Australian Under 20's to use AIS as European springboard

Mon, Apr 13, 2015, 4:30 AM
AAP
by AAP

The Australian Under 20’s will become part of a growing tradition of Australians competing in Europe by preparing at the Australian Institute of Sport’s Italian base from Tuesday 26 May until Friday 29 May.

Used heavily by Australia’s Olympic Gold Medal Rowing and Cycling teams in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic Games, The Australian Under 20’s squad will continue this tradition as the next generation of Australian Rugby hunts for their own global success in the World Rugby Under 20’s Championship.

Returning from a brief preparation tour of Italy, Australian Under 20’s Head Coach Adrian Thompson was really impressed with the AIS European set up.

“The AIS base in Gavirate, Italy is an incredible facility and will assist our squad in their final preparations for the tournament.

“After the long flight we will use the AIS outpost to recover, acclimatise to the conditions and finalise our preparation for the tournament.

“The AIS European team were very welcoming and were looking forward to us joining them.”

Australia will compete at the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Italy in June using Mantova Rugby club as its main base of operations for the majority of the tournament.

“Mantova Rugby Club will be a home for most of the tournament when we are not competing in matches” said Thompson to ARU Media.

“The Club has good facilities and being close to where the matches will be held will allow us to move around with ease.

“There is a long way to go until we get to this point with some really tough matches in the Oceania Under 20’s Championship due to kick off in a matter of weeks on the Gold Coast.

“Our Extended squad will be assembling at Bond University on the 28th of April and we are looking forward to the challenge of taking on New Zealand, Samoa and Japan.”

The Australian Under 20’s extended squad was selected following the Australian Under 20’s Championship and includes 12 players from the Championship winning NSW Under 20’s, as well as 10 players from Queensland, three players from Victoria with two each from Western Australia and the ACT.

Share