Junior All Blacks make one change for World Cup final

Otere Black. Photo / Getty Images.

New Zealand have made one change, while England are unchanged, for tomorrow's World Rugby Under 20 Championship final in Cremona.

"We've been forced to make a change with James Blackwell being ruled out with a head knock," said Robertson. "That brings Mitch Jacobson on to the bench and Mitch Dunshea starts."

The New Zealand players made the most of the last four days in the lead-up to the final and Robertson believes his team is in a good space.

"We've had a good week: we've got to get our bodies right and our minds ready, so we can perform on the bigger stage," he said.

"Our focus this week has been making sure we're really clear on how we're going to play and who we're playing. We obviously need to understand how England execute, but probably the biggest thing is to make sure we're in a really good mindset to perform."

New Zealand dominated the French during their comfortable win on Monday evening.

France's only try was once again the result of a powerful catch and drive from a lineout, which seems to be the biggest challenge for New Zealand during this tournament.

"We managed to split the French rolling mauls and at key times defend pretty stoutly in our lineout. We took a lot of their spirit away," said Robertson.

"We're going to have to be that good again against a well-drilled English pack. England are very well structured and well coached, and they've got a lot of systems that work.

They've shown that when they execute, they're an extremely tough team to beat.

"The rolling maul is a real strength of theirs and our ability to make sure we can stop it and commit and compete in that area is critical for us."

Robertson is acutely aware that the only four tries scored against his team during this championship have been the result of short-range drives.

"We've had a lot of maul practice during this World Cup and that's been a real focus for us," he said.

England will be led from the front by lock Charlie Ewels.

"The squad performed heroically in the semifinal and they deserve another opportunity.

That is, however, unfortunate for the others who have been pushing and training hard," said coach Jon Callard.

"I am grateful that I have 28 enthusiastic and energised players who want to give this their best shot whether on the field or by supporting the preparations of those who are.

We were all pleased with the semifinal but feel that we left a bit out there. We were a little exposed at the end so there have been lots of key learnings from that game."'

This is the first meeting between the two sides since England beat New Zealand 33-21 in the 2013 semifinal in France.

"New Zealand are a very exciting and challenging proposition for us. They have a powerful squad who play with width and pace. We need to be strong in the set-piece and smart in our game management. I'm hoping that it will be a great advert for the game as the boys look to show that they are the best in their generation at this particular time. To have the opportunity to test yourself against both South Africa and New Zealand within a week in test rugby is both unique and a privilege."

Kickoff is at 6.30am and the final will be broadcast live on SKY Sport 1.

New Zealand: Mitch Hunt, Jack Goodhue, Anton Lienert-Brown, TJ Faiane, Tevita Li, Otere Black, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Akira Ioane, Blake Gibson, Mitchell Dunshea, Hamish Dalzell, Josh Goodhue, Atu Moli (c), Liam Polwart, Ricky Riccitelli
Reserves: Steven Misa, Isi Tu'ungafasi, Tau Koloamatangi, Mitch Jacobson, Henry Stowers, Harrison Levien, Vince Aso, George Bridge

England: Aaron Morris, George Perkins, Nick Tompkins, Max Clark, Howard Packman, Rory Jennings, James Mitchell, James Chisholm, Will Owen, Lewis Ludlam, Charlie Ewels (c), Will Witty, Paul Hill, Jack Walker, Ellis Genge

Reserves: Jack Innard, Sebastian Adeniran-Olule, Ciaran Parker, Kieran Treadwell, Sam Skinner, Will Homer, Lloyd Evans, Piers O'Conor