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Under-23 squads: Super Rugby vs Premiership vs PRO14 vs Top 14
Following on from the RugbyPass look at the club-by-club strength of the under-23s in the Gallagher Premiership, Guinness PRO14 and Super Rugby, we finish up the series by comparing the strengths of the three competitions as a whole, as well as the Top 14.
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Super Rugby, with its heavy focus on the development of homegrown players rather than recruitment, understandably comes out well, as does the PRO14 where the pick of talent from four of the five participating nations ply their trade.
Both the Premiership and Top 14 squads also look packed with talent, despite the heavy recruitment of senior players from abroad that goes on in both competitions.
Take a look at the RugbyPass XVs below and see which one stands out for you…
SUPER RUGBY
Jordie Barrett; Sevu Reece, Braydon Ennor, Damian Willemse, Rieko Ioane; Curwin Bosch, Embrose Papier; Mayco Vivas, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Taniela Tupou, Jason Jenkins, Marcos Kremer, Luke Jacobson, Dalton Papali’i, Jean-Luc du Preez.
The latest instalment in the intriguing RugbyPass series assessing the strength of the young players at clubs around the world https://t.co/eEO6Yn6Dbu
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 3, 2019
The back line leans heavily on the resources of the New Zealand franchises, with the likes of Will Jordan, Bautista Delguy, Jack Maddocks and Sbu Nkosi just missing out. Josh Ioane was another option at fly-half, while Blues centres TJ Faiane and Taniela Tele’a would have been in the mix were it not for talents of Ennor and Willemse.
Tongan Thor keeps out Tyrell Lomax at tighthead, whilst second rows Isaia Walker-Leawere and Izack Rodda were both close in an engine room that could have seen any combination of the four feature.
The back row, however, was where the real strength of the competition showed through, with Du’Plessis Kirifi, Marco van Staden, Jaco Coetzee, Liam Wright and Dan du Preez just some of the players worthy of mention that couldn’t crack the starting three.
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GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP
Max Malins; Joe Cokanasiga, Joe Marchant, Ollie Lawrence, Ollie Thorley; Marcus Smith, Jack Maunder; Rhys Carre, Jack Walker, Ehren Painter, Nick Isiekwe, Joel Kpoku, Sam Underhill, Tom Curry, Zach Mercer.
An understandably English-oriented XV, Italian internationals Jake Polledri and Matteo Minozzi were not far off while England cap Ted Hill was similarly close. Hill, like Ben Earl, Ben Curry, Jack Willis, Alex Dombrandt, James Chisholm and Lewis Ludlam, just missed out due to the strength of young back rowers in the Premiership at the current time.
Exeter’s Joe Simmonds, Northampton’s Rory Hutchinson and James Grayson, Bristol’s Piers O’Conor and Sale’s Cam Redpath show the quality of playmakers in the competition despite not making the XV.
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Wings are also in abundance with Gabriel Ibitoye, Ben Loader and Jordan Olowofela in the mix. Being drawn largely from one nation, rather than four or five, the Premiership understandably can’t offer up the same number of internationals as the Super Rugby or PRO14 sides.
So which Premiership clubs have the most heavily stacked division of young players?
– @alexshawsport unpacks each team ??? #PremRugby ? https://t.co/yhVrsodw1q
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 30, 2019
GUINNESS PRO14
Blair Kinghorn; Jordan Larmour, Sam Arnold, Marco Zanon, Jacob Stockdale; Adam Hastings, Craig Casey; Ox Nche, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Marco Riccioni, Scott Cummings, James Ryan, Jamie Ritchie, Aaron Wainwright, Max Deegan.
One of the most striking things about the PRO14 is the number of talented young tightheads floating about, with Riccioni keeping out Zander Fagerson, Leon Brown, Andrew Porter and Tom O’Toole, with four of those five senior internationals.
The back row depth is also strong, with Magnus Bradbury, Junior Pokomela, Giovanni Licata and Taine Basham on the cusp.
Scrum-half aside, it’s an all-international back line, with further capped options like Joey Carbery, Owen Watkin, Luca Sperandio and Tyler Morgan also in the conversation.
If there is one drawback in comparison to the other XVs on show, it is arguably a lack of fly-half depth below Hastings and Carbery, with Benetton No10 Antonio Rizzi the next man up. It’s not quite the quantity of proven operators that there are in the other three competitions.
Under 23s squad depth
– @alexshawsport unpacks each #PRO14 side and rates them by their U23s players ??? https://t.co/9xeIsqutAy
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 1, 2019
TOP 14
Thomas Ramos; Gervais Cordin, Damian Penaud, Romain Ntamack, Gabriel N’Gandebe; Anthony Belleau, Antoine Dupont; Guram Gogichashvili, Pierre Bourgarit, Demba Bamba, Florian Verhaeghe, Florent Vanverberghe, Judicaël Cancoriet, Cameron Woki, Jordan Joseph.
Leaning heavily on the two recent World Rugby Under-20 Championship-winning sides, there is clearly no lack of talent waiting in the wings for Les Bleus.
The likes of Bourgarit and Bamba up front have been capped. The same is true of Gogichashvili for Georgia, with Teddy Baubigny in the mix as well as Selevasio Tolofua and Anthony Jelonch behind a very talented starting back row.
Without doubt, though, the strength of the competition is in the half-backs, where Dupont and Belleau hold off the challenges of a cohort of players.
Baptiste Couilloud, Arthur Retiere and Arthur Coville are all bona fide options at scrum-half, while Mathieu Jalibert, Louis Carbonel and Thomas Darmon offer a similar level of depth at fly-half.
WATCH: Part one of The Academy, the six-part RugbyPassdocumentary series on how Leicester Tigers develop their young players
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks 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.
20 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.
9 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!
78 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
20 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
9 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
16 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
20 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
20 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
20 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
2 Go to comments