U20

All you need to know about Ireland Under-20s

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Ireland will be hoping to carry over their form from last year’s aborted Six Nations Under-20s, in their quest for a fourth Championship title.

Ireland will be hoping to carry over their form from last year’s aborted Six Nations Under-20s, in their quest for a fourth Championship title.

Last time out

Ireland were top of the table last year despite only playing three games before the spread of COVID-19 curtailed the Championship.

Dispatching Scotland 38-26 in Round 1, Ireland went on to comfortably defeat Wales 36-22 before finishing the pandemic-hit campaign with a 39-21 win over England.

While Scotland topped the leaderboard when it came to tries scored with 20, they did play two games more than Ireland, who managed to score an impressive 17 in just three matches.

Best finish

Ireland have won the Championships in 2007, 2010 and 2019. Had it not been for the postponement last year, they would have most likely gone on to win the whole thing for the second year in a row.

Whilst their 2007 win was headlined by the likes of Cian Healy, Keith Earls and Darren Cave, their 2019 triumph was perhaps their most impressive.

They scored 150 points, winning all five games on their way to a Grand Slam title.

The standout performance of that campaign came against defending Under-20 world champions France, who they defeated 31-29 in a dramatic and tightly contested affair.

Recent record 2020: N/A 2019: 1st 2018: 3rd 2017: 4th 2016: 3rd 2015: 5th

2021 Championship

The Championship will be played from June 19 to July 13 on five match days at Cardiff Arms Park in Wales to help reduce travel and ensure greater rest periods for players.

Matchday squads will feature 26 players due to the streamlined nature of the Championship, with three games played consecutively on each day.

Ireland fixtures

Ireland get their campaign underway against Scotland in the Championship opener on 19 June.

In Rounds 2 and 3, they face off against Wales (25 June) and England (1 July).

Their penultimate game sees them take on Italy on 7 July before doing battle with France in their finale on 13 July.

Ones to watch

Two names to watch out for in Ireland’s ranks are Leinster duo Alex Soroka and Tim Corkery.

Both made their senior debuts recently for the Irish giants and are two of six players in the squad to be involved for the second year running.

Ulster’s Conor McKee and Ben Moxham, Connacht’s Cathal Forde and Ben Murphy, who also plays for Leinster are also involved.

The squad is led by back-row forward Alex Kendellen, who has been appointed captain by head coach Richie Murphy.

Coach

It’s been a relatively tumultuous time for Ireland’s Under 20s on the coaching front.

Earlier this year, Noel McNamara, who guided Ireland to success in 2019 and top of the table in 2020 stepped down, with former Ireland scrum-half Kieran Campbell taking up the reigns.

But two months later, Campbell announced he was stepping down in the summer and Richie Murphy is now the man at the helm.

A key part of the Ireland senior set-up since 2013, Murphy has a wealth of coaching experience that he will be looking to draw upon.

During his time as an assistant coach at Leinster, Murphy was instrumental in helping drive the club forward, with the province delivering three Heineken Cup titles in 2009, 2011 and 2012 and back-to-back PRO12 titles in 2013 and 2014.

Ireland Under-20s squad for Six Nations Forwards: George Saunderson (Sullivan Upper School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster) Jack Boyle (St Michael’s College/UCD RFC/Leinster) Temi Asewunmi Lasisi (CBS Enniscorthy/Lansdowne FC/Leinster) Mark Donnelly (CBC Cork/Garryowen RFC/Munster) Eoin de Buitléar (Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiáran/An Ghaeltacht/Corinthians RFC/Connacht) Lee Barron (St Michael’s College/Dublin University FC/Leinster) Ronan Loughnane (Cistercian College Roscrea/UCD RFC/Leinster) Sam Illo (Wesley College/Old Wesley RFC/Leinster) Darragh Murray (Colaiste Chiaran/Buccaneers RFC/Connacht) Harry Sheridan (Sullivan Upper School/Dublin University FC/Ulster) Mark Morrisey (Blackrock College/UCD RFC/Leinster) Alex Soroka (Belvedere College/Clontarf RFC/Leinster) Oisin McCormack (Garbally College/Buccaneers RFC/Connacht) Alex Kendellen (PBC Cork/UCC RFC/Munster)(Captain) Reuben Crothers (Wallace High School/Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster) Donnacha Byrne (Summerhill College/Sligo RFC/Connacht) Jack Kelleher (PBC Cork/UCC RFC/Munster) Daniel Okeke (Ard Scoil Ris/Shannon RFC/Munster) Liam Bishop (Trent College/Nottingham University/IQ Rugby) Backs: Conor McKee (Sullivan Upper School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster) Nathan Doak (Wallace High School/Banbridge RFC/Ulster) Ben Murphy (Presentation College Bray/Old Wesley RFC/Leinster) Tim Corkery (Kilkenny College/UCD RFC/Leinster) James Humphreys (Dean Close School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster) Cathal Forde (Colaiste Iognaid/Corinthians RFC/Connacht) Ben Carson (Wallace High School/Banbridge RFC/Ulster) Shane Jennings (Garbally College/Buccaneers RFC/Connacht) Ben Moxham (Larne High School/Ballymena RFC/Ulster) Conor Rankin (Campbell College Belfast/Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster) Chay Mullins (SGC Filton/Bristol Bears/IQ Rugby) Josh O’Connor (St Peter’s College/UCD RFC/Leinster) Jamie Osborne (Naas CBS/Naas RFC/Leinster) Chris Cosgrave (St Michael’s College/UCD RFC/Leinster) Jude Postlethwaite (RBAI/Banbridge RFC/Ulster)