Six Auckland Rugby Players named in New Zealand Under 19 men's squad


New Zealand Under 19 squad has been selected by Head Coach Mark Hammett to embark on a tour of South Africa later this month.

A total of 30 players will travel to South Africa, to play four challenging fixtures against age group representative teams from the Stormers, Sharks, Lions and Leopards.

The New Zealand Under 19 squad is:

Name

Province

Ajay Faleafaga

Otago

Ale Aho

Auckland

Andrew Smith

Waikato

Bradley Crichton

Wellington

Byron Smith

Auckland

Cody Nordstrom

Waikato

Cooper Flanders

Hawke’s Bay

Dylan Irvine

Tasman

Epeli Waqaicece

Manawatū

Essendon Tuitupou

Auckland

Finn Hurley

Otago

Gabe Robinson

Waikato

Hunter Morrison

Manawatū

Isaac Hutchinson

Canterbury

Jack Taylor

Southland

Jordi Viljoen

Manawatu

Keran van Staden

Counties Manukau

Leo Gordon

Auckland

Mefi Poseti Tupou

Hawke’s Bay

Nic Shearer

Canterbury

Riley Williams

Auckland

Rory Woods

Northland

Sam Hainsworth-Fa’aofo

Auckland

Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa

Otago

Siale Lauaki

Wellington

Tahlor Cahill

Canterbury

Taine Kolose

Bay of Plenty

Toby Taylor

Bay of Plenty

Torian Barnes

Canterbury

Will Stodart

Otago

Unavailable for Selection:

Name

Province

Caleb Tangitau

Auckland

Che Clark

Auckland

Harry Godfrey

Hawke’s Bay

Macca Springer

Tasman

Noah Hotham

Tasman

Peter Lakai

Wellington

Raymond Tuputupu

Manawatu

Taha Kemara

Waikato

New Zealand Rugby’s (NZR) High Performance Player Development Manager Matt Sexton said the tour will be a great opportunity for the growth and development of the Under 19 age group.

“Over the past two years, Covid-19 has impacted the opportunities available for this cohort. To have the tour come together, is fantastic. We believe, exposing this group to quality South African age group sides who will play a different style of game provides a unique development opportunity for this next generation of players. This experience, alongside international travel and quality coaching will also accelerate these players preparation for the proposed Under 20 Rugby World Cup in July next year.”

“It was a difficult task selecting just 30 players for this group, we are fortunate to be able to select from a talented cohort of players. We are excited to see what Mark and his management group will achieve with this group of individuals while in South Africa,” finished Sexton.

The team will assemble at Lincoln University on Sunday 11 September for a camp prior to departing for South Africa on Tuesday 13 September.

Schedule:
New Zealand v Stormers, Monday 19 September, TBC, Stellenbosch
New Zealand v Sharks, Saturday 24 September, Kings Park, Durban
New Zealand v Leopards, Thursday 29 September, TBC, Potchefstroom
New Zealand v Lions, Tuesday 4 October, Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Media Release from New Zealand Rugby 

 

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