Ireland Under-20 Team Announced For Athlone Opener

The Ireland Under-20 team, sponsored by PwC, to face Scotland at Dubarry Park on Friday night has been announced by head coach Mike Ruddock.

The team contains two players from the extended squad who gained Under-20 Six Nations experience last year – Lansdowne prop Peter Dooley and flanker Peadar Timmins from UCD.

UCD openside Dan Leavy will captain the side while his club colleague, out-half Ross Byrne, is installed as vice captain.

Head coach Mike Ruddock commented: “We narrowly lost to Scotland last year so we are aware of the challenge ahead of us.

“This group have gathered a lot of valuable game-time with their clubs and provinces, so the group have high hopes of delivering a strong performance on Friday.”

Friday’s opening fixture of the U-20 Championship will be broadcast live on RTÉ Two and rte.ie/live (island of Ireland only).

Match ticket information is available here, and details of the pre-match offerings at Buccaneers RFC are available here.

IRELAND UNDER-20 Team & Replacements (v Scotland Under-20s, 2014 RBS Under-20 6 Nations Championship, Dubarry Park, Friday, January 31, kick-off 7.05pm):

Player/Club/Province –

15. David Busby (Queen’s University/Ulster)
14. Adam Byrne (UCD/Leinster)
13. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)
12. Peter Robb (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
11. Ian Fitzpatrick (Lansdowne/Leinster)
10. Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster)
9. Nick McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)
1. Peter Dooley (Lansdowne/Leinster)
2. Max Abbott (Cork Constitution/Munster)
3. Rory Burke (Cork Constitution/Munster)
4. Sean O’Brien (Galwegians/Connacht)
5. Ross Molony (UCD/Leinster)
6. Peadar Timmins (UCD/Leinster)
7. Dan Leavy (UCD/Leinster) (capt)
8. Jack O’Donoghue (UL Bohemians/Munster)

Replacements:

16. Shane Delahunt (Lansdowne/Leinster)
17. Jacob Walshe (Buccaneers/Connacht)
18. Oisin Heffernan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
19. Joe Joyce (Bristol/Exiles)
20. Rory Moloney (Buccaneers/Connacht)
21. Jack Cullen (Bruff/Munster)
22. Conor McKeon (Lansdowne/Leinster)
23. Dan Goggin (Young Munster/Munster)

IRELAND’S RBS UNDER-20 6 NATIONS FIXTURES:

IRELAND Under-20s v Scotland Under-20s
Dubarry Park, 7.05pm
Friday, January 31

IRELAND Under-20s v Wales Under-20s
Dubarry Park, 7.35pm
Friday, February 7

England Under-20s v IRELAND Under-20s
Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton, 6.15pm
Saturday, February 22

IRELAND Under-20s v Italy Under-20s
Dubarry Park, 7.05pm
Friday, March 7

France Under-20s v IRELAND Under-20s
Stade Maurice Trélut, Tarbes, 8.55pm local time/7.55pm Irish time
Friday, March 14