Eyes on the prize as Australia prepare for TRC U20 opener against Pumitas

Australia has high hopes of taking out the inaugural TRC U20 title with captain Toby Macpherson declaring their intent to get "hands on the trophy".

Speaking with media at the TRC U20 Captain's Call, Macpherson said his side would "strive for the top" across three games against Argentina (May 2), South Africa (May 7) and New Zealand (May 12) at Sunshine Coast Stadium.

"We went across to New Zealand and played them a couple of times but to get a tournament like this prior to the World Cup on our shores is really exciting," Macpherson said.

"All the boys are up for it and keen to put our best foot forward with performances out there for the Australian public."

Macpherson is eager to build on mixed fortunes that last year saw them narrowly miss a World Championship semi final berth in South Africa.

"We were happy but also a bit disappointed, we felt as though we could've pushed higher up the rankings. A competition like this enables us to play more footy and be together as a team, which should make our performances better," Macpherson said.

"The calibre of players is exciting and we're going to strive for the top and hopefully get our hands on the trophy."

Argentina captain Efrain Elais is anticipating a tough opening match against the Australians with New Zealand and South Africa also set to collide in Thursday's double-header.

"We are going to have a very hard game. We know Australia are very strong in every part of the game," Elais said.

"There's a lot of mixed emotions coming into a tournament like this," New Zealand skipper Vernon Bason added.

"The boys are nervous and excited and anxious to just pull the trigger."

South Africa's Junior Springboks enter the tournament ranked highest following a third-place finish at last year's U20 World Championship.

The Rainbow Nation is riding a wave of success following their Men's 2023 Rugby World Cup triumph in France and Junior Springboks skipper Zachary Porthen is similarly ambitious for his side.

"There's a good energy around the boys. Everyone's been looking forward to a tournament like this," Porthen said.