'Strange' reason why New Zealand U20s didn't mind trailing Wales 5-19

Clark Laidlaw played it cool in the aftermath of Saturday’s almighty scare for his New Zealand U20s. His team were disbelievingly 5-19 behind at the interval in their round one Junior World Championship match and the crowd that had packed into the tight Paarl school ground sensed an upset that would have been every bit as big as what transpired 11 years ago 33kms away in Stellenbosch.

Back then, New Zealand had never before lost a championship match in this age grade. Twenty-one straight wins and four titles was their record when they faced Wales in a round two game where they were spectacularly ambushed 9-6 in the South African rain.

They were no rain this time around, just winter sun, but there was certainly a huge amount of pain as Laidlaw’s charges, participating in their first U20s World Cup since 2019 in Argentina, got their wires crossed after taking an early five-point lead.

Fourteen points in arrears they were at half-time and even though they commendably powered their way back to lead 27-19, they were still forced to win an 80th-minute restart and kick it off the park for the final whistle to ensure they held on as the Welsh had drawn to within a single point – 27-26 – with seconds remaining.

If this ordeal had spooked Laidlaw, the ex-New Zealand 7s coach, he wasn’t showing it when he sifted through his down and up afternoon. Yes, he was relieved and yes, he didn’t deny that the level of performance served up by his charges in the opening half was indeed scratchy.

However, he believed he saw enough in how his players reacted at the break and then during the second half to leave him feeling optimistic about taking on France back in Paarl next Thursday. “It was scratchy, it was like a team that hadn’t played around the world in three years,” he told RugbyPass. “That’s what we looked like, so it’s great for young men to come and play different styles of rugby.

“Wales were really happy to kick the ball away on turnover attack... and they were really clinical, they built some good pressure in that first half and our men had to react to that. You can’t teach that on a training field, can you? I was quite excited by what we saw.

“After the first half, we were under the pump on the scoreboard. Half-time was nice and calm, I was quite proud of the way the leaders reacted after a tough first half. The second half showed when we get the ball and keep the ball in play, then we can build some pressure and some points, so relief is probably the first reaction but a lot to like and a lot to work on.”

Having shared a two-game series with Australia, New Zealand – on paper – were tipped to win comfortably against a Wales side that had finished the recent Six Nations winless. Laidlaw, though, suggested what did unfold in the opening period will ultimately stand to his players as they got asked serious questions that some fans would never have expected.

“We had a really good look at the Six Nations and there were a lot of tight games. Wales obviously struggled against France and France are a good side, but Wales had a good build-up, they have got a new coach, an experienced coach (ex-Crusaders assistant Mark Jones). You could see they made some shifts in some of their rugby. I’m sure they were pretty happy with their first half, and we are happy with our second half.

“The first half, in a strange way, was good for us. We were probably more tense before the game so to get the first one out of the way, getting back on a world stage, we have been locked up for a couple of years through covid, I could see the boys were a little bit frustrated even though we got the win. As I say, you can’t teach some of that. You have got to learn it, you have got to go through it. Half-time was all good, we were nice and relaxed.

“We have got good ticker, haven’t we? I thought some of the loose forwards stepped up, some of the forwards really defended well and you see with Macca (Springer) and Harry (Godfrey) and these boys in the backfield, if we get enough ball, we can really hurt teams. We know that but we have got to mature, we have got to understand how to keep the ball for longer periods and build pressure.

“The loose forwards Che (Clark) and Peter (Lakai) and Malachi (Wrampling-Ale), who came on, I thought had a massive impact. We are quite excited about Malachi, he is a year young and we have got a number of players that are a year young, so it was a great experience. The game driver was Noah (Hotham) and Taha (Kemara) in the second half, they got us the field position and then the loose forwards helped us to stay on top.”

France in the next round, though, will be a far tougher assignment. Unlike winless Wales, the French won four from five in the Six Nations and they were bursting with frills in their 75-12 trouncing of Rob Penney’s Japan.

“It’s a different beast, France are a very good side,” reckoned Laidlaw about a contest that essentially will be the pool decider. “They have been together for a long period, they have got outstanding individuals.

“We got a really good look at them as coaches, now we have just got to educate the players on what is coming through the door next week. It sets us up nicely. We are injury-free which will be a big thing in this competition, and we are very excited to take on France.”