Opta Facts: Under-20 Men’s Six Nations – Ireland U-20s v Wales U-20s
James O'Leary, supported by Daniel Ryan, leads an attack for the Ireland Under-20s during their last outing against England in Bath ©Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Closing out the Under-20 Men’s Six Nations with back-to-back home matches, the Ireland U-20s (sponsored by PwC) will aim to make it three wins on the trot when they play Wales at Virgin Media Park on Saturday (kick-off 7.45pm). Check out the Opta Facts, provided by Stats Perform, below.
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– Ireland had won six consecutive matches against Wales in the Under-20 Men’s Six Nations before suffering a 20-12 loss to them at Rodney Parade last season
– Ireland have won their last three home games against Wales in the U-20 Six Nations, all of those matches taking place at Virgin Media Park, to give them a 100% winning record at the Cork venue against the Welsh
– Ireland have picked up back-to-back wins in the U-20 Six Nations, despite trailing at half-time in both games. The last time they won more consecutive fixtures in the Championship, having trailed at half-time, was back in 2016-2017 (4)
– Since making Virgin Media Park their home in 2019, Ireland have won 13 of their 15 U-20 Six Nations clashes at the Cork ground, only suffering defeats to England and France (both in 2025)
– Wales have lost 10 of their last 11 away games in the U-20 Six Nations. A 20-18 victory over Italy last year is the only positive result in this run which began in 2022
– Ireland have made more successful offloads (25) than any other team in the 2026 U-20 Six Nations so far, while only Italy (6) have made fewer than Wales (7)
– Wales’ offload success rate of just 50% is the lowest of any team. Every other side has been successful with at least two thirds of their attempts
– Wales are the only team yet to receive a yellow (or red) card in this year’s U-20 Six Nations. They have also conceded the fewest penalties (27) of any side in the Championship. Ireland, meanwhile, have conceded the most penalties (41), and been shown a joint-high three yellows
– No one has made more dominant tackles in the 2026 tournament so far than Ireland forwards Diarmaid O’Connell and Joe Finn (5, level with three other players)
– O’Connell and Finn’s respective dominant tackle rates of 13% and 17% are the highest of the 46 players to make more than 20 tackles during the opening three rounds
– Wales’ Deian Gwynne has made the most carries (48) and carry metres (286) of any player at this stage of the 2026 U-20 Six Nations, also making the third most tackles (43)
– Heading into the final two rounds, Ireland duo Christopher Barrett and Josh Neill are two of three players (also Italy’s Valerio Pelli) with a competition-high three tries
– Back rower Neill also ranks fourth for most carries (33) and leads the way for defensive ruck arrivals (37), while scrum half Barrett ranks third for offloads (4)