The Ireland Under-20s will have to put in their most complete performance of the season if they are to take the scalp of New Zealand tonight and reach the World Rugby Under-20 Championship semi-finals.
2015 WORLD RUGBY UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP – POOL C: Wednesday, June 10
NEW ZEALAND UNDER-20s (1st) v IRELAND UNDER-20s (2nd), Stadio Luigi Zaffanella, Viadana, 8.30pm local time/7.30pm Irish time (live TG4/TG4 Player/BT Sport 2)
Team News: Ireland Under-20 head coach Nigel Carolan had made four changes to the side that overcame Scotland 24-20 in the second round of the tournament last Saturday.
However, Zack McCall, who was originally named at hooker, has not recovered from a shoulder injury so Sean McNulty starts with recent call-up Adam McBurney on the replacements bench.
Jack Owens makes his first World Championship appearance on the right wing, with his Queen’s University and Ulster colleague Jacob Stockdale returning on the opposite flank.
Up front Rory Moloney (pictured below) slots back in at openside flanker in the same back row that started against Argentina.
Meanwhile, New Zealand U-20 boss Scott Robertson has made 12 changes to the starting fifteen from their narrow 32-29 defeat of Argentina last weekend.
The Baby Blacks, along with England, South Africa and Australia, are all on 10 points at this stage of the tournament, and Ireland, who are also unbeaten, trail them on eight points. Competition for the last-four places is very tight.
Robertson explained: “We’ve picked a strong line-up which can get us the result we need to finish at the top (of the pool). Otere Black comes in at 10, along with Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi at nine, and we’ve some solid leadership with Atunaisa Moli to start at captain and Jack Goodhue as our vice-captain.”
Fresh off the plane, centre Anton Lienert-Brown will arrive to watch from the sidelines at Stadio Luigi Zaffanella, after being released from the Chiefs. He has replaced Mitchell Karpik who picked up an ankle injury during the game against Argentina.
World Rugby U-20 Championship Fixtures/Results
NEW ZEALAND U-20: Luteru Laulala (Canterbury); Tevita Li (North Harbour), Jack Goodhue (Canterbury), Nathaniel Apa (Canterbury), Vincent Tavae-Aso (Auckland); Otere Black (Manawatu), Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi (Taranaki); Isileli Tu’ungafasi (Auckland), Liam Polwart (Auckland), Atunaisa Moli (Waikato) (capt), Joshua Goodhue (Canterbury), Hamish Dalzell (Canterbury), James Blackwell (Wellington), Blake Gibson (Auckland), Akira Ioane (Auckland).
Replacements: Ricky Riccitelli (Hawke’s Bay), Aidan Ross (Bay of Plenty), Tau Koloamatangi (Waikato), Mitchell Dunshea (Canterbury), Henry Stowers (Wellington), Harrison Levien (Waikato), Tinoai Faiane (Auckland), Mitchell Hunt (Auckland).
IRELAND U-20: Billy Dardis (UCD/Leinster); Jack Owens (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), Sam Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Jacob Stockdale (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster); Joey Carbery (UCD/Leinster), Nick McCarthy (UCD/Leinster) (capt); Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Sean McNulty (UCD/Leinster), Oisin Heffernan (Terenure College/Leinster), David O’Connor (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Alex Thompson (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster), Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster), Rory Moloney (Buccaneers/Connacht), Lorcan Dow (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster).
Replacements: Adam McBurney (Ballymena/Ulster), Liam O’Connor (Cork Constitution/Munster), Conan O’Donnell (Sligo/NUIG/Connacht), Cian Romaine (Buccaneers/Connacht), Stephen McVeigh (Buccaneers/Connacht), Charlie Rock (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Tomás Quinlan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Fergal Cleary (Lansdowne/Leinster).
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Juan Sylvestre (Argentina), Stefano Pennè (Italy)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): New Zealand U-20s to win: 1/33; Draw: 60/1; Ireland U-20s to win: 10/1
Pre-Match Quotes – Nigel Carolan (Ireland U-20s): “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.”
Scott Robertson (New Zealand U-20s): “A do or die quarter-final against Ireland waits for us, so winner takes all. Our focus is to finish on top with the best for and against record. There’s only six points between the top three teams at the moment, including us.
“We watched Ireland in the Six Nations and in their last two pool games and they haven’t changed too much. They’re very similar to Scotland in a lot of ways. They love the maul, they’re really good around their attack strategy and counter attack.
“This game’s a priority and our intention is hopefully to create enough forward thrust to finish fine, while respecting Ireland in our preparation and winning the match. The opportunity is there to score as many as we can, but the best thing is to win it.”
Pre-Match Links –
Ireland U-20s Win Close Encounter In Calvisano
In Pics: Ireland Under-20s 24 Scotland Under-20s 20
Full Points For New Zealand After Tough Argentina Test
Recent Meetings –
2013: IRB Junior World Championship – Pool B: New Zealand U-20s 31 Ireland U-20s 26, Stade de la Rabine, Vannes
2014: IRB Junior World Championship – 3rd/4th Place Play-Off: New Zealand U-20s 45 Ireland U-20s 23, Eden Park, Auckland
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