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Rugby Australia name 41 players in U20 Junior Wallabies' squad
By Kim Ekin
Rugby Australia has named a 41-man Junior Wallabies squad as preparations build for the World Rugby U20 Championship 2023 in South Africa.
The selected players will attend a ten-day training camp with head coach Nathan Grey at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from Sunday 23 April.
The Junior Wallabies are drawn to face Fiji, Ireland and England in the pool stage of the Championship, which kicks off on 24 June.
"With club seasons kicking off over the last few weeks, it's been great to see the players performing well and putting their hands up for selection," Grey said.
"This camp is an important stepping stone in the team's development, where we'll build on the work done at our first camp in February.
"The excitement is definitely growing as we look ahead to our three warm-up games and beyond that, challenging for the title in South Africa."
Final preparations for the tournament will include two fixtures against New Zealand on 28 May and 3 June, followed by a hit-out against an Australian Barbarians side on 14 June.
The World Rugby U20 Championship represents the pinnacle of international age-group Rugby and is renowned for providing the game's future stars with a platform to shine before reaching Test level.
At the most recent tournament in Argentina in 2019, the Junior Wallabies demonstrated the promise within the Australian development system, with the likes of Nick Frost, Noah Lolesio, Angus Bell, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Fraser McReight, Ben Donaldson and Lachlan Lonergan guiding the team to the Final.
Junior Wallabies Squad
Reds
Floyd Aubrey (GPS)
Harry McLaughlin-Phillips (Souths)
John Bryant (Souths)
Ben Daniels (Brothers)
Nick Bloomfield (Easts)
Harrison Usher (Bond)
Jarrod Homan (Easts)
Tim Ryan (Brothers)
Nick Baker (GPS)
Max Craig (Easts)
Rebels
Patrick Lavemai (Melbourne Harlequins)
Leafi Talataina (Endeavour Hills)
Mason Gordon (Wests Bulldogs)
David Vaihu (Wests Bulldogs)
Zac Hough (Wests Bulldogs)
Joey Fowler (Sydney Uni)
Brumbies
Liam Bowron (Royals)
Massimo De Lutiis (Wests)
Lachlan Hooper (Tuggeranong)
Klayton Thorn (Gungahlin)
Henry Palmer (Tuggeranong)
Austin Anderson (Wests)
Matias Jensen (Randwick)
Baden Godfrey (Tuggeranong)
Chris Mickelson (Uni-Norths)
Toby MacPherson (Uni-Norths)
Xavier Degai (Southern Districts)
Force
Marley Pearce (Joondalup Brothers)
Ned Slack-Smith (Palmyra)
Ryan McGloin (Joondalup Brothers)
Jhy Legg (Wests Scarborough)
Waratahs
Jack Barrett (Randwick)
Fritz Jahnke-Tavana (Eastwood)
Ollie McCrea (Eastern Suburbs)
Teddy Wilson (Eastern Suburbs)
Jack Bowen (Eastern Suburbs)
Henry O'Donnell (Northern Suburbs)
Charlie Worthington (Randwick)
Tom Morrison (Sydney Uni)
Jackson Ropata (Southern Districts)
Dan Nelson (Sydney Uni)
*Max Jorgensen, Tom Lynagh, Taj Annan, Daniel Maiava unavailable for selection due to Super Rugby Pacific club commitments, and Darby Lancaster unavailable due to AU Sevens commitments.
- Press Release/Rugby Australia
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Latest Comments
It didn't work against the Boks in 2 tests this year. They also lost by more points this year than in the final last year. How would they be WC Champions now? Get real please
Go to commentsOnly 8% of the NZ voting base voted for the Act party, so it does not represent "all people". You sound super upset and sensitive because Perenara spoke out about something you don't like, which is a precious far right-wing party trying to rewrite New Zealand’s founding document to suit a particular political agenda that disenfranchises the indigenous people and wants to eradicate their culture through assimilation and domination. Your perspective is skewed tbh. Your comment about Perenara being "super woke" shows your fragility and xenophobia. Maybe the All Blacks should stop doing any haka so that Maori culture isn't displayed for financial benefits and entertainment. Do you know what the other players in the team think? Are they your mates and you rang them straight after the game to get their thoughts? How did the Hurricane Poua debacle go? Any sponsors pull out yet???
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