Aussies call up their Super stars
Australian team named for IRB U21s World Championship
Australia will field a heavyweight line-up for the 2006 International Rugby Board (IRB) Under-21 World Championship in France next month, with a team that includes nine players who have played Super 14 Rugby and over 20 players who have previously represented Australia at the Under-21 or Under-19 level.
Coach Chris Hickey, who took the team to the Final in last year's World Championship in Argentina, has a wealth of talent at his disposal, including the following Super 14 players: like Caleb Brown (Reds, wing), Scott Daruda (Western Force, fly-half), Saia Faingaa (Brumbies, hooker), Digby Ioane (Western Force, wing), Lloyd Johansson (Reds, centre), Tatafu Polota-Nau (Waratahs, hooker), Pat O'Connor (Western Force, lock), Julian Salvi (Brumbies, flank) and John Ulugia (Brumbies, hooker).
The tournament will be played in Clermont-Ferrand and Vichy in the Auvergne region, located in central France, roughly halfway between Marseille and Paris.
Australia will play Scotland (9 June), Fiji (13 June) and once again come up against New Zealand (17 June) in their pool matches.
The team comes into camp in Coogee this Thursday 25 May, with a warm-up match against the New South Wales Academy scheduled for next Wednesday 31 May.
Hickey said he was looking forward to getting the squad together.
"We have some high-calibre players available, players who now have some Super 14 experience under their belts.
"Having said that, the Super 14 players have not been available for our selection camps, so this week will be the first opportunity to get the entire squad together.
"It will be important to get the training match against the New South Wales Academy under our belts, so that we are not going into a tournament with players who have never played a game together.
"It will be a tough assignment to come up against Scotland, Fiji and New Zealand yet again, but it's a World Championship so you have to expect a tough draw."
Australian U21 squad: Geoff Abram (Queensland, Hooker), Liam Bibo (Queensland, Fullback/Wing), Caleb Brown (Queensland, Wing), Pekahou Cowan (West Australia, loosehead prop), Michael Dan (New South Wales, No.6/Lock), Scott Daruda (West Australia, fly-half), Saia Faingaa (ACT, hooker), Anthony Faingaa (ACT, centre), Dominic Fuller (Queensland, scrum-half), Simon Greally (New South Wales, fly-half/centre), David Haydon (New South Wales, No.7), Tom Hockings (Queensland, No.6/lock), Josh Holmes (New South Wales, scrum-half), James Horwill (Queensland, lock), Leroy Houston (New South Wales, No.8/6), Digby Ioane (West Australia, wing), Lloyd Johansson (Queensland, centre), Lloyd Jones (New South Wales, fullback/wing), Jack Kennedy (ACT, tighthead prop), Christian Lealiifano (ACT, fly-half), Tajhon Mailata (West Australia, fullback), Tatafu Polota-Nau (New South Wales, hooker), Pat O'Connor (West Australia, lock), Julian Salvi (ACT, No.7), Richard Stanford (ACT, lock/No.6), John Ulugia (ACT, loosehead/tighthead prop).