Six weeks after winning last year’s inaugural Oceania Rugby U20 Championship on Australia's Gold Coast, New Zealand went on to lift the World Rugby U20 Championship trophy in Italy.

Doing the ‘double-double’ is on their agenda again, albeit in a streamlined Oceania Championship that sees them play Australia twice, on Tuesday and Saturday, rather than feature in a quadrangular tournament like last year when victories were recorded over Japan and Samoa as well as their cross-Tasman rivals.

Coach Scott Robertson (pictured above) says that it was no coincidence that one success followed another, as New Zealand ended their four-year wait to be crowned world champions again with a 21-16 victory over England in the World Rugby U20 Championship final.

“On reflection, it (the Oceania U20 Championship) was probably the most important difference from years gone by,” Robertson acknowledged.

“Testing our attacking and defensive systems under pressure allowed us to understand our frailties in those areas and get those things right when we got to the big show.

“It also enabled us to make sure we had the right people over there (in Italy): the ones who could handle the pressure and who were good tourists.

“We worked hard on leadership and giving the guys the tools to deal with pressure.”

"Testing our attacking and defensive systems under pressure allowed us to understand our frailties in those areas and get those things right when we got to the big show."

New Zealand U20 head coach Scott Robertson

That approach appeared to pay dividends when New Zealand were faced with an early deficit in last year’s U20 Championship final.

Having conceded an early try to England’s Max Clark, New Zealand showed great composure to bounce back and score tries through replacement Vince Tavae-Aso and Akira Ioane. Otere Black also contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the reigning champions’ two-year grip on the trophy came to an end.

None of those three players are eligible this year and looking at the squad selection for the Oceania double-header at Bond University, it is likely that a much-changed group will be tasked with retaining the world crown in England this June.

EXPECTATION

As five-time winners and defending champions New Zealand will no doubt go into the Manchester-based tournament as favourites.

But Robertson says the burden of expectation comes as part of the territory when representing New Zealand at any level.

“We need to embrace the high standards and expectation that comes with the black jersey; we are expected to perform and hold trophies aloft,” said the 23-test former All Black.

“I actually think doing it last year helps us, because we learnt some great lessons. Second time around, I think we will be better. If we focus on being the best we can possibly be, I believe it will be good enough.

“It’s a long journey ahead but we’ve got a great group of young guys and the mood in the camp is strong.”

The Oceania Rugby U20 Championship will be streamed via www.rugby.com.au, the first match kicks off at 18:30 local time.