem who was identified in the system or is playing number 8 but looks more like a potential prop Pasilo Tosi is a great example of a number 8 who was converted into a prop as an 19 year old by
Dale Macleod when he coached Southland
@Steven-Harris They have been trying to play the high paced game with ball carrying props for years while struggling at set piece
You would think that someone at NZRFU would realize we.havent won the tournament since 2017 as a result
And every year the coaches trot out the same line about winning doesn't matter, it's about getting guys playing NPC instead
No other top 4 nation spouts this nonsense at under 20 level. They are there to win it
@Bones said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
Those bloody kiwis at it again.
Firstly, why is his name in quotation marks?
Interesting calendar in SA ...
The B sample was taken on 7 July 2026, with the results released on 22 June 2026,
@akan004 said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
The scrum at this level has been an issue for a number of years. Why hasn't it been addressed?
I've said before that it starts with selection and I don't think the best props were chosen this year or last year. There also seemed to be a lack of trust in the reserves given that Findlay plays the entire game and Stuart big minutes.
Having said that, and despite the expected problems in the scrum and lineout maul defence, that game was there to win and a couple of costly errors in the last 20 mins were the difference. Wiseman knocking the ball on to overturn the Fale try, a poor kick out on the full from Muliaina, and the final kick-chase from the French turnover.
To be honest, thought Team did very well considering what I thought was a pretty average playing group vs. teams from last couple of years and thought what was great was that they improved over the tournament.
However if you can't scrum, execute basic skills under pressure and maul - it's going to be hard to progess.
Really these continued losses are the result of the NZRFU not picking required resources into both Schoolboys and U20 Level - this year U20 Super touranment was canned and instead they had an internal camp and then played games internally - hopeless really.
Must say the tournament thus far - these new maul rules are going to kill the game - every game seems to be decided by teams just mauling for tries and not sure if that is healthy for the game. Reality is now, if you get lineout 5 metres from the tryline, just about a guaranteed try.
The other thing I would say is that the coaches have to be commended for being proactive and going with a 6:2 bench in most games. Tocker on the wing would have been interesting to watch.
South Africa struggled through the 1st half until England nr 7 lost the plot. They will have to be much smarter against France in the final. The backline have enough striking power if they get enough possession.
@grant said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
Must say the tournament thus far - these new maul rules are going to kill the game - every game seems to be decided by teams just mauling for tries and not sure if that is healthy for the game. Reality is now, if you get lineout 5 metres from the tryline, just about a guaranteed try.
U20s catching up on BrumbieBall.
@grant said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
Reality is now, if you get lineout 5 metres from the tryline, just about a guaranteed try.
yep
the best way to stop the 5 metre lineout-maul try now is before it even starts
compete at the actual line-out, try for possession, or at the very least mess up the other teams maul set-up
hate it when defending teams dont compete at the lineout in that situation
@Steven-Harris said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
Ok I get that but when it gets to pointy ends at big tournaments your scrum and lineout maul defence is everything
i get it too
but if you want to play that high tempo game you still have to have a competitive set piece
to easy for the other team to prevent you playing that way if you dont
if the other team are dominant at set piece, they are the ones who will decide how the game is to be played
and your set piece does not have to be dominant
just good enough to secure your own put ins, throw wins, and jam a 5 metre maul
achieve that, and it's game on
otherwise you may as well phone in the forfeit when you are at the pointy end
@mohikamo said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
the best way to stop the 5 metre lineout-maul try now is before it even starts
compete at the actual line-out, try for possession, or at the very least mess up the other teams maul set-up
hate it when defending teams dont compete at the lineout in that situation
Agree 100%, especially now when the hooker needs to throw straight if you compete. Stop the lineout at the source.
@W32 said in WR U20 Championship 2026:
England player sees red in today’s match
Thanks for posting.
What an idiot. Reminiscent of the Eyetie.
