New coach Chris Whitaker has brought together his first squad as Under 20s head coach for the week-long camp in Coffs Harbour that culminates in a game against Japan U23s on April 11.

The Japanese team will be coached by Australia’s not-so-favourite son, Eddie Jones, which is a fun little narrative to give the game a bit of profile.

The real story behind the game though is a tune up before our boys head to South Africa to compete in the second edition of the U20s Rugby Championship, which itself is a tune-up for the World Rugby U20s Championship in Italy in June/July.

Chris Whitaker. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)

Despite the home field advantage for the Rugby Championship last year, the Aussies coped the worst with the deluges that swamped the tournament, a frustrating reminder that we typically go to water as a rugby nation whenever we’re forced to play in it.

My bum-average internet sleuth skills suggest we should be in for drier tracks in South Africa this time of year, so are we a contender with the squad that will travel over there? Let’s have a look.

Front Row

This should be a strength given we have two returning props in Nathaniel Tiitii and Trevor King but neither set the world on fire with their scrummaging in last year’s U19s comp. How they go in the Rugby Championship will be instructive as to whether we are a realistic chance to go deep in later in the year in Italy.

I can see the coaches opting for Nick Hill and Edwin Langi off the bench as both carry hard and will be available for selection again next year, so it’s important to get the scrum education into them now.

Ollie Barrett is the likely starting hooker and he is a strong scrummaging option which will help deliver the platform we need. His throwing, while not an obvious strength, is reasonably consistent and that, plus his scrummaging, should keep his nose in front of Charlie O’Kane. John Grenfell has plenty of potential, but off the back of his Aus 18s performances last year, he needs greater consistency in his throwing.

Second Row

If you watched any of the U20 Six Nations this year, you’ll have noticed the size that England can call on in the row – 2m tall and solid. We’ve got the height but appear to not have the same bulk to call on.

Two players I thought would be in our mix in Fergus Gillan and Lachlan Doheny are not required which leaves us with Ollie Aylmer, Eamon Doyle and Joe Mangelsdorf as the out-and-out second rowers with Charlie Brosnan and Jacob Vieru the in-betweeners.

As a locking cohort, it’s not going to inspire a whole lot of fear in the opposition, but what it does have is high work rate and athleticism. This will work in our favour if we can get enough gain line ascendancy via the rest of the forwards… Which is easier said than done.

Back Row

The only clear and obvious selection I can see in the backrow is Toby Brial, as no one else selected makes metres in contact as well as he does, so the No.8 jersey should have his name on it.

It’s entirely foreseeable that the coaches will select an entire backrow that is eligible to go around again next year in Eli Langi, Tom Robinson and Brial. Despite their age, none will be strangers to the physical requirements of playing at this level as Langi played minutes for the senior Brumbies team in their trial against the Tahs, while Brial has turned out for the Tahs A team and Robinson has been capped in First Grade this year by UQ in Brisbane club footy.

Alternatives include moving Doyle or Brosnan to the flank or starting Vieru or Beau Morrison but I wouldn’t be surprised if the coaches look for greater mobility in starting the younger trio.

Is it the sort of backrow that can make headway against other international packs? I doubt it, but I also have doubts about whether the alternatives will fare much better, so why not select with an eye to next year?

Halves

The backline is where it starts to get a bit more exciting for this age group.

At halfback you’ve got two very different options in Hwi Sharples and James Martens. Sharples is your no frills No.9 with good speed to the breakdown, sharp service and a reliable kicking game. Martens doesn’t have anywhere near the same polish to his core roles but he has a good eye for space and a powerful running game that makes the most of it. There’s really good balance there with Martens being effective later in the game as it opens up.

Meanwhile, flyhalf and the replacement is probably the hardest selection the coaches will have to make.

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Joey Fowler and Joe Dillon have both been involved at this level before while Finn Prass has the advantage of also covering fullback and probably has the longest kick of the trio, making him a cracking bench option.

Dillon might have the runs on the board after leading the Brumbies to the U19s flag but it is very hard to split them. If Sid Harvey is available later in the year, that could help promote Fowler’s prospects given how well they play together.

Centres

We are spoilt for choice here even with the injury to Frankie Goldsbrough. Dre Pakeho has looked comfortable for the Reds senior team while Liam Grover and Malakye Enasio were two of the standouts in last year’s U19s. Boston Fakafanua is one of the most talented players in this age group so while he probably looks best with a 12 in his back, he may well shift over one spot to accommodate Pakeho and pushes Grover to the wing. Fakafanua’s versatility could well count against him though as there’s no better player for the 23 jersey given he covers nearly every position in the backline.