Ireland Under-20 Team Shows Three Changes
The Ireland Under-20 team, sponsored by PwC, to play the Scotland U-20s at Donnybrook on Friday (kick-off 7.35pm) has been confirmed. Head coach Nigel Carolan has made three changes to the side that defeated Italy 19-13 last week.
Click here for Ireland U-20 v Scotland U-20 tickets
There are two changes to the pack as Dublin University prop James Bollard and Cashel’s Sean O’Connor are handed their first starts at this level.
Sligo’s Stephen Kerins has recovered from the knee injury that kept him out of the Italy game and returns to the scrum half berth. Lansdowne and Leinster ‘A’ lock James Ryan leads the team once again.
On the bench, St. Mary’s hooker Hugo Kean and Naas prop Adam Coyle will be hoping to make their Ireland Under-20 debuts. Terenure’s Matthew Byrne replaces Terry Kennedy who is involved with the Ireland Sevens squad this week in Madrid.
Speaking ahead of the final round clash, Nigel Carolan said: “Unforced errors and an unusually high penalty count meant that we made hard work of the win against a gritty Italy side last Friday night. However, we came away with the result and that’s the important thing.
“Scotland are a strong side with a lot of quality players in their team. It will be a tough game on Friday but I’m confident that we can put in a big performance and finish on a winning note.”
Friday’s match, which is sponsored by Electric Ireland and live on RTE Two, kicks off at 7.35pm. Click here for tickets.
IRELAND UNDER-20 Team & Replacements (v Scotland Under-20s, 2016 Under-20 RBS 6 Nations Championship, Donnybrook, Friday, March 18, 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. Stephen Kerins (Sligo/Connacht)
1. James Bollard (Dublin University/Leinster)
2. Adam McBurney (Ballymena/Ulster)
3. Conan O’Donnell (Sligo/Connacht)
4. Sean O’Connor (Cashel/Munster)
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. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)
18. Adam Coyle (Naas/Leinster) *
19. Peter Claffey (Galwegians/Connacht)
20. Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
21. John Poland (Cork Constitution/Munster)
22. Paul Kiernan (UCC/Munster)
23. Matthew Byrne (Terenure College/Leinster)
* Denotes uncapped player at this level
Not Considered –
Conor Kenny (Buccaneers/Connacht) – injured
Jimmy O’Brien (UCD/Leinster) – injured
Jack Power (UCD/Leinster) – injured
Dan Walsh (Cork Constitution/Munster) – injured
Ben Betts (Young Munster/Munster) – injured
Terry Kennedy – Ireland Sevens