2023 U20 Trophy Teams: Pool A
While the 2023 Under 20s Championship is taking place in South Africa, eight teams are gearing up for the Under 20s Trophy in Kenya in less than two weeks. The teams will be divided into two pools of four and will play four matches each, three pool and one knockout match with seeding determined by the group stage. The winning team will get promotion to the Championship for next year, and every team will be vying for that spot. We’ll be taking a look at Pool A this week.
SCOTLAND
Best Finish: N/A
Coach: Kenny Murray
Most Recent Result: 43-20 Win over Spain
For the first time in their history, Scotland have not qualified for the Championship and will instead compete in the Trophy. In the Championship, Scotland has only once finished higher than 8th, coming in at 5th in 2017, and finished between 8th and 10th for every other tournament until they came in last in 2019, causing their relegation. That makes them the only Tier One nation in this competition and should make them one of the favorites to take home the title and regain their spot in the Championship.
Kenny Murray took over the head coaching position last year, stepping aside from his position at Glasgow as an assistant, a position he held since 2013. Prior to his time at Glasgow he coached at Ayr RFC and was a regional development officer for the SRU. Murray was a flyhalf that played amateur rugby for Cartha Queens Park and Whitecraigs.
Captain Liam McConnell will be a key figure for this Scottish side. The big backrower from Edinburgh in the URC, played every minute of the Six Nations for his side. During the tournament he made 54 carries for 203 meters and made 59 tackles, a very high work-rate for the captain. Co-captian Ben Afshar is a scrumhalf for Glasgow, and is a larger one at that as he stands at 6’0, and is a skilled facilitator for his side, starting three matches in the Six Nations for Scotland. Afshar had previously played for Southern Knights in Super 6 before signing with Glasgow. He’ll likely split time with Finlay Burgess, also of Glasgow and previously Stirling County. Burgess started two matches in the Six Nations and had one bench appearance. Kerr Yule is one of the youngest players in the tournament, the inside center is only 17 but has already proved his mettle, as he started every match in the Six Nations. Yule is a big ball carrier for Glasgow Hawks in the Scottish Prem, he stands at 6’2 and 100kg. Yule has a lot of potential being so young, he’ll likely participate in several more U20 tournaments and eventually get signed by a larger club.
UNITED STATES
Best Finish: Champion (2012)
Coach: Kyle Sumsion
Most Recent Result: 39-14 Win over Canada
In the 12 years that the Trophy has taken place the USA has only participated in 5, with 2 seasons in the Championship. While their appearances have been inconsistent their finishes have been very solid, with 3 podium finishes and a championship. Their worst seasons were a 5th and a 7th place finish. Now in the 13th year of the trophy, the Junior Eagles have qualified after missing the past 3 tournaments, and come with a lot of hype in the USA. This team is very unique in that the majority of them have been playing rugby from a very early age, many from 5 or 6 years old. The Junior Eagles will be looking to make some noise.
Former USA Eagles flanker, Kyle Sumsion, will lead his squad through the tournament. Sumsion is quite young as a head coach, at only 29. He is originally from Utah and played college rugby at BYU before playing professionally in the defunct PRO Rugby for Sacramento and for Houston and New York in MLR. He has only been coaching the team for a short while, but a dominant series sweep over over Canada, on a 82-35 point aggregate, should have this team’s morale and confidence high.
Some names to watch for has to begin with Dominic Besag, a powerful center that first picked up a ball at 6-years-old, who was at the core of a lot of great plays for the USA, scoring 3 tries in the Canada series. The Saint Mary’s player has a well rounded game, with a great running game that contains both power and skill, solid defensive acumen, and soft hands for offloads and extra passes. Next to Besag, Aki Pulu is another young center that gave the Eagles incredible go forward. Pulu already plays professionally with the Raptors in SRA, and is versatile enough to play wing as well. Pulu is a big lad in the middle and also has impressive pace to complement. In the forwards, Aidan Christians has demonstrated an impressive jackaling ability that forced numerous turnovers against Canada. The Western Province and USA Hawks backrower is also a devastating ball carrier and a ferocious tackler, he lead the way for a backrow that put constant pressure on Canada with their collective carrying and constant threat at rucks. Another to watch for is prop Thomas Wagner, a converted backrower that began playing at age 4, and earned a great opportunity with the help of San Diego Legion’s partnership with the Waratahs has spent time training and playing in Sydney.
URUGUAY
Best Finish: Champion (2008)
Coach: Guillermo Storace
Most Recent Result: 21-16 Win over Canada
Uruguay won the inaugural Trophy in 2008 and only have two years where they were not participants, one of which they were in the Championship. They have finished 4th or 3rd five times and never worse than 7th. Uruguay will be aiming to reach their championship heights once again, especially with a squad that is buoyed by talent from Super Rugby Americas.
Former Los Teros prop Guillermo Storace is the head coach for the age-grade side. Storace had previously earned 48 caps for Uruguay between 1996 and 2007. He played his club rugby with Old Christians Club, a powerhouse in Campeonato Uruguayo de Rugby.
A key player for Los Teritos is blindside flanker and captain, Juan Ignacio Cambón. Cambón is a hard running player with a nose for the try line, evident in his tries scored against Chile to qualify for the trophy, as well as his try over Canada and his brace against Zimbabwe last year. Winger Juan Gonzalez is brilliant in the outside backs for Uruguay, against Chile he scored two tries including recovering his own kick in the air to dot down between the posts. Gonzalez is also an intelligent defender, against Canada last year he scored off a great read and intercept to cap off a great performance against the men in red. Another key player is Pedro Hoblog, a scrumhalf for Peñarol in SRA. Hoblog is already an adept passer both attacking space, and from the base of a ruck, with a good kicking game to compliment.
ZIMBABWE
Best Finish: 7th (2010, 2012)
Coach: Shaun De Souza
Most Recent Result: 28-7 Win over Kenya
This tournament will be Zimbabwe’s fifth appearance in the Trophy. They made three straight appearances in 2010, 2011, and 2012 and hosted the tournament in 2016. Their results have been less than ideal as they have finished 7th and 8th two times a piece. The Junior Sables will be looking to earn better results this time around.
The Junior Sables are lead by their head coach Shaun De Souza, a former international for the Zimbabwe Sables. De Souza earned caps for his nation between 1999 and 2003, making his debut against Namibia in 1999. Before becoming a rugby player he was a track athlete in school, excelling in sprinting and relay events.
Tanaka Gondomukandapi is a backrower that stands at 6’4 and approximately 94kg, while he is a lighter forward, he combines his speed and strength to make him a deadly ball carrier, especially off the back of the scrum, and uses his length to great advantage in the lineout. He has also displayed an ability to link well with the backs thanks to his speed and soft hands, making him a valuable player in attack. Scrumhalf Panashe Zuze, who plays for Old Harians Sports Club, will captain the Junior Sables. He showed off his speed for his national team against Canada last year, bagging himself a run away try in the 21st minute and displaying his passing through quick passes off the base and a wide pass to put his winger away for another try. Brendon Marume plays for the Lomagundi College, and while he is primarily a center, he has the versatility to fill in at multiple backline positioms. Marume is not a physically imposing back but he is a burner, he recently began playing for the Goshawks in the Currie Cup First Division and has already shown that he can be a key player for the senior side.
This pool will feature teams that enjoy their running rugby and an abundance of tries can be expected, the favorite to win the tournament may be in this pool but they can ill afford to take their opponents lightly.
