Matias Jensen, Darby Lancaster and Mitchell Watts have all been selected in an Australian Under 20 Men’s Junior Wallabies rugby squad, who will gather this weekend in Canberra for a 10-day camp.
Watts was a late addition to the 40-plus player squad after it was announced last week.
Lancaster – who begins his Engineering studies at UNSW this year – is a member of the Australian Men’s Rugby Sevens squad which recently toured Spain with Olympian and UNSW student Henry Hutchison. The first year student is also part of the NSW Waratahs' squad.
Jensen also begins his first year at UNSW studying a Bachelor of Commerce degree and is contracted with the ACT Brumbies this season.
Watts begins the second year of his Bachelor of Commerce in 2022.
Jensen and Watts both play their club rugby with the Randwick club in the Shute Shield competition, while Lancaster is affiliated with Eastern Suburbs.
Both Lancaster and Jensen are promising outside backs, while Watts is a lock forward.
The camp, which starts on Sunday, marks the official start of the national pathway program and is one of three camps in preparation for the Oceania Under 20s Championships in July.
The squad will be coached by former Wallaby and NSW Waratahs' centre Nathan Grey.
“Following the disruption of the last 18-months, it’s refreshing to be able to come together as a national program as we commence our 2022 campaign,” Grey told Rugby Australia.
“These players have not had the opportunity to play much Rugby recently, due to Covid-19, so a camp of this type allows them to show their talents and test themselves against the best of their peers in the country.
“This is one of 3 camps designed to build a squad to represent Australia in the Oceania Tournament, and these players get the first crack at securing a spot in that final group.”