‘All to play for’: New Zealand U20s tracking well ahead of must-win clash

Assistant coach Jarrad Hoeata is looking forward to the New Zealand U20s’ must-win clash with a “pretty sharp” Australia U20s outfit as both teams look to potentially wrap up the title at Sunshine Coast Stadium this weekend.

Playing in the inaugural Rugby Championship U20 in the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane, the Baby Blacks bounced back from an opening round 13-all draw with South Africa with a statement 43-20 win over Argentina.

Los Pumitas had won their previous match against tournament hosts Australia in torrential conditions, but the Kiwis’ red-hot start on Tuesday from quite literally the opening minute ensured the Argies wouldn’t go back-to-back.

Halfback Dylan Pledger scored about 70 seconds into the contest, and another two first-half tries laid the foundation for a decisive New Zealand win. Argentina may have squandered some opportunities but it was almost always one-way traffic.

For the New Zealand forwards coach, who had been joined in camp by All Blacks assistant coaches Jason Ryan and Leon MacDonald on the Sunshine Coast, Jarrad Hoeata couldn’t have asked for much better “against a pretty big Puma pack.”

“It was a great response,” Hoeata told RugbyPass.

“Obviously the conditions in that first game were pretty horrific. They weren’t a hell of a lot better for the second game but they were good enough for us to express ourselves and show some skills.

“It was probably the all round game. Our set-piece got going so that was really a massive positive, especially being a forwards coach.

“Our carry and clean work was really good and then the boy just attacking and finding space out wide to finish was very pleasing.

“Our scrum struggled but we managed to find some solutions there,” he added. “The lineout defence was awesome so I was really proud of the boys, disrupted most of their lineout.”

With one draw and a win to their name, the Baby Blacks can wrap up the first-ever Rugby Championship U20 title with a win over arch-rivals the Junior Wallabies on Sunday evening.

New Zealand are two competition points in front of second-placed Argentina, while the Aussies sit in third-place. If the Baby Blacks fail to win and Los Pumitas can beat South Africa with a winning bonus point, then they will take home the massive trophy.

The New Zealanders are clearly the form team of the tournament so far but Australia have a renewed sense of confidence about them following a hard-fought 24-19 win over the Junior Springboks on Tuesday.

“They’ve actually been pretty sharp,” Hoeata said when asked about Australia U20s.

“I know they’re pretty disappointed with their result against Argentina in the first game but if you look a little bit deeper into their game they’re a sharp outfit.

“They’re really well organised, got some good attacking strikes out wide as well. We’re expecting a pretty big battle.

“I think if they win they can take out the title as well so it’s all to play for.”

But regardless of how you look at it, the stage is set for two titanic clashes between Titans of under-20s rugby as they continue to build ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa from the end of next month.

South Africa U20 take on Argentina in the first of two matches on Sunday evening, while Australia host New Zealand in the later fixture. Kick-off times are 5 pm and 7 pm local time.