The inaugural Rugby Championship Under 20 Tournament would take place in Australia next month where up-and-coming stars of Argentina, Australia,New Zealand and South Africa rugby do battle.
Set to be played at the Sunshine Coast Stadium, Bokarina, the tournament will comprise a round-robin format where all teams will play each other once.
The top team after the three-round, six-match tournament will be declared the TRC U20 champion.
For his team, Gibbes has selected 31 rising stars from 10 provincial unions, following a comprehensive process across last month’s Super Rugby Under 20 tournament held in Taupō and training camps held late last year.
Out of the Waikato region, Andrew Smith, Giancarlo “Aki” Tuivailala, Malachi Wrampling-Alec and William Martin have made the cut with Tai Cribb named as a non-travelling reserve.
Tuivailala, Wrampling-Alec and Cribb all made their Waikato National Provincial Championship (NPC) debuts in 2023, with Wrampling-Alec also picking up a 2024 DHL Super Rugby Pacific contract with the Gallagher Chiefs.
New Zealand Under 20 head coach Gibbes said he was excited by the depth in the squad.
Waikato Rugby and Chiefs' loose forward Malachi Wrampling-Alec has been selected for New Zealand Under 20 once again. Photo / Photosport
“As a result of having a strong performance pathway established, we are able to assemble an exciting group of talented young men to represent New Zealand at the Rugby Championship Under 20 tournament next month,” Gibbes said.
“The tournament will be a great opportunity to test ourselves and gauge where we are, what we need to improve on before we embark on a competitive and tough Rugby World Championship later in the year.”
Gibbes acknowledged the contribution of the wider high-performance team for their efforts.
“Our selector network has been doing a huge amount of work in this space over the last six months. It has been a thorough and comprehensive process and one that is credit to their efforts.”
Six players from last year’s New Zealand Under 20s Rugby World Cup squad have been selected and 21 players have been involved in the New Zealand Secondary Schools programme.
The final squad of 30 for the Under 20 World Rugby Championship in South Africa will be announced following the Rugby Championship Under 20 tournament.
