Under-20 Team Announced For Championship Opener

The Ireland Under-20 team (sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers) for Friday’s IRB Junior World Championship clash with Argentina in Cardiff has been announced by coach Eric Elwood.

Captained by Paul Ryan, the Ireland team sees only one newcomer to the squad which was selected for this year’s Six Nations championship. Ballymena’s Michael Entwistle is the new face on the replacements bench.

Commenting on his team selection, Ireland coach Eric Elwood said: “The majority of the team already have the experience of the Six Nations championship behind them. They have worked very well together over the past couple of months especially in the areas of fitness and conditioning.

“We have three very physical games ahead of us in our pool. If we can get a positive result in our opener against Argentina, it will put us in a very good position for the remainder of the championship.”

IRELAND UNDER-20 TEAM & REPLACEMENTS (v Argentina Under-20s, IRB Junior World Championship, Cardiff Arms Park, Friday, June 6, kick-off 7pm):

15 – Niall Morris (Blackrock College/Leinster)       

14 – Sean Scanlon (UCC/Munster)  

13 – Eoin O’Malley (Old Belvedere/Leinster)

12 – Conor Cleary (Greystones/Leinster)    

11 – Chris Cochrane (Queen’s University/Ulster)     

10 – Martin Dufficy (Dublin University/Leinster)         

9. – David Moore (Blackrock College/Leinster)     

1- Paul Karayiannis (Queen’s University/Ulster)     

2 – Jason Harris-Wright (Greystones/Leinster)    

3 – Ben Barclay (UCD/Leinster)  

4 – James Sandford (Queen’s University/Ulster)     

5 – Eoin Sheriff (Lansdowne/Leinster)    

6 – Kieran Essex (UL Bohemian/Munster) 

7 – Paul Ryan (Blackrock College/Leinster) (capt)       

8 – Patrick Mallon (Lansdowne/Leinster)    

Replacements:

16- Stephen Douglas (Ballymena/Ulster)

17- Stephen Archer (UCC/Munster)

18- Ian Nagle (UCC/Munster)

19 –Michael Entwistle (Ballymena/Ulster)

20 –Ian Porter (Queen’s University/Ulster)

21 –Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)

22 – Eamon Sheridan (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Management:

Manager – Phil Orr

Coach – Eric Elwood

Assistant Coach – Dan McFarland

Ireland IRB Junior World Championship Fixtures (Pool A):

Argentina Under-20s v Ireland Under-20s, Friday, June 6, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, 7pm

Ireland Under-20s v New Zealand Under-20s, Tuesday, June 10, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, 9.10pm

Tonga Under-20s v Ireland Under-20s, Saturday, June 14, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, 3pm