Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Record number of Under 20s conversions nearing for New Zealand Super sides

Riley Higgins and George Bell. (Photos by Getty Images)

New Zealand’s top age-grade stars are once again getting fast-tracked into Super Rugby this year, with George Bell and Riley Higgins the latest members of the 2021 side to earn spots in match-day squads for the first time.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bell and Higgins have both yet to play provincial rugby but will likely make appearances off the bench for the Crusaders and Hurricanes this weekend.

Hooker Bell backed up Soake Vikena and played in all four of last year’s Under 20s matches, with the Baby Blacks taking on Wellington, Tasman, the Cook Islands and a Harlequins XV in lieu of an international match-ups due to Covid.

Video Spacer

Why Super Rugby Pacific is still not yet where it needs to be.

Video Spacer

Why Super Rugby Pacific is still not yet where it needs to be.

Higgins, a midfielder by trade, was given fewer opportunities and found himself sitting behind Corey Evans and Gideon Wrampling in the pecking order.

Less than a year on from the campaign, Vikena, Evans and Wrampling are all capped Super Rugby players while Bell and Higgins will join that group this weekend – but they’re not the only men from the 2021 age-grade side to suit up in this year’s Super Rugby Pacific competition.

Vikena and Wrampling, alongside utility backs Chay Fihaki, Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens and Ruben Love, and All Black Josh Lord all made their Super Rugby debuts last season.

This year, the Blues have called upon the talents of Vikena, Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, Evans, loose forwards Anton Segner and Vaiolini Ekusai, and prop Josh Fusitua, while Moana Pasifika have utilised halfback Manu Paea.

ADVERTISEMENT

While Wrampling has been sidelined through injury so far this season, he earned a first full-time contract with the Chiefs ahead of the season, alongside halfback Cortez Ratima. Lord has also been a key player for the side in 2022, making eight appearances to date.

In the capital, Love was joined by Manawatu loose forward TK Howden and Wellington pivot Aidan Morgan at the Hurricanes for 2022 with Higgins set to become the latest Under 20s star to earn a debut.

Further south, Fihaki, locks Zach Gallagher and Dominic Gardiner, and now Bell will be 2021 age-grade representatives to feature for the Crusaders, with Bell still eligible for this year’s Under 20s campaign.

Related

Lock Fabian Holland (who is also eligible for this year’s team) and flanker Sean Withy, meanwhile, have both run out for the Highlanders this year.

ADVERTISEMENT

All in all, 20 players from last year’s 35-man Baby Blacks contingent will have played Super Rugby by the end of the weekend.

It’s an impressive return from the 2021 cohort and while there’s still time this season for more players to make the step up to professional rugby, last season’s squad currently ranks behind the 2017 Under 20s side when it comes to converting age-grade players to Super Rugby.

By the time that the 2018 Super Rugby season had come to a close, 21 players from the prior year’s Baby Blacks squad had dipped their toes in the water with New Zealand’s five franchises.

At the Blues, Jacob Pierce, Dalton Papalii, Stephen Perofeta, Tamati Tua, Orbyn Leger and Caleb Clarke had all earned caps.

In Chiefs country, Luke Jacobson and Tiaan Falcon had played their debut matches while the Hurricanes had called upon Jordie Barrett, Asafo Aumua, Alex Fidow, Isaia Walker-Leawere and Kemara Hauiti-Parapara (although Hauiti-Parapara only made one appearance for the team, against the British and Irish Lions in 2017).

The Crusaders used Harrison Allan, Ereatara Enari, Braydon Ennor, Tima Fainga’anuku and Will Jordan while the Highlanders had employed the likes of Marino Mikaele-Tu’u, Thomas Umaga-Jensen and Josh McKay.

Papalii, Clarke, Jacobson, Barrett, Aumua, Ennor and Jordan have all gone on to represent the All Blacks.

Arguably, the number of recent Under 20s graduates utilised this year is more understandable than four year’s prior due to the impact of Covid, which has seen the vast majority of players miss at least a round or two of action throughout the season. The addition of Moana Pasifika also means New Zealand’s playing resources are stretched even thinner.

Bell’s Crusaders are set to take on the Western Force in Perth this Saturday while Higgins’ Hurricanes will host the Fijian Drua in Wellington a day later.

ADVERTISEMENT
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

2 Comments
A
Andrew 1141 days ago

1. Stars on the NZscene but also rans globally going by the mediocre results at the annual U20 tournaments in recent yrs 2. Worrying sign of our lack of depth that these kids are being rushed into Super and test action with minimal apprenticeship in club and NPC where in days past their craft was honed against the old guys. In short, NZ rugby is in serious maybe terminal trouble.

B
Bruiser 1140 days ago

Won the under 20s more than any other nation. Big assumption to say they wouldn't have gone ok

Load More Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

R
RedWarrior 1 hour ago
A glut of Lions balances the less than rosy state of the Irish rugby garden

I don’t see how Fanning can accuse Leinster of complacency when they won every match this season bar three. Glasgow hammered Premiership finalists Leicester and then Leinster beat Glasgow 52-0 while not starting Jordie Barrett. Accusations like ‘Arrogance’ sell copy and fuel online engagement but there is little evidence of it with Leinster. Nobody who knows the team makes that claim.

I think a lack of real tests for Leinster either in the URC or in the Champions Cup left vulnerabilities. I think Cullen’s approach to over-resting players before these big matches particularly pivotal decision making positions like full back had a detrimental effect. This has been brought up in previous years. We saw the difference in Leinster playing 3 big matches week on week in the URC final compared to the NH performance.

Massive credit must go to Northampton for analyzing and finding weaknesses, by rolling the dice and playing the full team the week before, and by maximally cashing in when they got their chances. Northampton scored 3 unanswered tries, two of which were against 14 men, and ended up winning by 3. Massive credit must be bestowed on their side of the balance sheet.

I thought Munster finished the season strongly, Ulster are looking better. I agree Connacht underperformed but Lancaster is an exciting prospect. The coaching tickets across all4 provinces are looking good. 13 of Leinsters team against Bulls were originally academy players. I am not really seeing these potholes That Fanning references?

Very important that Leinster beat Bulls and convincingly as a bonus.

Questions that detractors had about Irish front rowers and pace in the backs are starting to be answered.

Ireland need to just maintain a top 4 position before the end of year RWC draw. But a sense that they might be building.


NB* Ireland have lost just 4 matches since the 2023 RWC. Only SA can match that.

6 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Tom Willis: 'You need an edge, you need to flick that switch once you cross the line.' Tom Willis: 'You need an edge, you need to flick that switch once you cross the line.'
Search