New Zealand Under 20s team announced to play England in bronze medal match

The New Zealand Under 20 squad has been announced for the bronze medal match against England at the 2026 Junior World Championships at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia.

New Zealand Under 20 Head Coach Kane Jury has made five changes to the side that started the semi-final against France in what will be the team’s final match of the tournament.

Alex Hewitt and Finn McLeod come into the forward pack at prop and lock respectively, while halfback Jackson Hughan, wing Lautasi Etuale and fullback Logan Willams come into the starting backline.

Etuale replaces David Lewai who has been ruled out due to illness, while Williams takes the No.15 jersey from Cohen Norrie, who shifts into first-five in the absence of Mika Muliana, who is out with a quad strain.

First-five Jimmy Taylor and loose forward Jake Hutchings come on to the bench with a six-two forward-back split for the reserves.

Jury said the team were focused on finishing the tournament with a strong performance after their close loss 26-22 loss to France in the semi-final.

“A big part of our campaign has been learning to focus on the moment and the task in front of us and that’s what we’ve done this week. It’s an important match and we’re motivated to finish off the campaign with performance that reflects the effort and care the players have put into the tournament,” Jury said.

New Zealand have won five of their six previous JWC matches against England and come into the final match having won their three pool matches against Italy, Scotland and Japan.

England lost their semi-final to South Africa 53-37 after winning their three pool matches against Argentina, USA and Ireland.

The New Zealand U20 squad to play England in the bronze medal match is:

1     Henry Stuart (Highlanders/Otago)
2     Josh Findlay (Crusaders/Canterbury)
3     Alex Hewitt (Hurricanes/Wellington)
4     Finn McLeod (Crusaders/Canterbury)
5     Jake Frost (Crusaders/Canterbury)
6     Bradley Tocker (Chiefs/Taranaki)
7     Caleb Woodley (vc) (Blues/Auckland)
8     Patrick Mauga (Hurricanes/Hawke's Bay)
9     Jackson Hughan (Highlanders/Southland)
10    Cohen Norrie (Blues/Auckland)
11    Lautasi Etuale (Crusaders/Canterbury)
12    Haki Wiseman (c) (Chiefs/Taranaki)
13    Siale Pahulu (Blues/Auckland)
14    Ollie Guerin (Chiefs/Waikato)
15    Logan Williams (Crusaders/Canterbury)

Reserves
16    Xavier Leota (Blues/Auckland)
17    Ethan Webber (Highlanders/Otago)
18    Dane Johnston (Chiefs/Taranaki)
19    Max Fale (Crusaders/Canterbury)
20    Micah Fale (Chiefs/Waikato)
21    Charlie Sinton (vc) (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty) – Vice Captain
22    Jimmy Taylor (Highlanders / Southland)
23    Jake Hutchings (Blues/Auckland)

Unavailable for selection: Mika Muliaina (quadricep strain),  David Lewai (illness)

New Zealand Under 20, 2026 World Rugby Under 20 Championship results:

Saturday, 27 June: New Zealand v Japan, AIA Arena, Kutaisi, Won 38-21
Friday, 3 July: New Zealand v Scotland, AIA Arena, Kutaisi, Won 36-26
Tuesday, 7 July: New Zealand v Italy, AIA Arena, Kutaisi, Won 45-15
Tuesday, 14 July: New Zealand v France, Semi-final, Loss 22-26
Sunday 19th July; New Zealand v England, bronze medal match, Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, 2am NZDT, Available to watch live on Sky Sport NZ.