NZ U20 side named to face Ireland

New Zealand Under 20 Head Coach Craig Philpott has named his side to face Ireland in their final pool match at the World Rugby Under 20 World Championships in Georgia, on Thursday 11.30pm NZT.

New Zealand opened their campaign with a 42-20 win over Scotland on Wednesday and on Sunday they defeated Italy 68-26 in their second pool game.

The team is:
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth - Auckland
2 Asafo Aumua - Wellington
3 Alex Fidow - Wellington
4 Isaia Walker-Leawere - Wellington
5 Sam Caird - Waikato
6 Sam Slade - Auckland
7 Tom Christie - Canterbury
8 Luke Jacobson (C) - Waikato
9 Ereatara Enari (VC) - Canterbury  
10 Tiaan Falcon - Hawke's Bay
11 Caleb ClarkeAuckland
12 Orbyn Leger - Counties Manukau
13 Braydon Ennor - Canterbury
14Tima Faingaanuku - Tasman
15 Will Jordan - Tasman

16 John (JP) Sauni - Auckland
17 Harrison Allan - Canterbury
18 Pouri Rakete-Stones - Hawke's Bay
19 Adrian Choat - Auckland
20 Marino Mikaele-Tuu - Hawke's Bay
21 Kemara Hauiti-Parapara - Wellington
22 Thomas Umaga-Jensen - Wellington
23 Josh McKay - Canterbury

New Zealand Under 20 Head Coach Craig Philpott said he and his coaching team have picked a strong side that they believe will feature in the back end of the competition.
"We expect Ireland to play with passion and like they have nothing to lose, hence the team we have named to put on the park.
"We have picked Tima Faingaanuku and Caleb Clarke on the wings. They both have size and strength and we hope we will be able to bend them out wide.

"Our clear goal from this match is to bag five points, so we can get to 15 for the round robin and hopefully qualify as the top seed for the semi finals."
 
Media opportunities during tournament 
New Zealand Rugby will provide audio content after Thursday night’s game against Ireland

Under 20 World Championship pool:
Thursday 8 June 11.30pm NZT v Ireland

Information on World Rugby Under 20 Championship 
http://www.worldrugby.org/u20 

Watch the World Rugby Under 20 Championship on SKY Sport (NZT) 
Thursday 8 June 11.30pm NZT v Ireland SKY Sport 1

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