Highlanders country is the new nursery of New Zealand rugby.
No fewer than seven players from the South — including, remarkably, three from the Green Island club — have been named in the national under-20 squad for its first international fixtures in three years.
All were key members of the Highlanders team that performed admirably at the Super Rugby under-20 tournament in Taupo recently.
Dunedin lock Fabian Holland, the towering Dutchman who made his Super Rugby Pacific debut this year, is joined in the forwards by Green Island lock Oliver Haig and Southland flanker Hayden Michaels.
Highlanders under-20 halfback Noah Hotham, who plays club rugby for Alhambra-Union before returning to the Tasman union, has plenty of company in the backs in the form of Taieri first five Cameron Millar, Green Island fullback/first five Finn Hurley and Green Island midfield back Jake Te Hiwi.
The team also features Crusaders hooker George Bell, who was schooled at John McGlashan College.
And, on the sidelines, the coach of the New Zealand under-20 team is former All Blacks and Highlanders lock Tom Donnelly, helped by former All Blacks winger Cory Jane and Crusaders assistant Scott Hansen.
Donnelly said it had been difficult to narrow the colts squad to 30 players.
"We’re lucky when it comes to the amount of talent we have to select from. We could have picked 40 or 50 players, so this was a massive challenge."
The squad features representatives of 11 provincial unions. Ten of those players appeared in the NPC last year.
Apart from Holland and Bell, Seb Calder (Crusaders), Riley Higgins (Hurricanes) and Raymond Tuputupu (Hurricanes) all played Super Rugby this year.
Covid has prevented the New Zealand under-20 team from getting international experience in recent years, and Donnelly is eagerly awaiting the trip to Australia to play a warm-up game against Argentina before the four-team Oceania championship.
New Zealand opens the Oceania tournament with a game against Fiji on July 1.
The colts then play Argentina on July 5, and Australia on July 10. All games are at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
New Zealand under-20
The squad
Forwards: Josh Bartlett (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty), Josh Beehre (Blues/Auckland), George Bell (Crusaders/Canterbury), Joe Brial (Crusaders/Canterbury), Tahlor Cahill (Crusaders/Canterbury), Seb Calder (Crusaders/Canterbury), Oliver Haig (Highlanders/Otago), Jamie Hannah (Crusaders/Canterbury), Fabian Holland (Highlanders/Otago), Peter Lakai (Hurricanes/Wellington), Siale Lauaki (Hurricanes/Wellington), Hayden Michaels (Highlanders/Southland), Lavengamonu Moli (Crusaders/Tasman), Viliami Napa'a (Crusaders/Tasman), Wallace Sititi (Blues/Auckland), Mason Tupaea (Chiefs/Waikato), Raymond Tuputupu (Hurricanes/Manawatu).
Backs: Lucas Cashmore (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty), Harry Godfrey (Hurricanes/Hawke’s Bay), Riley Higgins (Hurricanes/Wellington), Noah Hotham (Highlanders/Tasman), Finn Hurley (Highlanders/Otago), Joel Lam (Crusaders/Canterbury), Adam Lennox (Chiefs/Taranaki), Cameron Millar (Highlanders/Otago), Jone Rova (Crusaders/Canterbury), Mackay Springer (Crusaders/Tasman), Jake Te Hiwi (Highlanders/Otago), Essendon Tuitupou (Blues/Auckland), Nik Vikena (Crusaders/Tasman).
