It was a proud moment for both Ciaran Ruddock and for the Exiles Branch, when the Neath lock was selected to lead Ireland into battle against New Zealand, the ‘Baby Blacks’, at the IRB TOSHIBA Junior World Championship last week.
Though defeated, the Ireland Under-20s gained a tremendous amount of credit for the way they played, holding New Zealand to their lowest winning margin since before the last Junior World Championship.
What added icing to the cake was that Ciaran Ruddock was joined on the team by his younger brother Rhys – fresh from his A levels at Millfield – at number 8.
Their father needs little introduction, being Mike Ruddock, the former Leinster and Wales head coach, and their mother Bernadette hails from Dublin.