Quinlan Replaces Injured Byrne In Ireland U-20 Squad
There has been a late change made to the Ireland Under-20 squad ahead of the start of the World Rugby Under-20 Championship next Tuesday.
Regular out-half Ross Byrne has unfortunately had to withdraw from the squad due to a back injury. He played in last year’s Under-20 RBS 6 Nations Championship and was the top scorer in the 2015 tournament with 55 points.
The Leinster Academy player was also a key member of the Ireland team that topped Pool B and secured a best ever finish of fourth at last summer’s Junior World Championship in New Zealand.
The 2015 edition of the global tournament, hosted in Italy, begins next week with Byrne’s squad place going to Cork Constitution clubman Tomás Quinlan, who is uncapped at Under-20 level.
Quinlan, a member of the Munster sub Academy, has played for the Ireland U-19s and won the Munster Senior Cup and Bateman Cup with Cork Constitution this season. His consistent performances at out-half for Con in the Ulster Bank League earned him a monthly Division 1A Rising Star award.
The Ireland U-20s share Pool C with Argentina, Scotland and New Zealand and open their World Rugby U-20 Championship campaign against Argentina next Tuesday at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma.
TG4 will be broadcast Ireland’s matches live from the World Rugby U-20 Championship.
IRELAND UNDER-20 Squad (2015 World Rugby Under-20 Championship, Italy, June 2-20):
Sam Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Joey Carbery (UCD/Leinster)
Fergal Cleary (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Billy Dardis (UCD/Leinster)
Lorcan Dow (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Jack Dwan (UCD/Leinster)
Stephen Fitzgerald (Shannon/Munster)
Ciaran Gaffney (Galwegians/Connacht)
Oisin Heffernan (Terenure College/Leinster)
Jeremy Loughman (UCD/Leinster)
Zack McCall (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Nick McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)
Sean McNulty (UCD/Munster)
Stephen McVeigh (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Rory Moloney (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster)
Conán O’Donnell (Sligo/NUIG/Connacht)
David O’Connor (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Conor Oliver (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Jack Owens (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)
Tomás Quinlan (Cork Constitution/Munster) *
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)
Charlie Rock (Old Belvedere/Leinster) *
Cian Romaine (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Jacob Stockdale (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Alex Thompson (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Nick Timoney (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
* Denotes uncapped player at international Under-20 level
WORLD RUGBY UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP POOLS –
POOL A – England, France, Wales, Japan
POOL B – South Africa, Australia, Samoa, Italy
POOL C – New Zealand, Ireland, Argentina, Scotland
IRELAND U-20 FIXTURES:
Ireland Under-20s v Argentina Under-20s, Parma, Tuesday, June 2, kick-off 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time
Ireland Under-20s v Scotland Under-20s, Calvisano, Saturday, June 6, kick-off 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time
New Zealand Under-20s v Ireland Under-20s, Viadana, Wednesday, June 10, kick-off 8.30pm local time/7.30pm Irish time
Match Day 4: Play-offs and semi-finals, Monday, June 15
Match Day 5: Play-offs and final, Saturday, June 20