Injury and illness force New Zealand U20 into five changes for bronze final against England

New Zealand U20 head coach Kane Jury has named a reshuffled matchday 23 for the Junior World Championship bronze final against England, with five changes to the starting lineup driven partly by misfortune from their semi-final defeat to France.

In the forwards, prop Alex Hewitt has been promoted to start at tighthead, while Finn McLeod comes in to partner in the second row. The rest of the forward pack remains unchanged. The backline has seen more significant movement: Jackson Hughan starts at halfback, Lautasi Etuale comes in on the wing, and Logan Williams takes the fullback jersey.

The changes are not purely tactical. First-five Mika Muliaina picked up an injury during the dramatic semi-final loss to France, pushing Cohen Norie from fullback into the No.10 role. Left winger David Lewai has also been ruled out through illness, further limiting Jury’s selection options heading into the third-place match.

Despite the disruption, Jury struck a composed tone ahead of the fixture. “A big part of our campaign has been learning to focus on the moment and the task in front of us, and that’s what we’ve done this week,” he said. “It’s an important match, and we’re motivated to finish off the campaign with a performance that reflects the effort and care the players have put into the tournament.”