Power In The Centre For Ireland Schools Team
The Ireland Under-18 Schools team, sponsored by PwC, to play England in Saturday’s FIRA/AER U-18 European Championship final has been announced by head coach Noel McNamara.
Noel McNamara has named an unchanged pack from the eight that lined out in the 24-11 win over France but has made a number of adjustments to the Irish back-line.
Matthew Gilsenan, who scored 14 points against the French, reverts from inside centre to out-half in place of Jimmy O’Brien.
Colm Mulcahy switches from outside centre to inside centre and Jack Power moves from full-back to outside centre.
Jacob Stockdale – with three tries to his name in the tournament so far – moves from the left wing to full-back with Calvin Nash from Munster champions Crescent College Comprehensive filling the wing berth.
Ireland have beaten Georgia (20-10) and France (24-11) to reach the final, while England accounted for Portugal (62-5) and Wales (11-9) en route to the Championship decider.
The final takes place in Wronki on Saturday afternoon, kicking off at 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time. There will be a live stream providing coverage here.
The Irish squad is coached by Noel McNamara (head coach), Mark Butler (backs coach), Brian Robinson (forwards coach) and Paul McCarthy (scrum coach).
Click here for the tournament fixtures/results.
IRELAND UNDER-18 SCHOOLS Team & Replacements (v England, FIRA/AER Under-18 European Championship Final, Wronki, Poland, Saturday, April 19, kick-off 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time):
15. Jacob Stockdale (Wallace High School/Ulster)
14. Jordan Larmour (St. Andrew’s College/Leinster)
13. Jack Power (Blackrock College/Leinster)
12. Colm Mulcahy (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster)
11. Calvin Nash (Crescent College Comprehensive/Munster)
10. Matthew Gilsenan (St. Michael’s College/Leinster)
9. Rowan Osborne (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster)
1. Andrew Porter (St. Andrew’s College/Leinster)
2. John Molony (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster)
3. Conan O’Donnell (Summerhill College/Connacht)
4. James Ryan (St. Michael’s College/Leinster) (capt)
5. Sean O’Connor (Rockwell College/Munster)
6. Will Connors (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster)
7. Johnny Guy (St. Andrew’s College/Leinster)
8. Max Deegan (St. Michael’s College/Leinster)
Replacements:
16. Conor McIlmurray (Campbell College/Ulster)
17. Hugo Kean (Blackrock College/Leinster)
18. Conor Kenny (Garbally College/Connacht)
19. Peter Claffey (Garbally College/Connacht)
20. Greg Jones (St. Andrew’s College/Leinster)
21. David Duggan (St. Michael’s College/Leinster)
22. Jimmy O’Brien (Newbridge College/Leinster)
23. Paul Kiernan (Presentation Brothers Cork/Munster)
24. Oisin O’Meara (St. Michael’s College/Leinster)
25. Alan McMahon (Rockwell College/Munster)
Ireland Under-18 Schools Results/Fixture –
IRELAND U-18 SCHOOLS 20 Georgia 10
Opalenica, Friday, April 11
IRELAND U-18 SCHOOLS 24 France 11
Plewiska, Tuesday, April 15
IRELAND U-18 SCHOOLS v England
Saturday, April 19
Wronki, 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time