Under-20 Team Named For Clash With Italy

The Ireland Under-20 team (sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers) has been named for their first play-off game in this year’s IRB Junior World Championship against Italy on Wednesday (Cardiff Arms Park, kick-off 7pm).

Ireland Under-20 coach Eric Elwood has made a single change to the side that beat Tonga 45-27 in their final pool game last Saturday.

Prop Stephen Archer, who scored against the Tongans, has been promoted from the replacements bench, taking the number 3 jersey, with Ben Barclay going into the opposite direction.

Commenting on the tournament to date, Elwood said: “We had a disappointing start to the tournament but we can take some great positives from the way the boys have played individually and as a team throughout.

“We knew coming into this competition that we had some tough battles ahead of us and even though we didn’t get the results we would have liked, the boys gained valuable experience which will stand to us in the play-offs.

“We are focused on winning both remaining games to finish in ninth position to ensure a good seeding for next year.”

IRELAND UNDER-20 TEAM & REPLACEMENTS (v Italy U-20s, IRB Junior World Championship, Wednesday, June 17, Cardiff Arms Park, kick-off 7pm): 

15 – Niall Morris (Blackrock College/Leinster)

14 – David Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster)

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 – Ian Porter (Queen’s University/Ulster)

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

2 – Jason Harris-Wright (Greystones/Leinster)

3 – Stephen Archer (UCC/Munster)

4 – Ian Nagle (UCC/Munster)

5 – Eoin Sheriff (Lansdowne/Leinster)

6 – Kieran Essex (UL Bohemians/Munster)

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

8 – Patrick Mallon (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Replacements:

16 – Stephen Douglas (Ballymena/Ulster)

17 – Ben Barclay (UCD/Leinster)

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

19 – Michael Entwistle (Ballymena/Ulster)

20 – David Moore (Blackrock College/Leinster)

21 – Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)

22 – Jamie Smith (Ballymena/Ulster)

Management:

Manager – Phil Orr

Coach – Eric Elwood

Assistant Coach – Dan McFarland

Ireland IRB Junior World Championship Results (Pool A):

Argentina Under-20s 17 Ireland Under-20s 9, Friday, June 6, Cardiff Arms Park

Ireland Under-20s 10 New Zealand Under-20s 65, Tuesday, June 10, Cardiff Arms Park

Ireland Under-20s 45 Tonga Under-20s 27, Saturday, June 14, Cardiff Arms Park