Bleyendaal leads Baby Blacks
Canterbury flyhalf Tyler Bleyendaal has been named captain of the New Zealand Under-20 team which leaves this weekend for the IRB Junior World Championship in Argentina.
Bleyendaal, a product of Christchurch Boys’ High, celebrates his 20th birthday on Monday, a day after the squad leaves for Argentina.
“It is a great honour to be chosen as captain for the team,” said Bleyendaal.
“This is a great team to be part of and we are looking forward to an exciting tournament. We have put in the hard work over the last few months but we know that we have to continue to do this if we want to win another world championship.
“As a group we realise the expectations of the New Zealand rugby public and there is no doubt that we will do our best to do ourselves, our families, friends and our supporters proud,” he added.
The New Zealand Under-20 team beat Tonga 76-7 in a live training run Wednesday, with Wellington’s Julian Savea running in four tries.
New Zealand Under-20 pool games at IRB Junior World Championship:
June 5: v Fiji
June 9: v Samoa
June 13: v Wales
Tournament finals:
Semifinals: 17 June
Final: 21 June
