Preview: IRB JWC Final
Wales could be forgiven for having a touch of déjà vu as they prepare for the IRB Junior World Championship 2013 Final against England on Sunday.
They have already faced their neighbours in one title decider this year.
Three months ago the teams met at a wet Parc Eirias with Wales going for the Under-20 Six Nations Grand Slam and England knowing that victory would see them pip their hosts to the title on point differential.
England ran out 28-15 winners in Colwyn Bay and the pain of that defeat has been driving the Welsh squad ever since, determined as they are not to experience that heartbreak of falling again at the final hurdle.
"It was disappointing for us to go unbeaten all the way through the Six Nations and then to come unstuck against England was really hard to take, but I think it will fuel us going into this game," admitted captain Ellis Jenkins.
"It will be an extra bit of motivation on the fact that we have gone unbeaten through this tournament again and it's England standing in our way of a World Cup.
"We have beaten some great teams but it's going to take another huge performance from all the boys, one last effort from everyone … it's going to take everything we have got."
We bring you all the teams and team news for the final day of the Tournament!
Sunday, June 23
Final:
Wales v England
(Stade de la Rabine, Vannes – Kick-off: 18.45; 16.45 GMT)
Wales Under-20 coach Danny Wilson has made two changes and one positional change.
Carwyn Jones has recovered from a neck sprain to take his place in the second row alongside Rhodri Hughes, while Elliot Dee starts at hooker and Jack Jones moves from lock to blindside flank in place of Sion Bennett who has picked up an ankle injury.
Wilson said: "I'm very proud of the character this group of players has shown throughout this tournament and the outstanding manner in which they dug in to win the semifinal against South Africa along with the two Pool matches against Scotland and Argentina.
"Beating New Zealand last year was a big turning point in our development as a team and then we've consolidated that confidence with the win over another power in South Africa."
Wilson believes there will be tightly contested battles in many areas of the game on Sunday.
"The commitment of both sides at the breakdown and in defence will be key areas of the game," he said.
"There is an extra motivational factor in that we lost to England in the Six Nations but more importantly, we must get our execution right on Sunday.
"England were a cut above us in that game, but we have come a long way since then in terms of our performances in this competition and if we play to our best ability, there is no reason we can't come away as winners."
Wales are hoping to count on the Lion's share of support from the crowd at Stade de la Rabine in Vannes.
"We have had great support from families who have travelled out along with people back home, and with the Celtic connection, the Breton rugby public have been very supportive," said Wilson.
"We are hoping they will wear red to give us an extra boost on Sunday."
England coaches Nick Walshe made two-changes from the side that beat New Zealand 33-21 in the semifinal with Leicester's Tom Price coming in for the injured Elliott Stooke and London Wasps prop Alec Hepburn replacing Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi who drops to the bench.
The meeting is the first all northern hemisphere final in JWC history, and the two sides last met back in March, when England won the Under-20 Six Nations in Colwyn Bay, beating Wales 28-15.
Head Coach Walshe says that Sunday's meeting will be a completely different beast though: "Wales are an excellent side – as they have shown throughout this competition and we're fully aware that it's going to be a tough game. We did well in the Six Nations to win at their place, but that game will have no bearing on the result.
"We have prepared well, we have recovered well after the New Zealand game – and we're ready for what promises to be an excellent final."
Teams:
Wales: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Ashley Evans, 13 Steffan Hughes, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Ieuan Jones, 7 Ellis Jenkins (captain), 6 Jack Jones, 5 Rhodri Hughes, 4 Carwyn Jones, 3 Nicky Thomas, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Daniel Suter, 19 James Benjamin, 20 Daniel Thomas, 21 Joshua Davies, 22 Owen Jenkins, 23 Thomas Pascoe.
England: 15 Jack Nowell, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Harry Sloan, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Ben Howard, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Alex Day, 8 Jack Clifford (captain), 7 Matt Hankin, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Dominic Barrow, 4 Tom Price, 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Scott Spurling, 17 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, 18 Tom Smallbone, 19 Harry Wells, 20 David Sisi, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Henry Purdy.
Third-place play-off:
South Africa v New Zealand
(Stade de la Rabine, Vannes – Kick-off: 15.15; 13.15 GMT)
South Africa Under-20 will tackle New Zealand with a reshuffled.
Baby Bok coach Dawie Theron named a new prop and a rearranged loose trio combination amongst the forwards, while he also made one positional switch and two changes in the backline, including a new-look centre combination.
Up front Sti Sithole comes in for Andrew Beerwinkel, while the troublesome knee of Roelof Smit has forced Theron to change his preferred back row. Ruan Steenkamp moves from No.8 to flank position to accommodate Aidon Davis.
Handré Pollard shift back to flyhalf where he replaces Robert du Preez, while Jesse Kriel gets his first start of the tournament at outside centre. Justin Geduld was not considered for the No.13 jersey because of a slight knee ailment.
Jannie Stander, the replacement lock who arrived earlier in the week after Jannie Kirsten was ruled out of the tournament with a fractured cheek bone, is included amongst the reserves.
Junior Springboks coach Theron said that his team approach this as an important encounter because any match between South Africa and New Zealand is a big occasion for both countries.
"We expect a very physical contest and I believe the guys are still highly motivated and there is a hunger amongst them to take this match to New Zealand. We really want to end this campaign on a high note," explained Theron.
"If we look back at last year's final against New Zealand in Cape Town then I would say we had a recipe that worked for us and we will follow much of that this time around.
"With next year's tournament in mind, this will be an important match because four players in our starting line-up for Sunday will still be available for next year's tournament. They are Aidon Davis, Rohan van Janse van Rensburg, Handré Pollard and Jesse Kriel," added Theron.
Teams:
South Africa: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Luther Obi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Ruan Steenkamp, 5 Dennis Visser, 4 Irné Herbst, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Michael Willemse, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Andrew Beerwinkel, 18 Jannie Stander, 19 Albertus Smith, 20 Percy Williams, 21 Robert du Preez, 22 Dries Swanepoel, 23 Marné Coetzee.
New Zealand: 15 Joseph Webber, 14 Penikolo Latu, 13 Michael Collins, 12 Teihorangi Walden, 11 Lolagi Visinia, 10 Simon Hickey, 9 Sheridan Rangihuna, 8 Joseph Edwards, 7 Ardie Savea (captain), 6 Jordan Manihera, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Sione Mafileo, 2 Nick Grogan, 1 Donald Brighouse.
Replacements: 16 Kalafi Pongi, 17 Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18 Christopher Vui, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 Leroy Van Dam, 21 Tayler Adams, 22 Jade Te Rure, 23 Boyd Wiggins.
Fifth-place play-off:
Argentina v France
(Stade Henri Desgrange, La Roche-sur-Yon – Kick-off: 17.15; 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
Argentina: 15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Axel Muller, 13 Joaquin Paz, 12 Juan Pablo Aguirre, 11 German Schulz, 10 Patricio Fernandez, 9 Felipe Ezcurra (captain), 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Pablo Matera, 6 Tomas Lezana, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizabal, 3 Matias Diaz, 2 Santiago Iglesias, 1 Facundo Gigena.
Replacements: 16 Lucas Noguera Paz, 17 Julian Montoya, 18 Tomas Ramirez, 19 Pedro Ortega, 20 Geronimo Mazzoni, 21 Juan Bernardini, 22 Emiliano Boffelli, 23 Ignacio Albornoz.
France: 15 Teddy Thomas, 14 Gabriel Lacroix, 13 Florian Vialelle, 12 Francois Bouvier, 11 Stephen Parez, 10 Enzo Selponi, 9 Bastien Duhalde, 8 Marco Tauleigne, 7 Francois Cros, 6 Yacouba Camara, 5 Johan Aliouat, 4 Paul Jedrasiak (captain), 3 Khatchik Vartanov, 2 Romain Ruffenach, 1 Cyril Baille.
Replacements: 16 Romain Hollet, 17 Alexis Valette, 18 Oleg Ishchenko, 19 Leo Bastien, 20 Mathieu Babillot, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Julien Heriteau, 23 William Thomas.
Seventh-place play-off:
Australia v Ireland
(Stade Henri Desgrange, La Roche-sur-Yon – Kick-off: 15.00, 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Australia: 15 Jonah Placid, 14 Harry Parker, 13 Lalakai Foketi, 12 Luke Burton, 11 Alex Northam, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Waldo Wessels, 8 Curtis Browning (captain), 7 Mark Baldwin, 6 Michael Wells, 5 Thomas Staniforth, 4 Senio Toleafoa, 3 Oli Hoskins, 2 Andrew Ready, 1 Pettowa Paraka.
Replacements: 16 Silatolu Latu, 17 Allan Alaalatoa, 18 Phil Kite, 19 Jack Dempsey, 20 Patrick Sio, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Reece Hodge, 23 UJ Seuteni.
Ireland: 15 Rory Scholes, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Thomas Farrell, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 Steve Crosbie, 9 Luke McGrath (captain), 8 Conor Joyce, 7 Josh Van Der Flier, 6 Dan Leavy, 5 John Donnan, 4 Gavin Thornbury, 3 Chris Taylor, 2 Brian Byrne, 1 Edward Byrne.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Ryan Furniss, 18 Adam Boland, 19 Sean McCarthy, 20 Peadar Timmins, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Mark Roche, 23 David Panter.
Ninth-place play-off:
Samoa v Scotland
(Stade Pascal Laporte, Nantes – Kick-off: 15.00, 13.00 GMT)
Teams:
Samoa: 15 Melani Nanai, 14 Fomai Ah Ki (captain), 13 Harry Luteru, 12 Calvary Fonoti, 11 Paul Slater, 10 AJ Alatimu, 9 Rameka Paraki, 8 Mathew Peni, 7 Beaudene Birtwhistle, 6 Tofatuimoana Solia, 5 Komiti Junior Alainuuese, 4 Natal Malaki, 3 Ezrah Amituanai, 2 Sebastian Siataga, 1 Andrew Broomhall.
Replacement: 16 Travis Fenumiai, 17 Brooke Toomalatai, 18 Samuelu Ah Sam, 19 Benjamin Chan, 20 Elekana Laupola, 21 Scott Malolua, 22 Potoae Sasagi, 23 Samoa Toloa.
Scotland: 15 Robbie Fergusson, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Chris Auld, 12 Mark Bennett, 11 Rory Hughes, 10 Tommy Allan, 9 Scott Steele, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Will Bordill, 6 Alex Henderson, 5 Jonny Gray (captain), 4 Adam Sinclair, 3 Phil Cringle, 2 Russell Anderson, 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Replacements: 16 Callum Black, 17 James Malcolm, 18 Robby Wilson, 19 Ruairidh Leishman, 20 Eoghan Masterson, 21 Ali Price, 22 Jamie Farndale, 23 JJ Kilmartin.
Eleventh-place play-off:
Fiji v United States
(Stade Pascal Laporte, Nantes – Kick-off: 17.15, 15.15 GMT)
Teams:
Fiji: 15 Timilai Rokoduru, 14 Maika Sivo, 13 Elia Ratucove, 12 Nasoni Kunavore, 11 Peceli Tuisese, 10 Dylan Bower, 9 Emori Waqa, 8 Laijaisa Bolenaivalu, 7 Jone Baleidau, 6 Esikia Macu (captain), 5 Viliame Rarasea, 4 Kemueli Tokalau, 3 Mesake Doge, 2 Tunai Vatubua, 1 Sunia Tamani.
Replacement: 16 Penaia Cakobau, 17 Joji Ravula, 18 Zachery Lee, 19 Sailasa Kerekere, 20 Marika Vunibaka, 21 Joeli Douglas, 22 Joshua King, 23 Akuila Tabualevu.
United States: 15 Dylan Audsley, 14 Gavin Brown, 13 Mike Teo, 12 Eakalafi Okusi, 11 Lemoto Fillikitonga, 10 Conor Kearns, 9 Tom Bliss (captain), 8 Ross Deacon, 7 Vili Toluta'u, 6 Alex Goff, 5 Brendan Hardiman, 4 Teli Veamatahau, 3 Henry Hall, 2 Cameron Falcon, 1 Korbin Lindell.
Replacements: 16 Casper Huizenga, 17 Vei Tomasi, 18 Solomone Anitema, 19 Christian Ostberg, 20 Zach Bonte, 21 Alex Taefu, 22 Cormac Murphy, 23 Noah Tarrant.
