Under-18 Club Side Named For Championship Final

Following their 10-7 win over top seeds England in the FIRA-AER Under-18 European Championship in Dax, France, the Ireland U-18 Club side has a chance to make even more history as they play hosts and number two seeds France in the final on Saturday afternoon.

Ireland came into the tournament as fourth seeds, but their two wins over Georgia and England has put them in with a chance of winning the tournament for the first time.

Ireland U-18 coach Greg Lynch said: “Playing France at any level is always a tough prospect, but the win over England has given the squad a lot of confidence. Opportunities to win tournaments are rare, so I know that the team will not be leaving anything on the pitch.

“Eamonn Sheridan has led the team superbly and it has been a total squad effort from all the players and the management as well. There is one final hurdle ahead and if we can get parity at set pieces and play to our game plan, we have every chance of turning over another team that was ranked higher than us at the beginning of the tournament.”

IRELAND U-18 CLUB TEAM AND REPLACEMENTS (v FRANCE U-18, Stade Maurice BOYAU, Dax, France, Saturday, April 7, kick-off 5pm local time):

15 – Eoghan Conran (Naas)
14 – David McIlwaine (Larne)
13 – Danny Barnes (Tralee)
12 – Eamon Sheridan (Navan) (capt)
11 – Colm Brady (Kilkenny)
10 – Rory Stynes (Carlow)
9 – Charlie Mulchrone (St. Ambrose College)
1 – Jason East (Sligo)
2 – Paul Molloy (Waterpark)
3 – Conor Higgins (Ballinasloe)
4 – Michael Lenihan (Mallow)
5 – Charlie Armstrong (Penzance)
6 – Seamus McKimm (RGS High Wycombe)
7 – Sean Dougall (Newcastle Falcons)
8 – Dermot Murphy (Galwegians)

Replacements:

16 – James Robinson (Corinthians)
17 – Gavin Duffy (Sunday’s Well)
18 – Joe MacManus (London Irish)
19 – Adam Kennedy (Buccaneers)
20 – Charlie Ingall (London Wasps)
21 – Aengus O’Connell (Corinthians)
22 – John Dever (Tallaght)
23 – Liam Carpenter (Westport)
24 – Mark Flanagan (Mullingar)

Not considered due to injury:

Niall Earls (Wicklow), John O’Brien (Connemara)

2007 FIRA-AER U-18 Championship Seeding –

1 – England
2 – France
3 – Italy
4 – Ireland
5 – Georgia
6 – Russia
7 – Romania
8 – Portugal

Management –

Manager – Willie Gribben
Coach – Greg Lynch
Backs Coach – Richie Murphy
Defence Coach – Jimmy Duffy
Fitness & Conditioning Coach – Antoine Mobian
Video Analyst – Lenny Browne
Assistant Manager – John Delany
Physiotherapist – Barry Smith