Australia ready for Samoan challenge

Australia will take on Samoa in their first game as part of the Oceania Rugby Junior Championship held at Bond University on Saturday 2 May.

With severe weather impacting the Gold Coast the original times of the tournament were delayed by 24 hours in order to ensure player welfare.

The tournament aims to prepare teams for the World Rugby U20’s Championship taking place in Italy in June while further developing the U20’s talent Australia has to offer.

Australian U20’s prop Cameron Orr said the team, who have been training together for little under a week, are confident the wet weather won’t affect their game.

“We’ve had a hard few days of training and it’s been great, the weather has come out but that hasn’t stopped us getting out on the field and getting wet and dirty.

“We’re ready and prepared to rip in (against Samoa)”, Orr said.

The squad is looking come together and put their skills into practice against Samoa, who they will also play early on in the World Rugby tournament as part of the group stages.

“We’ve got a great bunch of blokes here and we’re gelling very well, I think all the boys are really excited to finally see what each other can do out on the field.

“There has been a lot of great effort in training and hard work and it’s time to put it all out on display.”

Australia will also play tournament newcomers Japan and rivals New Zealand as part of the Championship, which is in its inaugural year.

The Oceania Rugby Junior Championship commences on May 1 at Bond University with further matches scheduled on Tuesday 5 May and Saturday 9 May.

All matches will be streamed live through www.rugby.com.au kicking off at 1pm AEST each day.