Late Change At Scrum Half For Ireland U-20s

There is a late change to the Ireland Under-20 team (sponsored by PwC) to play the Italy Under-20s at Donnybrook on Friday (kick-off 7.35pm).

Sligo and Connacht scrum half Stephen Kerins has failed to recover sufficiently from a knee injury he sustained in the 26-20 win over England.

His place at number 9 will be filled by Cork Constitution and Munster’s John Poland, who started Ireland’s first two games of the Under-20 Six Nations.

Niall Saunders comes into the squad and will John Poland’s place on the bench. Saunders has come through the Exiles system and plays his rugby with Epsom College and is part of the Harlequins Academy. He lined out with the Ireland Under-18 Clubs side last year.

Friday night’s match, which is sponsored by Electric Ireland, kicks off at 7.35pm and tickets are available to buy here. The game will be broadcast live on RTE Two from 7.30pm.

IRELAND UNDER-20 Team & Replacements (v Italy Under-20s, Under-20 RBS 6 Nations Championship, Donnybrook, Friday, March 11, kick-off 7.35pm):

15. Brett Connon (Newcastle Falcons)
14. Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster)
13. Shane Daly (Cork Constitution/Munster)
12. Conor O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
11. Jacob Stockdale (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
10. Johnny McPhillips (Queen’s University/Ulster)
9. John Poland (Cork Constitution/Munster)
1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)
2. Adam McBurney (Ballymena/Ulster)
3. Conan O’Donnell (Sligo/Connacht)
4. Peter Claffey (Galwegians/Connacht)
5. James Ryan (Lansdowne/Leinster) (capt)
6. Cillian Gallagher (Sligo/Connacht)
7. Will Connors (UCD/Leinster)
8. Greg Jones (UCD/Leinster)
 
Replacements:

16. Hugo Kean (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) *
17. James Bollard (Dublin University/Leinster)
18. Ben Betts (Munster/Young Munster) *
19. Sean O’Connor (Cashel/Munster)
20. Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
21. Niall Saunders (Epsom College/Harlequins) *
22. Paul Kiernan (UCC/Munster) *
23. Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
 
* Denotes uncapped player at this level
 
Not considered: Stephen Kerins (Sligo/Connacht) – injured; Conor Kenny (Buccaneers/Connacht) – injured; Jimmy O’Brien (UCD/Leinster) – injured; Jack Power (UCD/Leinster) – injured; Dan Walsh (Cork Constitution/Munster) – injured.