Junior World Championship, Round Three - Teams and Predictions

PREVIEW: The Junior Boks will look to top their group when they meet Wales in their final pool match of the Junior World Championship in Tbilisi.

South Africa currently tops Pool A with 10 points, two wins from as many games, and a healthy +125 points difference following victories over Uruguay and Georgia.

Wales are behind them on nine log points – both teams have already qualified, with Georgia and Uruguay unable to catch them.

Junior Bok head coach Kevin Foote made several changes to the side, one of them at No.10.

Luan Giliomee is ruled out with a concussion he suffered against Georgia, with Yaqeen Ahmed taking the playmaking role after missing the first two games due to suspension for a dangerous tackle against the Zimbabwe Sables last month.

Foote hailed Ahmed’s maturity following the suspension and his contribution to the squad despite being unable to play.

“Yaqeen handled it [suspension] very well. I think he was a bit unlucky, in my opinion.

“I felt that the 20 minutes he had to spend on the sideline [against Zimbabwe] was enough.

“He’s handled it very maturely and contributed massively to our environment; he doesn’t sulk and brings a nice energy to training even though he couldn’t be selected.

“His excitement is through the roof at the moment. I think he is really chomping at the bit to get involved with the team now.

“He’s a really good No. 10, and I think he will drive us around the park very well.”

Continues below…

Foote hailed Wales’ game and overall JWC campaigns and highlighted the threats they pose.

“Wales are a really good team. They started fast and started all their JWC campaigns really well – even last year’s.

“We’ve been watching them for a long time, and they have a really good attacking game; they love to move the ball around, especially in the No.13 channel with players stacking in behind.

“They’ve got guys who played at senior level in the back three, so we know they’ve got a good kicking and running game, so we’ll be up for that.”

*See all the teams and predictions below!

Tuesday, July 7

New Zealand v Italy

(AIA Arena, Kutaisi – Kick-off: 13.00 GET; 21.00 NZST, 11.00 CEST, 09.00 GMT)

Prediction:

Rugby365: New Zealand by 20 points

Teams:

New Zealand U20: 15 Cohen Norrie, 14 Ollie Guerin, 13 David Lewai, 12 Siale Pahulu, 11 Logan Williams, 10 Mika Muliaina, 9 Charlie Sinton (captain), 8 Patrick Mauga, 7 Caleb Woodley, 6 Bradley Tocker, 5 Jake Frost, 4 Max Fale, 3 Ethan Webber, 2 Josh Findlay, 1 Henry Stuart
Replacements: 16 Xavier Leota, 17 James Moore, 18 Dale Johnston, 19 Finn McLeod, 20 Micah Fale, 21 Boston Krone, 22 Lautasi Etuale, 23 Kobe Brownlee

Italy U20: 15 Pietro Celi, 14 Luca De Novellis, 13 Giacomo Falchetto, 12 Riccardo Casarin (captain), 11 David Luisato, 10 Roberto Fasti, 9 Mattia Andretti, 8 Enoch Opoku Gyamfi, 7 Jaheim Noel Wilson, 6 Carlo Antonio Bianchi, 5 Marco Spreafichi, 4 Simone Fardin, 3 Luca Trevisan, 2 Ettore Dinarte Patricio, 1 Christian Brasini
Replacements: 16 Valerio Pelli, 17 Emiliano Mastropasqua, 18 Erik Meroi, 19 Christian Germano, 20 Antony Italo Miranda, 21 Davide Sette, 22 Nikolaj Varotto, 23 Edoardo Vitale

Referee: Kevin Bralley (France)
Assistant referees: Morgan White (Hong Kong China), Sulkhan Chikhladze (Georgia)
TMO: Paulo Duarte (Portugal)

Ireland v USA

(Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi – Kick-off: 13.00 GET; 10.00 IST; 05.00 EDT; 09.00 GMT)

Prediction:

Rugby365: Ireland by 14 points

Teams:

Ireland U20: 15 Daniel Green, 14 Charlie Molony, 13 Robert Carney, 12 Sean David Walsh, 11 Johnny O’Sullivan, 10 Charlie O’Shea, 9 Christopher Barrett, 8 Alex Lautsou, 7 Ben Blaney (captain), 6 Charlie Keane, 5 Joe Finn, 4 Sean Walsh, 3 Blake McClean, 2 Duinn Maguire, 1 Adam Cooper
Replacements: 16 Luke McLaughlin, 17 Max Doyle, 18 Jamie Conway, 19 Paddy Woods, 20 Diarmaid O’Connell, 21 Luke Coffey, 22 Jack Deegan, 23 Daniel Ryan

USA U20: 15 Blake Miller, 14 Sialeafuhia Ofa, 13 William Darbishire, 12 Leo Keesler-Venables, 11 Finnian Love, 10 Declan Cadden, 9 Joseph Sarkees, 8 Frank Finicle, 7 Yiannis Efthymiopoulos, 6 Liam Hill, 5 Tanielu Talaepa, 4 Lyndon Bailey, 3 Tyler Trower, 2 Aiden Stewart, 1 Colin Donnelly
Replacements: 16 Salesi Kafovalu, 17 Sawyer Troupe, 18 Quan Nguyen, 19 Pierce Kelly, 20 Harrison Cluff, 21 Spencer Huntley, 22 Dane Mitchell, 23 Jack Firebrace

Referee: George Selwood (England)
Assistant referees: Shota Tevzadze (Georgia), Mariam Goguadze (Georgia)
TMO: Francisco Gonzalez (Uruguay)

Scotland v Japan

(AIA Arena, Kutaisi – Kick-off: 15.30 GET; 12.30 BST; 20.30 JST; 11.30 GMT)

Prediction:

Rugby365: Scotland by eight points

Teams:

Scotland U20: 15 Rory McHaffie, 14 Dan Kelly, 13 Campbell Waugh, 12 Henry Kesterton, 11 Nairn Moncrieff, 10 Jake Dalziel, 9 Matthew Fick, 8 Harvey Preston, 7 Jack Utterson, 6 Sam Byrd, 5 Dan Halkon, 4 Christian Lindsay, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Joe Roberts (captain), 1 Oliver McKenna
Replacements: 16 Jamie Stewart, 17 Jamie McAughtire, 18 Jackson Rennie, 19 Fin Mather, 20 Oliver Finlayson-Russell, 21 Asa Stewart-Harris, 22 Alex Bryden, 23 Ewan Caven

Japan U20: 15 Ryuto Koga, 14 Gentaro Sakata, 13 Rio Iwakura, 12 Yura Morioka, 11 Isa Fukada, 10 Yuki Kobayashi, 9 Keigo Sato, 8 Akihiro Tsubone (captain), 7 Kise Sin, 6 Riku Fujikubo, 5 Taiga Yamazaki, 4 Masato Yanase, 3 Kanta Kawagoe, 2 Koshi Tsumura, 1 Keigo Aruga
Replacements: 16 Sota Miura, 17 Song Ha Ri, 18 Keitatsu Motoyama, 19 Masato Hyakutake, 20 Chikara Fukuda, 21 Kohaku Suda, 22 Takeru Niwa, 23 Shinnosuke Uchida

Referee: David Vosalevu (Fiji)
Assistant referees: Morgan White (Hong Kong China), Sulkhan Chikhladze (Georgia)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)

Argentina v England

(Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi – Kick-off: 15.30 GET; 08.30 ART; 12.30 BST; 11.30 GMT)

Prediction:

Rugby365: England by 10 points

Teams:

Argentina U20: 15 Simon Pfister, 14 Bautista Lescano, 13 Pedro Coll, 12 Benjamin Ordiz Yujnovsky, 11 Luciano Avaca, 10 Federico Serpa Laporte, 9 Juan Preumayr, 8 Federico Torre, 7 Jeronimo Sorondo, 6 Tomas Dande (captain), 5 Bautista Benavides, 4 Joaquin Pascual Viale, 3 Bautista Salinas Mallea, 2 Manuel Cueno Camargo, 1 Benjamin Farias Cerioni
Replacements: 16 Nicolas Cambiasso, 17 Fabrizio Cebron, 18 Federico Narvaez, 19 Felipe Hygonenq, 20 Basilio Canas, 21 Valentino Reggiardo, 22 Manuel Giannantonio, 23 Ramon Fernandez

England U20: 15 James Pater, 14 Tylor Offiah, 13 Nick Lilley, 12 Will Knight, 11 Sam Winters, 10 Hugh Shields, 9 Lucas Friday, 8 Connor Treacey (captain), 7 Seb Kelly, 6 Tate Williams, 5 Aiden Ainsworth-Cave, 4 Elliot Williams, 3 Ollie Streeter, 2 Jimmy Staples, 1 Oliver Scola
Replacements: 16 Jerold Gorleku, 17 Oliver Spencer, 18 Sonny Tonga’uiha, 19 Patrick Hogg, 20 George Marsh, 21 Jonny Weimann, 22 Finn Keylock, 23 George Pearson

Referee: Christopher Allison (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Ruairidh Campbell (Scotland), Shota Tevzadze (Georgia)
TMO: Matt Rodden (Hong Kong China)

France v Australia

(AIA Arena, Kutaisi – Kick-off: 18.00 GET; 16.00 CEST; 14.00 GMT; 00.00 AEST, Wednesday, July 8)

Prediction:

Rugby365: Australia by three points

Teams:

France U20: 15 Axel Guillaud, 14 Dylan Noudofinin, 13 Adrien Drault, 12 Bastien Rasal, 11 Melvyn Rates, 10 Luka Keletaona, 9 Baptiste Tilloles, 8 Elyjah Ibsaiene, 7 Lucas Andjisseramatchi (captain), 6 Raphael Audebert, 5 Romeo Bonnard Martin, 4 Baptiste Veschambre, 3 Alexandre Langlois, 2 Gabin Garault, 1 Matheo Frisach
Replacements: 16 Elia Masi, 17 Edouard Jabea Njocke, 18 Mael Turpin, 19 Bobby Bissu, 20 Leo Michaux, 21 Valentin Hutteau, 22 Diego Jurd, 23 Hugo Avogardo

Australia U20: 15 Wallace Charlie, 14 Tom Farr-Jones, 13 Zach Fittler, 12 Treyvon Pritchard, 11 Cooper Watters, 10 Finn Mackay, 9 Angus Grover, 8 Eli Langi, 7 Tom Robinson (Captain), 6 Luca Clerverley, 5 Toby Brial, 4 William Ross, 3 Lehopoame Leota, 2 Ewald Kruger, 1 Kingbenjamin Swerling-Finaipepe
Replacements: 16 John Greenfell, 17 Jacob Job, 18 Edwin Langi, 19 Isaac Fonua, 20 TJ Talaileva, 21 Sam Blank, 22 Charlie Bird, 23 Riley Whitfeld

Referee: Ben Connor (Wales)
Assistant referees: Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland), Saba Abulashvili (Georgia)
TMO: Paulo Duarte (Portugal)

South Africa v Wales

(Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi – Kick-off: 18.00 GET; 16.00 SAST, 15.00 BST; 14.00 GMT)

Prediction:

Rugby365: South Africa by 20 points

Teams:

South Africa U20: 15 Alzeadon Felix, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Samuel Badenhorst, 12 Ethan Adams, 11 Khuthadzo Rasivhaga, 10 Yaqeen Ahmed, 9 Hendré Schoeman, 8 Vuyo Gwiji, 7 Luke Cannon, 6 Risima Khosa, 5 JD Hattingh, 4 Heinrich Theron, 3 Danie Kruger, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele (captain), 1 Oliver Reid.
Replacements: 16 Liam van Wyk, 17 Rambo Kubheka, 18 Luan van der Berg, 19 Jaythen Orange, 20 Gert Kemp, 21 Jayden Brits, 22 Markus Müller, 23 Jordan Steenkamp.

Wales U20: 15 Lewis Edwards, 14 Rhys Cummings, 13 Osian Lewis, 12 Steffan Emanuel, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Carwyn Leggatt Jones, 9 Sion James, 8 Evan Minto, 7 Caio James, 6 Deian Gwynne (captain), 5 Tom Cottle, 4 Will Evans, 3 Jack Pritchard, 2 Tom Howe, 1 George Tuckley
Replacements: 16 Oscar Thomas, 17 Dylan James, 18 Eystyn Cook, 19 Luke Evans, 20 Osian Justin Williams, 21 Alex Ridgway, 22 Cai Gealy, 23 Lloyd Lucas.

Referee: Reuben Keane (Australia)
Assistant referees: Luke Rogan (USA), Soso Japaridze (Georgia)
TMO: Francisco Gonzalez (Uruguay)

Georgia v Uruguay

(Avchala Stadium, Tbilisi – Kick-off: 20.30 GET; 13.30 UYT; 16.30 GMT)

Prediction:

Rugby365: Georgia by 30 points

Teams:

Georgia U20: 15 Nikoloz Khalvashi, 14 Luka Tabatadze, 13 Data Akhvlediani, 12 Davit Barbakadze, 11 Saba Natroshvili, 10 Mate Makharadze, 9 Temuri Dzodzuashvili, 8 Mikheil Shioshvili, 7 Luka Narsia (captain), 6 Irakli Kolbaia, 5 Andria Bilanishvili, 4 Giorgi Meparishvili, 3 Gabriel Meparishvili, 2 David Archvadze, 1 Nikoloz Balachivadze
Replacements: 16 Giorgi Agniashvili, 17 Giorgi Turash Tursashvili, 18 Saba Nozadze, 19 Nikolozi Chkhortolia, 20 Giorgi Ardzenadze, 21 Giorgi Khonelidze, 22 Demetre Devdariani, 23 Davit Arobelidze

Uruguay U20: 15 Nicolas Pittaluga, 14 Alfonso Fernandez, 13 Joaquin Fresnedo, 12 Matteo Acosta, 11 Bruno Baccino, 10 Juan Francisco Pereira, 9 Pierre Cotarmanac’h, 8 Manuel Ponte, 7 Pedro Suarez, 6 Ignacio Merli (captain), 5 Piero Veglio, 4 Felipe Costa, 3 Juan Francisco Bessio, 2 Sebastian Perez, 1 Dario Rodriguez
Replacements: 16 Jose Candia Sciarra, 17 Sebastian Dalmao Rivero, 18 Juan Manuel Sagario, 19 Nicolas Mattsson, 20 Oryx Kirk, 21 Mateo Ibarburu, 22 Vicente Alvarez, 23 Bautista Menchaca

Referee: Gonzalo de Achaval (Argentina)
Assistant referees: Luke Rogan (USA), Ruairidh Campbell (Scotland)
TMO: Matt Rodden (Hong Kong China)

Spain v Fiji

(AIA Arena, Kutaisi – Kick-off: 20.30 GET; 18.30 CEST; 16.30 GMT; 04.30 FJT, Wednesday, July 8)

Prediction:

Rugby365: Spain by five points

Teams:

Spain U20: 15 Telmo Fisher Obieta, 14 Jorje Garreta, 13 Marcos López Camano, 12 Oriol Marsinyac Garcia, 11 Pelayo Serrano, 10 Mateo Antem, 9 Bernat Fernández, 8 Marcal Carreras Cuesta (captain), 7 Unax Salvador, 6 Miguel Narvarte, 5 Marco Radizza, 4 Max Artigas, 3 Solomon Ibeoba, 2 Iván Farace, 1 Daniel Chico Ayo
Replacements: 16 Mauro Del Campo, 17 Lucas Official, 18 Daniel Navarro, 19 Rocklyn Kenneally, 20 Manex Pujana Lendinez, 21 Malakai Hafoka Toca, 22 Bosco Cattaneo, 23 Inigo Rapallo

Fiji U20: 15 Tevita Vuniwaqa Ledua, 14 Apete Gauna Rokosua, 13 Maleli Nauvasi, 12 Sailosi Vodonaivalu Taka, 11 Judah Draiva, 10 Cale Maurice, 9 Isikeli Bari Ratu, 8 Ratu Epeli Roseruvakula, 7 Mosese Tamaniceva Tuvasu Tabuakoto, 6 Isoa Koroinawai, 5 Setareki Turagacoke (co-captain), 4 Francis Peters, 3 Jehoshua Paul Serupepeli Ratulomai, 2 Ratu Osea Dasalusalu, 1 Sylvestre Vakauliafa
Replacements: 16 Timoci Gadolo, 17 Marika Koroi, 18 Raymond Navunikaba, 19 Savenaca Qabale, 20 Suliano Savenaca, 21 Epeli Rokosemani Vocea, 22 Savenaca Vagadai, 23 Sevuloni Rakoto Sauleirogo SatalaVagadai

Referee: Saba Makharadze (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland), Saba Abulashvili (Georgia)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)