Junior All Blacks named

Junior All Blacks named

18/05/2007
allblacks.com

All Blacks coach Graham Henry and his assistant coaches Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen and fellow selector, Sir Brian Lochore, have announced a 26-man Junior All Blacks squad for the IRB Pacific Nations Cup tournament.

The squad is:

John Afoa - Auckland
Stephen Brett - Canterbury
Daniel Braid (Co-captain) - Auckland
Jimmy Cowan - Southland
Wyatt Crockett - Canterbury
Clarke Dermody - Southland
Stephen Donald - Waikato
Andrew Ellis - Canterbury
Ross Filipo - Wellington
Corey Flynn* - Canterbury
Rico Gear - Tasman
Scott Hamilton - Canterbury
Marty Holah (Co-captain) - Waikato
Cory Jane - Wellington
Campbell Johnstone - Canterbury
Jerome Kaino - Auckland
Casey Laulala - Canterbury
Hoani MacDonald - Southland
Ma’a Nonu - Wellington
Greg Rawlinson - North Harbour
Kieran Read - Canterbury
Mose Tuiali’i - Canterbury
Anthony Tuitavake - North Harbour
Sam Tuitupou - Auckland
Derren Witcombe - Auckland
Rudi Wulf - North Harbour

*Corey Flynn will not assemble with the squad immediately as he is on paternity leave.

A replacement hooker (to be confirmed) will join the squad until Flynn’s return.

As New Zealand’s second national team behind the All Blacks, the Junior All Blacks are a key part of the NZRU’s High Performance Plan. The team exposes more New Zealand players to top-class rugby and prepare players in season to step up to the next level if injury or form forced changes to the All Blacks squad.

Junior All Blacks Co-Coach Ian Foster said the squad reflected the depth of New Zealand rugby.

“We are fortunate to have such top quality players available in this country and to play in a tournament that benefits New Zealand and Pacific Island rugby in particular,” Foster said.

The Junior All Blacks will play matches in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga this year followed by games in Dunedin and Tokyo.

“This is a fantastic opportunity and great challenge for the team. The Pacific Island nations are passionate about their rugby and we are looking forward to the experience of playing in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga,” Foster said.

The Junior All Blacks assemble in Auckland on Monday 21 May.

They'll put out some team from that - the Jun AB v Aus A match should be an absolute blinder.

They have Rico, they will win every game. You heard/read it here first.

On paper they ought to, but it could be a really interesting competition if Samoa and Tonga field full strength teams in preparation for the WC. I hope (without much confidence) that the Aus A side plays as a team, without the selectors messing it about too much and the players all having one eye on the Wallabies. I'd sooner see some stable combinations developed that could transition to the top team, rather than what appears to be the current Wallabies philosophy of picking the players and then trying to find some way to fit them all on the field.