History beckons for Baby Blacks
Defending champions New Zealand will be out to win their fourth successive IRB Junior World Championships title and stretch their unbeaten run to 20 games when they take on England in Padova on Sunday.
The two finalists have provided some of the most memorable performances in the tournament so far, New Zealand for having enjoyed the biggest winning margin in JWC history with a 92-0 defeat of Wales in round two, and England for battling past South Africa and France to reach a third final.
New Zealand are on track to break records for the most points and tries scored in a single tournament, whilst England will be hoping to end the Baby Blacks’ 19-match unbeaten run in the Junior World Championships and avoid a third final loss in four years to them.
New Zealand captain Luke Whitelock said: “For the whole team this is the biggest game they’ve ever played, playing against the world’s best. We’ve just got to make sure we express ourselves and represent our country well.
“The boys are really up for it, we’ve seen what teams have done in the past and the boys are hungry to feel that same sort of victory. No one likes losing and that helps us try a bit more to come home with the cup,” he added.
His England counterpart Alex Gray commented: “I’m expecting a really tough encounter, there’s no tomorrow for both teams.
“We’re just going to be out there tooth and nail, and whoever can keep calm, whoever can give everything will come away with the win.”
More than 40,000 fans have already attended the 24 matches in Treviso, Padova and Rovigo over the past 16 days, enjoying exceptional rugby from the future stars of the world game in a festival atmosphere.
The final day will not only determine the champions and runners-up, but will also rank teams from third to 12th, with the bottom ranked side dropping down to the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in 2012, to be replaced by Samoa, winners of the 2011 instalment of the latter earlier this month.
