Ireland Under-20 Team Named For New Zealand Clash
The Ireland Under-20 team (sponsored by PwC) to face New Zealand in their third and final pool game of the World Rugby Under-20 Championship has been named.
Head coach Nigel Carolan has made four changes to the side that overcame Scotland 24-20 in the second round of the tournament last Saturday.
Jack Owens makes his first World Championship appearance on the right wing, with his Queen’s University and Ulster colleague Jacob Stockdale (pictured below) returning on the opposite flank.
Up front, hooker Zack McCall returns to the front row and Rory Moloney slots back in at openside flanker in the same back row that started against Argentina.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Pool C decider, Carolan said: “This is a big game for both sides, the winner of this will have a guaranteed place in the semi-finals.
“New Zealand are a good team, so we will need to be brilliant for the full 80 minutes to give ourselves a chance. However, in preparation for a tough battle, we have recovered well from our last outing and have identified some key areas which we hope we can take advantage of.”
This much-anticipated game in Viadana will be broadcast live on TG4 and BT Sport 2.
IRELAND UNDER-20 Team & Replacements (v New Zealand Under-20s, 2015 World Rugby Under-20 Championship – Pool C, Stadio Luigi Zaffanella, Viadana, Wednesday, June 10, kick-off 8.30pm local time/7.30pm Irish time):
15. Billy Dardis (UCD/Leinster)
14. Jack Owens (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
13. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)
12. Sam Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
11. Jacob Stockdale (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
10. Joey Carbery (UCD/Leinster)
9. Nick McCarthy (UCD/Leinster) (capt)
1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)
2. Zack McCall (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
3. Oisin Heffernan (Terenure College/Leinster)
4. David O’Connor (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
5. Alex Thompson (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
6. Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster)
7. Rory Moloney (Buccaneers/Connacht)
8. Lorcan Dow (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
Replacements:
16. Sean McNulty (UCD/Leinster)
17. Liam O’Connor (Cork Constitution/Munster)
18. Conan O’Donnell (Sligo/NUIG/Connacht)
19. Cian Romaine (Buccaneers/Connacht)
20. Stephen McVeigh (Buccaneers/Connacht)
21. Charlie Rock (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
22. Tomás Quinlan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
23. Fergal Cleary (Lansdowne/Leinster)
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/RESULTS:
Ireland Under-20s 18 Argentina Under-20s 16, Parma, Tuesday, June 2
Ireland Under-20s 24 Scotland Under-20s 20, Calvisano, Saturday, June 6
New Zealand Under-20s v Ireland Under-20s, Viadana, Wednesday, June 10, kick-off 8.30pm local time/7.30pm Irish time (live on TG4/BT Sport 2)
Match Day 4: Play-offs and semi-finals, Monday, June 15
Match Day 5: Play-offs and final, Saturday, June 20