Ireland Under-20 Squad Announced For RBS 6 Nations

An extended 30-man Ireland Under-20 squad, sponsored by PwC, has been named today ahead of their 2015 Under-20 RBS 6 Nations campaign.

Eight players named in the squad have previous Six Nations experience, having played in the tournament last year. They are Harrison Brewer, Ross Byrne, Jack Cullen, Oisin Heffernan, Nick McCarthy, Sean McNulty, Rory Moloney and Garry Ringrose, with scrum half McCarthy (pictured below) captaining the side this season.

In addition, a further three players lined out in the 2014 Junior World Championship – Billy Dardis, Ciaran Gaffney and Josh Murphy.

Speaking ahead of the upcoming Six Nations, new Ireland Under-20 head coach Nigel Carolan said: “The squad sees a great mixture of new faces and those with experience at this level from last season. We have been really impressed by the attitude of the players, both on and off the field. Their enthusiasm and attention to detail has been second to none.

“The warm-up games against the provincial development sides over Christmas have provided the opportunity to develop our game and confirm the potential within our player group. We are looking forward to getting the campaign underway with our opening game away to Italy.”

Ronan Murphy, Senior Partner, PwC, commented: “We remain very committed to supporting Irish rugby, principally through our sponsorship of the Under-20 squad, and we wish them every success for 2015 and in their upcoming Six Nations Championship campaign.”

The Ireland Under-20s have two home games this year, against France at Dubarry Park in Athlone on Friday, February 13 and against England at Donnybrook on Friday, February 28 – the first Under-20 or Under-21 international in the capital since 2005.

Electric Ireland will continue their sponsorship of the Ireland Under-20 home series. Speaking about the announcement, Niall Dineen, Head of Commercial at Electric Ireland (pictured below), said: “Electric Ireland is delighted to once again sponsor the Under-20 international home series.

“We have a long tradition supporting young people in sport and we look forward to working with the IRFU and helping to promote the young rugby stars of tomorrow at this year’s matches at Dubarry Park and Donnybrook.”

IRELAND UNDER-20 Squad (2015 Under-20 RBS 6 Nations):

Sam Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Harrison Brewer (Terenure College/Leinster) *
Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster) *
Joey Carbery (UCD/Leinster)
Fergal Cleary (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Jack Cullen (Shannon/Munster) *
Billy Dardis (UCD/Leinster) *
Lorcan Dow (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Jack Dwan (Leinster)
Stephen Fitzgerald (Shannon/Munster)
Ciaran Gaffney (Galwegians/Connacht) *
Oisin Heffernan (Terenure College/Leinster) *
Michael Lagan (Ballymena/Ulster)
Jeremy Loughman (UCD/Leinster)
Zack McCall (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Nick McCarthy (UCD/Leinster) (capt) *
Sean McNulty (UCD/Munster) *
Stephen McVeigh (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Rory Moloney (Buccaneers/Connacht) *
Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster) *
David O’Connor (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Conan O’Donnell (NUIG/Connacht)
Conor Oliver (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Greg O’Shea (Shannon/Munster)
Jack Owens (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) *
Cian Romaine (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Jacob Stockdale (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Alexander Thompson (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Nick Timoney (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)

* Denotes previously capped at this level

IRELAND UNDER-20 Management Team –

Nigel Carolan – Head Coach
Colin McEntee – Assistant Coach/High Performance Manager
John Fogarty – Assistant Coach/Scrum Coach
Steven Aboud – Assistant Coach/Head of Technical Direction
Hendrik Kruger – Team Manager
Sinéad Bennett – Squad Co-ordinator
Garrett Coughlan – Physio
Will Duggan – Doctor
Eamonn Flanagan – Strength and Conditioning Coach
Lar Hogan – Baggage Master
Gareth Rossi – Massage Therapist
Jim Herring – Performance Analyst     
Maria Boland – Media Officer    

IRELAND UNDER-20s’ 2015 RBS 6 Nations Fixtures: 

Friday, February 6: Italy U-20s v Ireland U-20s, Stadio Pozzi Lamarmora, Biella, 7pm local time/6pm Irish time
Friday, February 13: Ireland U-20s v France U-20s, Dubarry Park, 7.05pm
Friday, February 27: Ireland U-20s v England U-20s, Donnybrook, 7.05pm
Friday, March 13: Wales U-20s v Ireland U-20s, Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay, 7.45pm
Friday, March 20: Scotland U-20s v Ireland U-20s, Netherdale, Galashiels, 7.30pm