New Zealand have won the Under-20 Rugby World Cup four times and have been in every tournament final except last year. Less mysterious than respected, the hosts' dominating image and past hegemony have already set a challenge to the world.
Ireland’s best finish since the tournament became an under-20 event in 2008 is fifth place, achieved in 2012. Last year they were eighth in France, while South Africa and England have been champions once each, the “Baby Boks” in 2012 and England last year.
It takes a giant leap of faith to believe Ireland will compete in the final this year, where on home soil the all-conquering “Baby Blacks” are expected to be even more commanding than in previous competitions.
Irish coach Mike Ruddock is optimistic and breezy about it. But his Irish selection indicated the need for physicality, an aspect the squad may have been lacking earlier in the year.
The injury to captain Dan Leavy aside, there are challenges the players will face even before stepping onto the pitch for their first match against France.
“It’s a wonderful benchmark and a chance to see where they are,” said Ruddock. “It is in New Zealand and to immerse yourself in that culture is fantastic for these guys.
"It's rugby, rugby, day and night. Everyone wants to talk about it wherever you go, the adverts on TV . . . so it'll be great. For a lot of guys it will show them how powerful the game is globally and it will help them to aspire to the levels in terms of the mindset." Physically larger Ruddock has had to select a physically larger squad to the one that competed in this year's Six Nations, where Ireland won two matches and lost three – to England, Wales and France. The latter are their first pool opponents. Both Wales and England put 30 points on Ireland with France pulling away in a closer match but finishing 23-13 winners and Grand Slam champions.
To that end he has dipped into the All-Ireland League for players who have successfully campaigned against older opposition. His players see nothing wrong with Ireland targeting a semi-final, Ruddock is more circumspect about where they might finish in the middle of the New Zealand winter, as bleak and wet as Ireland.
"Certainly up front there's a bit of that," says Ruddock about the size factor. "France and Wales edged us big time up front and in the scrums as well. So I've looked at someone like Craig Trenier, who's a big powerful boy who has really improved from his exposure with Terenure. He's come to me and asked me why he didn't get in the squad first time and he's gone off and worked . . . then he made a big improvement. That physical size along with his improvements and the experience of playing with Terenure firsts have kicked on since we first saw him in August.
"Ryan Foley I'd seen him play very well myself for Cork Con. So a guy like that I think just kicked on. Exposure to the AIL I think benefited him. Diarmuid Dee. He's a very physical boy and that physicality could be the difference between us and Wales or France coming out on the right end." Heavy schedule Three matches in eight days between June 2nd and 10th also make it a tournament prone to losing players to injury. But last year Ireland faced Australia and New Zealand in their pool matches, which makes this year's group of France, Wales and Fiji a reasonable trade off.
At the heart of it there is a continuity issue too, and the 2015 senior World Cup may not be too far away for one or two players. Joe Schmidt is a pioneering sort of coach. "You've Jordi Murphy there, Iain Henderson, Paddy Jackson, Craig Gilroy, all these guys we had a few years ago in the World Cup in South Africa," says Ruddock letting the point sit.
But he knows his job is results based and placement is important for him as a coach as well as for the mental health of the players. Performance driven but results led. “It’s a balance of everything,” he says. “What we ideally want is style but we’d settle for 3-0 against France and we’d settle for 3-0 against Wales in a World Cup.
“We are all part of trying to develop their skill, conditioning, ability to play at a high level but also a mindset,” he says. “Some will kick on, some guys will plateau. There’s a mixture of all those different elements but once you get into a tournament there is only one thing you are thinking about. To win.”
IRELAND UNDER-20 - SQUAD AND FIXTURES M Abbott (Munster); R Burke (Munster); D Busby (Ulster); R Byrne (Leinster); D Coulson (Leinster); B Dardis (Leinster), D Dee (Munster); D Donnellan (Leinster); P Dooley (Leinster); R Foley (Munster); C Gaffney (Connacht); S Gardiner (Leinster); D Goggin (Munster); C Kelleher (Leinster); J Madigan (Munster); N McCarthy (Leinster); C McKeon (Leinster); D Moloney (Munster); R Moloney (Connacht); R Molony (Leinster); S O'Brien (Connacht, capt); J O'Donoghue (Munster); G Ringrose (Leinster); P Robb (Leinster); F Taggart (Ulster); P Timmins (Leinster); C Trenier (Leinster); A Wootton (Munster). FIXTURES June 2nd: Ireland v France, Auckland (06.35 Irish Time. Live TG4. Deferred coverage 11.35am). June 6th: Ireland v Wales, Pukekohe (06.35 Irish Time. Live TG4. Highlights 8.30pm). June 10th: Ireland v Fiji, Auckland (02.35 Irish Time. Live TG4. Deferred coverage 12.30pm).
