New Zealand have named an Under 20 squad that should be good enough to annex the Oceania championship on the Gold Coast in a few weeks.
Waikato loose forward Luke Jacobson is skipper, but one of the standout features is that Hurricanes utility back Jordie Barrett is vice-captain. On that basis, the Hurricanes' April 21 clash in Napier against the Brumbies will be his final run with the franchise before linking up with the Under 20s, for whom he played seven games at second five in 2016.
New Zealand Under 20 head coach Craig Philpott said that he was pleased with the talent available for the tournament which will see them play test matches against Australia, Fiji and Samoa in an expanded Oceania tournament starting on April 28.
"This is a very experienced squad we are taking to the Oceania Under 20s. Thirteen players have been in the Under 20 environment before and nine played in last year's World Championship in Manchester. That previous experience of an international competition will come in valuable on the Gold Coast.
"Up to this point we have had 50-odd players at our previous training camps and we had to make some tough calls to whittle the squad down to 30. The camps highlighted we have good depth in most positions, and selections were particularly competitive in the loose forwards and outside backs, where a number of players will feel rightfully disappointed that they didn't make the squad.
