New Zealand U20's 'brutal' recipe for success against South Africa U20

On Sunday, Mosese Bason aims to join fellow Feilding High School loose forward Luke Whitelock as a captain of a World Rugby Under-20 Championship-winning New Zealand team.

New Zealand will face South Africa in the final of the World Rugby Under-20 Championship at Stadio Mario Battaglini in Rovigo, Italy. Bason has met the ‘Baby Blacks’ 2011 winning captain Luke and the other three Whitelock brothers – Sam, George, and Adam – all of whom have represented the All Blacks or All Blacks Sevens. The renowned family offered him invaluable advice.

“They’re a great family who love giving back. That’s something I aspire to do if I make it to higher levels,” Bason told RugbyPass.

“One important lesson I’ve learned from them as a leader is to help others become leaders as well.”

Bason is participating in his second World Championship campaign. New Zealand’s youngest player, Finn McLeod, is eligible again in 2026. The blindside flanker has impressed in his debut and played a crucial role in the 34-26 semi-final victory over France.

In the 63rd minute of the match, New Zealand was narrowly leading 27-26 when they found themselves down to just 13 players due to both Frank Vaenuku and Jake Wiseman being in the sin bin.

In a display of resilience reminiscent of Charles Upham, New Zealand reclaimed possession from France and advanced steadily, moving forward one precise pass at a time from the ruck. The French defence faltered, with McLeod and Bason industrious. Just a meter from the line, halfback Dylan Pledger executed a brilliant, twisting pass to a charging Aisake Vakasiuola, who powered over for the match-clinching try.

“The legs were definitely starting to hurt at that stage. It was getting down to the nitty-gritty,” McLeod laconically reflected.

“The boys stayed focused, brought all the energy, and the substitutes made a big impact.”

“It really came down to heart – the boys dug deep and played for each other,” Bason added.

Although New Zealand hadn’t specifically trained for that situation, Bason noted that alternatives are rehearsed if a “game driver goes down.”

Some fans might appreciate Tasman winger Maloni Kunawave rehearsing a different try celebration than Fin’s Up. Kunawave has made the signal synonymous with the Mako nine times in a New Zealand Under-20s jersey. Only Tevita Li (13), Zac Guildford (10), and Tom Christie (10) have more tries than the Fijian flyer, who modestly attributed his scoring success to his teammates.

“Oh yeah, a lot of it comes from the boys; I was just there to finish it off,” Kunawave said.

Kunawave moved to New Zealand with his family in 2018 and attended Te Puke Intermediate before securing a scholarship to Rotorua Boys’ High School. Despite struggling with an ankle injury, he was part of a Super 8 and National Condors Sevens-winning team and has since been selected for the New Zealand Under-18 and All Blacks Sevens teams, as well as Tasman, where he has debuted in the NPC, scoring a try against Otago.

Kunawave scored twice in New Zealand’s exhilarating 48-45 triumph over South Africa in Gqeberha, clinching the Rugby Championship in May.

“We were down by 19 from the start, which was pretty tough. We talked about staying in the fight and managed to overcome it,” Kunawave recalled.

South Africa has been imperious in the World Championship, overwhelming Australia (73-17), Scotland (73-14), and Argentina (48-24), while eliminating the defending champions, England (32-22), en route to the final. The Junior Springboks have scored more points (226) and tries (32) than any other country.

While New Zealand has also won all four of its matches, improving with each outing and offloading the ball 39 times compared to South Africa’s 26, the Baby Blacks have incurred six yellow cards to South Africa’s three. Bason noted that he doesn’t see much difference in how South Africa is playing compared to its performance in May.

“The physicality is still there, and we know how dangerous their outside backs can be. Their little nine is dangerous in open play, so we can’t give them time,” Bason stated.

“We know defence wins championships. We’ve got to make our tackles and match their physicality, be brutal.”

New Zealand displayed their toughness in their last of six World Championship finals in Tbilisi, Georgia, where they slaughtered England by a record score of 64-17. Prominent players who scored for New Zealand included Dalton Papali’i, Pouri Rakete-Stones, Asafo Aumua (three tries), Isaia Walker-Leawere, Luke Jacobson (two tries), Josh McKay, and Tom Christie, while Stephen Perofeta added seven conversions.

With senior Rugby World Cup winners Steven Kitschoff (83 Tests, 50 wins) and Handre Pollard (81 Tests, 784 points, 51 wins), the 2012 Junior Springboks were a formidable team and remain South Africa’s only Junior World Champions. In 2014, they were narrowly defeated 21-20 by England, led by British and Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje in the final.

South Africa had its lowest-ever finish of fifth last year. They have been third nine times. Their overall tournament record is 54 wins in 78 matches. New Zealand have won 59 of 73 matches with final triumphs from 2008 to 2011 and again in 2011 and 2017.