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'It’s not so much what they’re doing, it’s what we do': New Zealand u20s looking to end title drought
New Zealand Under 20 are the most successful nation in the World Rugby U20 Championship winning the title six times since its inception in 2008.
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However, since 2017, New Zealand’s trophy cabinet has been bare and last year’s seventh place reinforced the balance of power has shifted to the Northern Hemisphere.
France have won the last three tournaments with beastly packs stifling a typically fast and expansive New Zealand approach.
Former Waikato, Chiefs, and All Blacks loose forward Jono Gibbes is New Zealand coach for the first time.
Gibbes has extensive experience coaching in France with Clermont Auvergne (2014-17, 2021-23) and La Rochelle (2018-21). Clermont Auvergne won the Top 14 in 2017 and in the 2021-22 season La Rochelle won the European Cup. How does New Zealand regain age group supremacy?
“It’s not so much what they’re doing, it’s what we do. Amplifying our areas of strength and learning lessons from past campaigns and putting them into action will be essential,” Gibbes told RugbyPass.
“It’s hard to compare New Zealand to France because of the different calendars and, international and amateur structures.
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“Where France have made a significant shift is in the amount of work they put into their Under 18 group. The Under 20’s in France is a two-year process where players are identified at 18 and kept together longer.
“The TRC is great solution around a lack of game time. You want more opportunities for these players to get matched up against quality international opponents. More games are better for long term careers and good preparation for the tournament.
“Fast and expansive rugby is our hallmark, but a challenge is mixing up our style, adjusting to different defensive pictures and territorial challenges. There was some good rugby in Super Rugby Under 20. The teams were well coached and built a good spirt, but there was no Wales or South Africa so being able to adjust tactics when required will be key.”
In France there is no national secondary schools team. New Zealand plays Australia annually in schoolboy Tests but has little else exists in the high performance space at Under 18 level. Is it time to reformat the New Zealand Schools program?
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“That’s a great question. It’s not for me to answer. We have the talent; we have a good history of rugby in our schools and clubs. It’s about working with the calendar and structures we have, to develop the considerable talent we have.
Another difference between New Zealand and the Northern Hemisphere is that some clubs academies are “fully integrated” with the senior team. That means the Academy players train with the seniors and a ready to step up for matches at any time.
This is true at Irish powerhouse Leinster where Gibbes was forwards coach between 2008 and 2014. In that period Leinster won 205 of 294 matches under head coaches Michael Cheika, Joe Schmidt, and Matt O’Connor. That includes three United Rugby Champions and European Cups.
Gibbes identified World Rugby Player of the Year (2022) Josh van der Flier (62 Tests, 48 wins) and loosehead prop Jack McGrath (56 Tests, 38 wins) as two of the best Leinster Academy youngsters he worked with.
The TRC on the Sunshine Coast (May 2-12) will provide the first opportunity to test the talent ahead of the World Championships in Cape Town in July. Three fixtures against South Africa, Argentina, and Australia, replace the Oceania Championship which typically featured weaker Pacific Island countries.
New Zealand’s 31-man squad for TRC features three players who have played in the NPC, 18 players who are on National Development contracts, six returnees from last year’s New Zealand Under 20 Rugby World Cup squad, and 21 players who have been a part of the New Zealand Secondary Schools programme. Players from across ten provincial unions are represented. What was the biggest selection challenge?
“The make-up of the squad; the number of backs, the number of forwards, how many locks we take, how many halfbacks,” Gibbes responded.
“There were good options and different styles of players. The selectors have done a great job identifying the talent. Getting the squad makeup and combinations right is the next challenge.”
In December 2023 Gibbes was appointed Resource Coach for the Chiefs which means he heads the Chiefs Development XV and works in the Development Pathways programme. His other interaction with squad members was in November 2023 at a New Zealand Under 19 camp. Gibbes didn’t provide any clues on who’d be captain but said that will “work itself out when we put the boys in different situations and see how they react.”
The final squad of 30 for the U20 World Rugby Championship in South Africa will be announced following the Rugby Championship Under 20 tournament.
New Zealand Under 20 Squad:
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William Martin* (Chiefs, Waikato)
Sika Pole (Blues, Auckland)
Joshua Smith (Hurricanes, Hawke’s Bay)
Kurene Luamanuvae (Blues, Auckland)
Konradd Newland (Hurricanes, Hawke’s Bay)
Hookers
Vernon Bason* (Hurricanes, Manawatu) – NPC
Manumaua Letiu (Crusaders, Canterbury)
A-One Lolofie (Highlanders, Otago)
Locks
Tom Allen* (Hurricanes, Hawke’s Bay) – NPC
Liam Jack (Crusaders, Canterbury)
Cameron Christie (Blues, North Harbour)
Loose Forwards
Jeremiah Avei-Collins (Hurricanes, Wellington)
Mosese Bason (Hurricanes, Manawatu)
Jonathan Lee (Crusaders, Canterbury)
Matt Lowe (Crusaders, Tasman)
Andrew Smith (Chiefs, Waikato)
Tristyn Cook (Blues, North Harbour)
Malachi Wrampling-Alec* (Chiefs, Waikato) – NPC
Halfbacks
Ben O’Donovan (Crusaders, Canterbury)
Dylan Pledger (Highlanders, Otago)
First-Fives
Cooper Grant (Crusaders, Tasman)
Rico Simpson (Blues, Auckland)
Midfielders
Toby Bell (Crusaders, Canterbury)
Xavi Taele (Blues, Auckland)
Josh Whaanga (Highlanders, Otago)
Outside Backs
Sam Coles (Hurricanes, Manawat?)
Stanley Solomon (Hurricanes, Wellington)
Isaac Hutchinson* (Crusaders, Canterbury)
King Maxwell (Blues, Auckland)
Giancarlo Tuivailala* (Chiefs, Waikato)
Frank Vaenuku (Chiefs, Bay of Plenty)
* denotes New Zealand U20 in 2023. Solomon can cover ten and most of the loose forwards are lineout options.
Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
3 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments