Irish Exiles U18’s demanding but successful visit to Ireland

The Irish Exiles U18 party returned to Heathrow on Sunday evening bruised and tired, but well pleased with their visit to Galway and Limerick.

Two inter-provincial games within 40 hours of each other is a demanding schedule for young players, even without the demands of travelling.

The Exiles played their first game against Connacht Youth on Friday evening under the excellent floodlights of Corinthians rugby club. A large enthusiastic crowd were provided with a very competitive and entertaining game of rugby with the Exiles coming out on top with a 10-7 win.

An early start from Galway on the Sunday morning got the Exiles to Thomond Park in Limerick for a noon kick off. Unfortunately this game didn’t reach the same standards as the Friday evening encounter. Both Munster and the Exiles were very competitive but the Exiles looked a tired side. Opportunities to score were missed by both sides until Munster sealed the victory with a break away try which was converted. The Exiles were inches away from the Munster line on a number of occasions but couldn’t break a determined Munster defence. Munster finishing the game 7-0 ahead.
Both games were attended by Ireland Youth and U19 selectors. From an Exiles viewpoint the games provided opportunities for young players to stake their claim for places in the Ireland underage squads. The attending selectors I am sure were impressed with the individual performance of some of these young Exiles particularly as many of them met their team mates for the first time as they boarded the plane on the Friday morning.

The coaching team of, Peter Halsall, Kevan Bell and Patrick Collins do an excellent job in providing structure and organisation to the team in a very short time.

The Exiles received the normal warm hospitality in Connacht and Munster and really enjoyed their all too short visit.