Junior Wallabies centre Taj Annan believes they are primed to build off the 'platform' left by past squads as they look to go one better in the 2023 U20 World Championships.
Annan and the squad have arrived in South Africa ahead of the first U20s tournament since 2019, where the Australians finished second behind France.
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The 19-year-old has drawn off the experience of fellow Reds teammates Harry Wilson and Fraser McReight as they prepare for a tough pool, beginning against Fiji on June 25 (AEST time) before facing Six Nations champions Ireland and England.
“That team in 2019 has left a good standard for us to build on and I’ve spoken to a number of the guys about how they conducted themselves like Fraser and Harry and I’ve tried to bring that back down to the 20s,” Annan told Rugby.com.au.
“We’ve got a lot of boys with Super Rugby experience so I feel like we can build off what they produced in 2019.”
A major factor driving this belief is the continuity with the squad, particularly in the backline.
Halves Teddy Wilson and Jack Bowen have been playing together since they were 13 whilst Annan and fullback Mason Gordon rose through the schooling ranks together at Brisbane Boys' College, all four returning to the Junior Wallabies program for another year in 2023.
However, the centres' partnership between Annan and Waratah Henry O'Donnell could prove to be the game-breaker needed to propel Nathan Grey's side deep in the tournament.
The pair have battled each other throughout the age groups and were dominant when thrown together against the NZ U20s during their split two-game series.
“We’ve got some pretty good combos there,” Annan believes.
“I’ve played a lot against Henry (O’Donnell) and Jack (Bowen) so we know how each other play so I feel like those two games in NZ we were able to build nicely.
“Henry’s a really good ball carrier, he runs extremely head and defensive is quite strong so just trying to feed him early ball where I can and back him up in defence.”
Annan has established themselves as a key piece of the Reds' future after playing eight games in his debut season, including three starts.
He credits the work of superstar playmaker James O'Connor in helping him build his confidence as he looks to make a statement in the U20s tournament.
“It was a good experience to play that type of level. I got some good game time so hopefully I can bring that experience back down to 20s," he added.
“James (O’Connor has a really calm temperament which has really helped with my game, just building into games and not having to do all the stuff straight away and grow into your confidence
“It’s been really good to learn off him in that position.”
