Southern Lions & Force Inside Centre on Bench for Australia v U16 Pacific All Stars

Australia U16 team announced to face Pacific All Stars

Mon, Dec 11, 2023, 12:27 PM
Rugby Australia

Attachment 6193

Southern Lions & Western Force Inside Centre Peni Naqau

Australia U16 head coach Tim Rapp has confirmed his side to face the Pacific All Stars at the AIS Rugby Field in Canberra tomorrow.

Rapp’s Australian squad, which was selected following the conclusion of the 2023 Super Rugby Men’s U16 competition, has been training in Canberra since Friday.

Their opponents – the Pacific All Stars – are coached by former Wallaby Mark Gerrard and consist of the best performers from the Pasifika Youth Cup held in Western Sydney last month.

“Over the past five days we’ve had 25 players come together from all the Super Rugby clubs across Australia and form connections that will last well beyond our game on Tuesday," Rapp said.

"They are 16-year-olds with plenty of energy, bucketloads of talent and willingness to learn and be better.

"As coaches, we’ve got to hold them accountable on their fundamentals and challenge their decision-making so that when game day comes, we wind them up and let them go without being held back by structures and shapes.

“With the talent we’ve witnessed, we have no doubt that plenty of the boys from both teams will go on to play for Australia in years to come."

Please note a live stream of the match will be available on rugby.com.au

Australia U16 vs. Pacific All Stars
AIS Rugby Field, Canberra, 1:35pm AEDT Tuesday 12 December

Kingsley Uys – QLD Reds
Liam Robinson – QLD Reds
Lewis Wilson – NSW Waratahs
Bennett Armistead – QLD Reds
Ed Baxter – NSW Waratahs
Louis Treacy – Melbourne Rebels
Jarvis Orr – NSW Waratahs
Justice Taumoepeau – NSW Waratahs
Angus Grover - NSW Waratahs
Finn Mackay – QLD Reds
Heamasi Makasini – NSW Waratahs
Onitoni Large – NSW Waratahs
Treyvon Pritchard – QLD Reds
Tom Hartman – NSW Waratahs
Rex Bassingthwaighte – NSW Waratahs
Daryus Sione – NSW Waratahs
Ramsey Sefo – Melbourne Rebels
Marcus Mastro – NSW Waratahs
Will Ross – QLD Reds
James Finegan – NSW Waratahs
Kiama Jione – QLD Reds
Liam Collett – ACT Brumbies
Cameron Kirsten – ACT Brumbies
Peni Naqau – Western Force
Denzel Veikune – ACT Brumbies

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Originally Posted by Burgs

Please note a live stream of the match will be available on rugby.com.au

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... but I haven't found it yet...

Australia U16s shine in physical win over Pacific All Stars

Tue, Dec 12, 2023, 1:08 PM
Nathan Williamson

Australia U16s had delivered a comfortable 34-12 win over the Pacific U16s All Stars at the AIS.

It was a showcase of the best talent from the Super Rugby 16s competition and the future of Australian Rugby as Waratahs duo Tom Hartman and Rex Bassingthwaighte proved the difference for the Australians.

It took just two minutes for the opening try for Tim Rapp's Australian side as flyhalf Finn Mackay found Heamasi Makasini in space, with the bulking wing beating a couple of defenders to score in the corner.

However, the Pacific side rocking unique numbers proved they were up to the fight when captain and prop VJ Vakauta (rocking the number eight on his back) set the physical tempo with a barge over try.

The Australians, who had come together on Friday, displayed some set-piece nerves early on after missing a couple of throws.

When they did get it right, they proved tough to stop from the rolling maul as their forwards regularly got forward momentum.

They launched a dominant charge from the Pacific 22 in the 17th minute, forcing the deliberate collapsing by Jerome Pongi, which resulted in a yellow card and a penalty try.

The two Waratah speedsters then combined to extend the lead, with Hartman stripping the ball clear for Bassingthwaighte to race 60 metres to score.

Hartman then finished off in the corner on half-time after an Angus Glover break for a 22-5 lead at the break.

The Aussies continued to apply the pressure and forced another professional foul, this time a deliberate knockdown from Filipe Huahulu.

It created further space for the electric Bassingthwaighte to strike, skillfully stepping through multiple defenders to cross the line.

From here, the game started to break down as both sides drew the ire of the referee thanks to discipline issues

The Pacific side started to build phases and eventually were rewarded when replacement half Jireh-Trey Stewart dived over the line after a 5 metre scrum.

In the end, it was the Australian side that finished the stronger team, with prop Kingsley Uys putting the exclamation mark on the game with a powerful try.

Did the Force boy get to run on?

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Originally Posted by fulvio sammut

Did the Force boy get to run on?

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Naqua started the 2nd half Fulv.
Didn't star, but didn't look out of place either.
He played the full half which is reasonable given it was unlimited subs.
The ball seemed to go away from him a fair bit, which I think came down to a few factors. being a one off match quite a bit of play would have revolved around State combinations and also it was quite a physical Forward orientated affair. That said, if a pass was given (as it should have been) he would have been over the line in the 36th minute (35 minute halves).
He started at Outside Center but appeared to move to Fullback (at least in Defence) for the last 10 when a couple of starters came back on.

It was a pretty good outing for the lads, with my two standouts being 10. Finn Mackay and 15. Rex Bassingthwaighte.
Given the physicality of the match, the two Backs did well to star, though there was a group of Forwards not far behind in the "votes".

Anyone looking for the video, it is imbedded in this article- https://www.rugby.com.au/news/austra...stars-20231212