Australia's best young rugby union players are heading into the inaugural U20s Rugby Championship on the back of a training camp in Kangaroo Valley.
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A 35-man Australia U20s squad travelled to Kangaroo Valley for a team-building camp last week, staying between Wednesday and Sunday, April 24 to 27.
The camp was designed to build relationships between players, many of whom were coming from different states and had never met or played on the same side.
As part of the camp, the Australian squad engaged the services of former state player and coach and Kangaroo Valley local Mike Hayes, and participated in team-building exercises such as building campfires, canoe expeditions and boxing.
Team captain Toby Macpherson said it was "a really good experience".
"It was great to break the ice between the boys from different states and get to know each other and set a few values going into the tournament," he said.
The squad also attended an Anzac Day Service and laid wreathes to honour past and present members of Australia's Armed Forces.
From this camp, a 31-man squad was selected to compete in the inaugural TRC U20 - a tournament played between Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.
The squad plays Argentina on May 2, followed by games against South Africa on May 7 and New Zealand on May 12.