An extended squad of 30 players has been named for the Ireland Under-20s, sponsored by PwC, ahead of their 2015 RBS U-20 6 Nations campaign.
Eight players named in the squad have previous 6 nations experience, having played in the tournament last year, Harrison Brewer, Ross Byrne, Jack Cullen, Oisin Heffernan, Nick McCarthy, Sean McNulty, Rory Moloney and Garry Ringrose in addition, a further three players played in the 2014 Junior World Championship, Billy Dardis, Ciaran Gaffney and Josh Murphy.
The side will be captained by Nick McCarthy.
Speaking ahead of the Tournament, Head Coach Nigel Carolan said “The squad sees a great mixture of new faces and those with experience at this level from last season. We have been really impressed by the attitude of the players, both on and off the field. Their enthusiasm and attention to detail has been second to none.”
“The warm up games against the provincial development sides over Christmas have provided the opportunity to develop our game and confirm the potential within our player group.”
“We are looking forward to getting the campaign underway with our opening game away to Italy.”
Speaking in advance of the upcoming Under 20 RBS Six Nations matches, Ronan Murphy, Senior Partner, PwC, said “We remain very committed to supporting Irish Rugby principally through our sponsorship of the Under 20 team and we wish them every success for 2015 and in their upcoming RBS Six Nations Championship campaign.”
Ireland have two home games this year, Ireland will take on France in Dubarry Park, Athlone on Friday, 13th February.
Ireland U20’s will play their English counterparts in Donnybrook stadium on Friday 28th February, the first time the age grade play in the capital since 2005.
Electric Ireland will continue their sponsorship of the Ireland U20 home series. Speaking about the announcement, Niall Dineen, Head of Commercial at Electric Ireland said “Electric Ireland is delighted to once again sponsor the U20 Rugby International Home Series. We have a long tradition supporting young people in sport and we look forward to working with the IRFU and helping to promote the young rugby stars of tomorrow at this this year’s match in Donnybrook.”
Ireland U-20 Squad, RBS 6 Nations 2015
Samuel Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Harrison Brewer (Terenure/ Leinster)*
Ross Byrne (UCD RFC/ Leinster)*
Joey Carbery (UCD/ Leinster)
Fergal Cleary (Lansdowne / Leinster)
Jack Cullen (Shannon /Munster)*
Billy Dardis (UCD/Leinster) *
Lorcan Dow (Queens/Ulster)
Jack Dwan (Leinster)
Stephen Fitzgerald (Shannon/ Munster)
Ciaran Gaffney (Galwegians/Connacht) *
Oisin Heffernan (Terenure/Leinster)*
Michael Lagan (Ballymena/Ulster)
Jeremy Lougman (UCD/Leinster)
Zac McCall (Queens University/Ulster)
Nicolas McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)*
Sean McNulty (UCD/Munster)*
Stephen McVeigh (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Rory Moloney (Buccaneers/Connacht)*
Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster) *
David O’Connor (St. Mary’s/Leinster)
Conan O’Donnell (Sligo/Connacht)
Conor Oliver (St. Mary’s/Leinster)
Greg O’Shea (Shannon/Munster)
Jack Owens (Queens University/Ulster)
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)*
Cian Romaine (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Jacob Stockdale (Queens University/Ulster)
Alexander Thompson (Queens University/Ulster)
Nick Timoney (St. Mary’s/Leinster)
*Denotes previously capped at this level
Ireland Under-20 Management Team
Nigel Carolan – Head Coach
Colin McEntee – Assistant Coach / High Performance Manager
John Fogarty – Assistant Coach / Scrum Coach
Steven Aboud – Assistant Coach/ Head of Technical Direction
Hendrik Kruger – Team Manager
Sinéad Bennett – Squad Co-ordinator
Garrett Coughlan – Physio
Will Duggan – Doctor
Eamonn Flanagan – Strength and Conditioning Coach
Lar Hogan – Baggage Master
Gareth Rossi – Massage Therapist
Jim Herring – Performance Analyst
Maria Boland – Media Officer
RBS 6 Nations Ireland Under-20 Fixtures:
Fri 6 Feb 19:00 Italy U20 v Ireland U20 Stadio Pozzi Lamarmora
Fri 13 Feb 19:05 Ireland U20 v France U20 Dubarry Park
Fri 27 Feb 19:05 Ireland U20 v England U20 Donnybrook
Fri 13 Mar 19:45 Wales U20 v Ireland U20 Parc Eirias
Fri 20 Mar 19:30 Scotland U20 v Ireland U20 Netherdale
