Baby Blacks Looking To Regain Their Title

New Zealand U20 captain Atu Moli is looking to make real gains in the scrum when the Junior World Championship kicks off next week in Italy. 

The Baby Blacks have a number of phenomenal talents in their ranks for the annual tournament, including players who have made a mark in Super Rugby so far this season like Akira Ioane and Tevita Li from the Blues. 

Champions England and last year’s finalists South Africa are expected to challenge New Zealand for the title and Moli knows that his side will have to be rock solid both at the scrum if they are to be crowned champions once again. 

"It's real important," Moli told Stuff.

"We've worked hard on our scrum. Learning from last year how big the boys were, we've really worked hard thanks to Jase Ryan and Razor [Scott Robertson].

"It's really important we set a good base for our backs to work, so that's a big focus for us. Me and Tau Truck [Tau Koloamatangi] played last year, so we've got a big job to do.”

 The tournament kicks off on Tuesday with three matches taking place in Parma and another three in Calvisano.