U20 Six Nations - Ones to Watch
Living in the shadow of its senior counterpart, the U20 Six Nations won’t be appointment viewing for a lot of rugby fans over the next two months, but it really should be.
The competition is the first glimpse for many of the future stars of the northern hemisphere and the quality of the competition has consistently grown over the past 10 years, with a number of the stars of the tournament not only going straight into starring roles for their club sides, but also winning international caps.
Among the players involved last year were full England cap Ted Hill and recent apprentice call-up Josh Hodge, whilst Ireland’s Harry Byrne was included as a development player in Andy Farrell’s senior Six Nations squad. As for France, the quartet of Jean-Baptiste Gros, Killian Geraci, Louis Carbonel and Arthur Vincent were all named in the senior side’s training squad for the current tournament.
There are plenty of candidates this season to go on similar journeys over the next 12 months and with four of the six senior sides involved under new head coaches, they will be particularly keen to cast their eyes over the next generation of talent and potentially find some core members of their squads moving forward.
We have selected one player from each nation to keep an eye on over the next couple of months, all of whom have the ability to make the step up sooner, rather than later.
Continue reading below…
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Rufus McLean, Scotland
This is an important year for Scotland who, unlike their Six Nations rivals, are not preparing for the World Rugby U20 Championship, but instead attempting to bounce back from the second tier Trophy competition at first time of asking. McLean’s elusive running and counter-attacking will help them in that goal, whilst he also boasts an incisive kicking game from hand.
He is no lightweight in defence, either, something which is not always true of the attack-oriented back three players at this level. McLean will be joined by returning players Ewan Ashman, Connor Boyle and Jack Blain, all of whom had good seasons last year, despite the side’s overall struggles. McLean and Blain combining in attack could light up the Six Nations and Trophy tournaments.
Alfie Barbeary, England
Barbeary’s introduction to U20 rugby happened a year early, although it ended in ignominious manner, as he was sent off at the U20 Championship for a spear tackle off the ball, something which saw his start to life as a professional at Wasps delayed. That said, it was a momentary rush of blood to the head and his potential in rugby is still extremely high.
A dominant ball-carrier, if Barbeary can steer clear of injuries and put five solid games at the Six Nations under his belt, he could well push for further honours with Wasps after the tournament’s conclusion. His physicality is rare and puts him in that conversation, even playing in a such a demanding position as the front row. Elsewhere, Freddie Steward, Max Ojomoh and Tom Curtis will all look to leave their mark on the competition and they should all excel with front-foot ball.
How good would they look in these French club colours? https://t.co/qCEfGCe6Tk
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 21, 2020
Hayden Hyde, Ireland
Outside centre Hyde is one of the new faces in an Ireland squad that will attempt to defend their Grand Slam title from last year, and he brings a physical carrying presence in the midfield that could make that possible. The Cranleigh product transitioned from the back row to the centres during his time in the Harlequins academy and although he is still learning his trade there, he is set to be a real coup for Ulster and the Irish Exiles programme.
If Ireland can deliver Hyde the ball in space, he could run rampant during the Six Nations and, as with many of the backs at the competition, that will come down to the work done by the pack. Up front, Ireland welcome back promising tighthead Thomas Clarkson and lock and captain David McCann, both of whom will be key to that goal of getting Hyde running on to the ball against a retreating defence.
Matthias Haddad, France
After excelling for the U18 side last season, Haddad is primed to take the U20 age-grade by storm this year. He is a relatively rare thing in France, in that he is a slighter flanker, very much built in the traditional openside mould. His speed, ferocity of tackle and strength over the ball all separate him from the chasing pack at this level.
If France can put a strong workhorse alongside Haddad and Jordan Joseph this year, their back row will be as explosive and potentially dominant as any in age-grade rugby. Gifted lock Florent Vanverberghe is back for another season, whilst Cheikh Tiberghien, who was snapped up by Clermont from Bayonne last year, is well worth keeping an eye on, too.
Ioan Lloyd, Wales
Of all the players mentioned in this article, none has had that impact at the senior level yet that Lloyd has had with Bristol Bears. The fly-half has transitioned to senior rugby as seamlessly as you could hope for and he has shown that he is more than capable of executing his impressive array of skills from U18 rugby at a level that is already beyond that which he will face in the Six Nations over the next two months.
Combined with Sam Costelow, Wales have two excellent playmakers to call upon and how they are used in conjunction with one another will be one of the more interesting aspects of the competition. Lloyd could slot in at full-back, whilst Costelow has experience at inside centre from the Leicester Tigers academy. Captain Jac Morgan will have to lead his pack forward and over the gain-line if we are to see the best of these two exciting talents.
Alun Wyn Jones seems to have the power of eternal life as he is set to commence his 15th year of Test rugby, but Wales must look at a Plan B for a post-AWJ future – @OwainJTJones takes a look at the contenders in line to potentially step uphttps://t.co/GId78C0zPt
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 21, 2020
Paolo Garbisi, Italy
Garbisi takes over from Italy’s standout last year Matteo Moscardi, not only as captain, but also as the primary attacking threat in the Italian midfield. His running ability makes him a difficult fly-half to defend against, although he will also need to be aware of the space further outside and move the ball, rather than just shouldering the burden himself.
With Italy having jumped from fly-half to fly-half at the senior level over the years, there is always interest when a player at this position performs well for the Azzurri at age-grade level. Garbisi began to tick that box last season and if he can continue develop during this campaign, it won’t be long before people begin talking him up as the heir to Diego Dominguez’s long-vacated throne.
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Comments on RugbyPass
We had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
57 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
57 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
57 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
57 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
57 Go to comments