The Ireland Under-20 team, sponsored by PwC, has been named to face New Zealand in their second match of the World Rugby U-20 Championship in Manchester on Saturday (kick-off 1.30pm).
Head coach Nigel Carolan has selected a starting line-up that shows just one change to the side that overcame Grand Slam champions Wales on a 26-25 scoreline.
Young Munster prop Ben Betts will wear the number 3 jersey in place of the injured Conor Kenny, who has returned home following the shoulder injury he suffered early on against Wales. Dublin University’s James Bollard comes on to the bench as one of the replacement prop.
Ireland will again be captained by Lansdowne and Leinster ‘A’ second row James Ryan, while Clontarf prop Vakh Abdaladze is the only uncapped member of the matchday squad.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s Pool A showdown with the Baby Blacks, Carolan said: “It was very pleasing to open the tournament with the win over Wales on Tuesday. While we gave them a big lead early on, I felt that we showed fantastic ambition and fight to get back into the game and we were patient to close out the win in the end.
“New Zealand is a massive game for us. They had a comprehensive (55-0) win over Georgia on Tuesday so they will be going into this game full of confidence.
“Our players have recovered well over the last number of days and are looking forward to the challenge against the current world champions.”
The New Zealand-Ireland clash will be broadcast live on TG4 and Sky Sports 3 HD and will be refereed by Craig Maxwell-Keys of the RFU.
World Rugby Under-20 Championship – Ticket Information
World Rugby Under-20 Championship Fixtures/Results
IRELAND UNDER-20 Team & Replacements (v New Zealand Under-20s, 2016 World Rugby Under-20 Championship Pool A, Manchester City Academy Stadium, Saturday, June 11, kick-off 1.30pm):
15. Jacob Stockdale (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
14. Matthew Byrne (Terenure College/Leinster)
13. Shane Daly (Cork Constitution/Munster)
12. Conor O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
11. Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster)
10. Bill Johnston (Garryowen/Munster)
9. Stephen Kerins (Sligo/Connacht)
1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)
2. Adam McBurney (Ballymena/Ulster)
3. Ben Betts (Young Munster/Munster)
4. Cillian Gallagher (Sligo/Connacht)
5. James Ryan (Lansdowne/Leinster) (capt)
6. Greg Jones (UCD/Leinster)
7. David Aspil (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
8. Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Replacements:
16. Vincent O’Brien (Cork Constitution/Munster)
17. Vakh Abdaladze (Clontarf/Leinster) *
18. James Bollard (Dublin University/Leinster)
19. Sean O’Connor (Cashel/Munster)
20. Kelvin Brown (Shannon/Munster)
21. Niall Saunders (Epsom College/Exiles)
22. Johnny McPhillips (Queen’s University/Ulster)
23. Jimmy O’Brien (UCD/Leinster)
* Denotes uncapped player at Under-20 level
IRELAND’S WORLD RUGBY U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE:
Pool A –
Wales 25 IRELAND 26
Manchester City Academy Stadium
New Zealand v IRELAND
Manchester City Academy Stadium
Saturday, June 11, 1.30pm
IRELAND v Georgia
Manchester City Academy Stadium
Wednesday, June 15, 5.30pm
Semi-Finals
Manchester City Academy Stadium or AJ Bell Stadium, Salford
Monday, June 20
Play-Offs
Manchester City Academy Stadium or AJ Bell Stadium, Salford
Saturday, June 25
Ireland’s Pool A fixtures will be shown live on TG4. The tournament will also be shown on Sky Sports and streamed live via the World Rugby website.
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