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by Brendan Hertel
Australian U20s prop Shambeckler Vui has become an internet sensation, after crossing for a barnstorming 40-metre try in Australia’s 38-10 win over Italy.
The prop, who only entered into the match in the 71st minute, took a hit up in the middle of the field with two minutes left on the clock. He barged through four Italian defenders to score the Australians fourth try of the match, securing his team a much needed bonus point.
World Rugby put vision of the try on their Facebook page soon after, and at the time of publication, the video had more than 125,000 views and had been shared more than 185 times.
The Western Force squad member was humble post-match, saying he found inspiration from the words of former Wallabies prop and Australian U20s coach Nic Henderson.
“We had classic Wallaby and coach Nic Herderson talk to us pre-game. He told us to be that guy that everyone wants to play with,” Vui said.
“I just wanted to be that guy, and I got lucky with a try. I looked up, saw space and just legged it for the posts.”
Vui was one of three players from the reserves bench to score for Australia. Lock Lukhan Tui and centre Liam Jurd both crossed for tries soon after taking the field, showing the strength and depth within the squad.
Head coach Adrian Thompson said the strength of their bench was reflective of how they want to approach games.
“I like the attitude that the Wallabies carry, that reserves are finishers. That’s what we want out of the reserves, we want them to have an impact and we got that today,” he said.
Although the Australia U20s claimed a significant win over Italy, Vui is adamant that the team must stay grounded ahead of their final pool game against England.
“It was a good win and the team are in high spirits, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We need to get in the right mindset to play England on Wednesday,” he said.
Watching England U20s’ match against Scotland back at the hotel after the win over Italy, Vui is aware of the challenge that England pose for the Australian U20s, but is confident in his side’s abilities.
“We know they have a good scrum and that they’ll be a physical pack, but nothing really changes for us.
“We’re not going to shy aware from the task at hand and we’ll do our best on game day.”
The Australia U20s will take on England this Wednesday, 15 June, at 4:45am AEST.
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