Six stars of the future to watch in the U20s Six Nations
It’s not just the senior Six Nations that kicks off next weekend, with the U20 iteration of the championship also beginning on Friday night.
Ireland host in England in Cork and Scotland take on Wales in Galashiels, whilst on the Sunday France welcome Wales to Vannes. France lifted the trophy last year, before going on to win the World Rugby U20 Championship on home soil in the summer, and they will be eager to defend their titles at both tournaments.
We have picked out six players to keep an eye on in the tournament, with a mix of fresh faces and second year players, all of whom should have a decisive impact on their side’s fortunes over the coming weeks.
Tom de Glanville, England
If we chalk up the likes of Joel Kpoku, Ted Hill, Marcus Smith, Cam Redpath, Ollie Lawrence and Fraser Dingwall as potential Six Nations casualties, with their clubs needing them during that period, it makes sense to shine a light here on a player who has not had the media coverage that that quintet has had thus far.
Throw into the mix Leicester Tigers possibly needing Tom Hardwick and Sale Sharks thin at fly-half, with retaining Kieran Wilkinson a possibility, and Bath’s de Glanville could well play a pivotal role for the U20s over the coming weeks. He shone at U18 level last season, both as an instinctive and skilful fly-half, as well as a dangerous counter-attacking full-back. With England’s four other fly-halves/hybrid 10-12s all playing senior club rugby this season, de Glanville could be the go-to man at 10 during the Six Nations, before coming into the 15 equation in the summer.
England have frequently favoured that fly-half skill set at 12 and 15 in their U20 sides in recent years and de Glanville fits that mould well. He is not the archetypal ‘game-manager’ yet, but what you will get is an eye for a gap, impressive handling and bravery on the gain-line.
Jean-Baptiste Gros, France
As with England, we’ve tried to avoid the players here that are likely to be retained by clubs for Top 14 duty and phenom Jordan Joseph could well be in Racing 92’s plans over the coming weeks, just as fly-half Louis Carbonel may be involved with Toulon.
Gros, a loosehead, was a key member of France’s victorious side at the 2018 World Rugby U20 Championship, but his contributions went somewhat under the radar due to Demba Bamba’s highlight reel scrummaging, carrying and tackling at the tighthead spot. Gros’ contributions at the set-piece that helped facilitate Bamba’s dominance should not go unnoticed and this will be his year to shine and garner some of the attention and praise that went the way of Bamba last year.
The 19-year-old has already picked up 10 games with Toulon – helping him become the eighth highest-ranked loosehead in the Top 14 – and to be able to cut it at that level in that competition is very impressive, especially at such a demanding position. Toulon may seem to be in a significant rebuilding phase at the moment, but there’s no reason why they can’t come out of it stronger with players like Gros and Carbonel blooded and forming foundation pieces in the evolution of the club.
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Watch: RugbyPass speaks to Sergio Parisse, Guilhem Guirado and Greig Laidlaw ahead of the Six Nations
Azur Allison, Ireland
The Irish U20s have a great pedigree of producing hugely talented number eights, most of whom have gone on to achieve a lot of success at senior provincial and even senior international levels. Allison, who hails from Ulster, slightly bucks the trend of that recent rush of eights from the Leinster system, with Caelan Doris, Max Deegan and Jack Conan chief among them, but is a player equally worth keeping an eye on.
Allison is a taller back row who enjoys getting his arms free and getting the ball away during and after contact, although perhaps doesn’t quite have the bulk that Doris offered last season. He is unlikely to be the one-man carrying army that the Leinsterman was, but could be used a little more creatively in the loose or at the lineout.
He did captain the Ireland U19 side last season, so the step up to the U20s this year should be a manageable one. Away from the impact he can offer in the U20 side, there is also a route to games at the provincial level with Ulster over the coming years, with the back row being one area of that side that has been in flux recently and there are potential openings.
Matteo Moscardi, Italy
Moscardi, an outside centre, was the pick of a very impressive Italian U18 team last season, where he captained the side to a famous victory over England, as well as picking up the man of the match award in a nail-bitingly close loss to Wales.
The Rugby Rovigo Delta man actually made the step up to the U20s last season, a year early, and is now taking over captaincy of the group in his first whole season with the group. He looked comfortable at the U20 level in 2018, without necessarily flourishing, but with another year of physical growth and rugby experience, he should be a more potent threat this year.
He has the skills to be a good attacking weapon in the 13 channel, with the speed, footwork and armoury of incisive lines that you would expect of an outside centre at this level, but it’s his decision-making on defence that arguably separates him from a lot of the Italian centres to have come through this pathway in recent years, with clearly a far more mature head on his shoulders than his age would suggest.
Cristen van Niekerk, Scotland
An interesting call up to Carl Hogg’s side, with van Niekerk still a member of the Golden Lions in South Africa. He is a hybrid second row/back row, although he is probably a lock at the senior level moving forward.
That said, his time in the back row has certainly helped his ball-handling and carrying, not to mention kept him more mobile than you might expect of a lock with his dimensions. He was impressive at Craven Week in both 2016 and 2017 and made it into the Golden Lions U19 side for the 2018 season, where he helped the provincial side to a spot in the semi-finals.
His inclusion in the squad is going to help Scotland at the lineout, as well as bringing all the trademark physicality that you expect of South African second rows. Whether or not a move beckons to either Glasgow Warriors or Edinburgh will be an interesting subplot to the competition.
Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, Wales
The Ospreys centre is back for his second year with the Wales squad, having previously impressed at the World Rugby U20 Championship last year. He is a tall and powerful inside centre who looks and plays a lot like Owen Watkin, who shone at this level a few years ago and is now enjoying a productive senior career with the Ospreys.
Thomas-Wheeler probably lacks a little bit of the physical punch that Watkin had at this level, but is slightly more of a ball-handler, a bit more comfortable orchestrating things at 12, rather than hitting lines and keeping phases alive as an offloader. He is still strong in that area, but if you were splitting hairs on the differences between him and Watkin, that’s where’d they lie.
He gets to play outside of Sam Costelow this year, another player well worth watching, with Costelow still an U18 player and who has guided Leicester Tigers to an undefeated season thus far and is the spearhead of unarguably the top U18 side in England this season.
Watch: RugbyPass speaks to Eddie Jones, Gregor Townsend and Conor O’Shea ahead of the Six Nations.
Comments on RugbyPass
pure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
1 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
7 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
25 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
25 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
11 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
80 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
25 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
11 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
3 Go to comments