Ireland Under-21 Team To Play France
Following their win over Italy, there are no changes to the Ireland Under-21 team to play France U-21 this Friday in Strasbourg (kick-off 1.30pm).
…Ireland U-21 hooker and captain Stuart Philpott throwing into a lineout during his side’s 40-12 defeat of Leinster ‘A’ last month…
Following their 34-9 win over Italy U-21 at Dubarry Park last week, Ireland Under-21 coach Mark McDermott has unsurprisingly named the same side to take on France in Strasbourg this coming Friday.
Ireland were expecting a tough physical encounter against Italy and that is exactly what they got, with the home side eventually winning out and scoring five tries in the process.
The French U-21s will represent another tough challenge, judging from their 37-0 win over Scotland last weekend, but Ireland coach Mark McDermott feels that his team can improve on certain areas of their game to take on the French.
McDermott said: “Last week we took the majority of our scoring chances, so we were happy in that respect. This week presents a whole new challenge and the key areas where we wanted to improve, such as our ball presentation at the breakdown and areas of our defence, will be vital for Friday’s game.
“France are always strong at this level, so the squad are well aware that we will need to up the levels of performance from last week. Playing away also brings its own challenges, but we are in good shape for the game.”
The team will again be captained by Belfast Harlequins hooker Stuart Philpott.
The Ireland Under-21 team to play against France Under-21 at the Centre Sportif de Hautepierre, Strasbourg (kick-off 1.30pm (GMT)) on Friday, February 10 is as follows:
15. Fionn Carr (Blackrock College)
14. Peter Durcan (Galwegians)
13. Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins)
12. Conan Doyle (Garryowen)
11. Matthew Williams (Bristol Shoguns / Hartpury College)
10. Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College)
9. Paul Marshall (Ballynahinch)
1. Darragh Hurley (UCC)
2. Stuart Philpott (Belfast Harlequins) (CAPTAIN)
3. Paul Doran-Jones (Dublin University)
4. Daniel Touhy (Gloucester / Hartpury College)
5. Devin Toner (Lansdowne)
6. Ross Noonan (UCC)
7. Ejike Uzoigwe (Hartpury College)
8. Billy Holland (UCC)
Replacements:
16. Sean Cronin (Shannon)
17. Callum Black (Worcester Warriors / Hartpury College)
18. David McGowan (Buccaneers)
19. Sean O’Brien (UCD)
20. Duncan Williams (UCC)
21. Tom Gleeson (Cork Constitution)
22. Fergus McFadden (UCD)
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