Australia and Argentina name their teams for Round 1 of TRC U20.
Nathan Grey has named his 23-man playing squad to face Argentina in Thursday’s U20 Rugby Championship opener.
Lock Toby Macpherson leads the side with vice-captain Ronan Leahy lining up at inside centre.
Recent Super Rugby Pacific debutant Jack Barrett headlines a front row including Bryn Edwards and Tevita Alatini with Harvey Cordukes partnering Macpherson in the engine room.
Aussie Sevens prospect Aden Ekanayake joins Reds flanker Joe Liddy and Brumbies number eight Jack Harley in the back row.
In the backline, Force halfback Doug Philipson partners Rebels playmaker Joey Fowler in the halves with Jarrah McLeod outside Leahy in the centres.
Back three trio Xavier Rubens, Will McCulloch and Shane Wilcox round out the Australian starting line-up with Nathaniel Tiitii, Tavi Tuipulotu, Nick Bloomfield, Ben Daniels, Ben Di Staso, Hwi Sharples, Cullen Gray and Angus Staniforth named as finishers.
“We’re excited to see what these 23 young men bring to the gold jersey,” Grey said.
“This first game against Argentina is going to be a real challenge but we’ve prepared well.
“It’s an excellent opportunity to test new combinations and launch our TRC U20 campaign.”
Australia will face Argentina on Thursday 2 May at Sunshine Coast Stadium (7pm kick off).
The match will be shown live and exclusive on Stan Sport.
Australia U20 team versus Argentina:
1. Jack Barrett (Waratahs)
2. Bryn Edwards (Waratahs)
3. Tevita Alatini (Brumbies)
4. Toby Macpherson (Brumbies – captain)
5. Harvey Cordukes (Brumbies)
6. Aden Ekanayake (Waratahs)
7. Joe Liddy (Reds)
8. Jack Harley (Brumbies)
9. Doug Philipson (Force)
10. Joey Fowler (Rebels)
11. Xavier Rubens (Reds)
12. Ronan Leahy (Force – vice captain)
13. Jarrah McLeod (Brumbies)
14. Will McCulloch (Reds)
15. Shane Wilcox (Brumbies)
Replacements: 16. Nathaniel Tiitii (Waratahs), 17. Tavi Tuipulotu (Rebels), 18. Nick Bloomfield (Reds), 19. Ben Daniels (Reds), 20. Ben Di Staso (Waratahs), 21. Hwi Sharples (Waratahs), 22. Cullen Gray (Brumbies), 23. Angus Staniforth (Brumbies)
Los Pumitas have confirmed their lineup for their match against hosts Australia. This will be the first version of this interesting tournament, which seeks to give the youth teams more experience on the way to the world championship in the category (it will be played from June 29 to July 19 in South Africa).
As with the senior teams, the Los Pumitas will play Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, that will take place over three days with the round-robin competition system. Whoever scores the most points will obtain the title.
Álvaro Galindo, head coach of Los Pumitas, commented on what the first days of adaptation in Australia were like: “We took two days to adapt to the time change, sleep, travel and dehydration. Now we are very good, on Monday and Tuesday we had two days of training in which we sought to find the team, oil things and continue focusing on some details, both individual and collective. Tomorrow we will have a calmer pre-match training session so we can have all the energy put into Thursday for the debut.”
He also expressed himself regarding the choice of the 23 and the party squad: “The truth is that the choice of the 23 players was difficult, but it was done thinking about an 80-minute game, not one focused only on the 15 that start. , but also played with the substitutes. We will try to be able to maintain good intensity, achievement and balance throughout the match. It is important to have the 15 who start and the 8 who enter later.”
Argentina Pumitas versus Australia:
1. CORREA , Diego (Club Atlético Estudiantes)
2. VIVAS, Juan Manuel (Los Tordos)
3. RAPETTI, Tomás (Alumni)
4. GARCÍA IANDOLINO, Álvaro (Los Tordos)
5. EFRAÍN, Elías (Jockey Club of Córdoba)
6. PENOUCOS, Juan (Belgrano Athletic)
7. FERNÁNDEZ DE OLIVEIRA, Santos (SIC)
8. BERNASCONI, Juan Pedro (La Plata RC)
9. DI BIASE, Tomás (Deportiva Francaise)
10. DI LUCCA, Santino (La Plata RC)
11. SOLER FILOTY, Valentín (Tala RC)
12. BOCCO, Tomás (Córdoba Athletic)
13. SÁNCHEZ VALAROLO, Faustino (Palermo Bajo)
14. ROSSETTO, Franco (Club Atlético Estudiantes)
15. ELIZALDE, Benjamín (Deportiva Francesa / Tigres RC)
Relacements:
