Ireland Under-20s Unchanged For England Game
The Ireland Under-20 squad, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, will travel to Gloucester this weekend to take on their English counterparts in the mid-tournament clash in this year’s RBS U-20 6 Nations.
Ireland Under-20 coach Allen Clarke has retained the opening team that started against both Italy and France and has made just one change to the replacements bench where Shannon’s Duncan Casey takes the place of UCD clubman David Doyle.
Ireland lost 20-15 to France in their last outing of the Championship and will be keen to get back to winning ways against a strong English side.
Commenting on Friday’s game, Clarke said: “Overall we were pleased with the performance against France. We were disappointed with the result but we created several chances in very difficult conditions and we will look to improve our accuracy levels for the next game.
“England have two wins under their belt and have certainly laid down a marker in terms of their performances. We will have to be at our best in Gloucester to get the result.”
IRELAND UNDER-20 Team & Replacements (v England U-20s, RBS Under-20 6 Nations Championship, Friday, February 26, Kingsholm, Gloucester, kick-off 7.45pm):
15 – Andrew Conway (Blackrock College/Leinster)
14 – Darren Hudson (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
13 – Brendan Macken (Blackrock College/Leinster)
12 – Nevin Spence (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
11 – Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)
10 – James McKinney (Queen’s University/Ulster)
9 – John Cooney (UCD/Leinster)
1 – Bryan Cagney (UCC/Munster)
2 – Niall Annett (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
3 – Jack O’Connell (Lansdowne/Leinster)
4 – David O’Callaghan (UCC/Munster)
5 – Ben Marshall (UCD/Leinster)
6 – Rhys Ruddock (UCD/Leinster) (capt)
7 – Dominic Ryan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
8 – Patrick Butler (Shannon/Munster)
Replacements:
16 – Duncan Casey (Shannon/Munster)
17 – Stewart Maguire (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
18 – Brian Hayes (Cork Constitution/Munster)
19 – Robin O’Sullivan (Bective Rangers/Leinster)
20 – Michael Heaney (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
21 – Brian Kingston (Blackrock College/Leinster)
22 – Eoin Griffin (Corinthians/Connacht)