Bohane To Skipper Ireland Students Team Against Scotland

Former Munster centre Cian Bohane will finally realise his international dream when he leads the Ireland Students team into action against Scotland Students in Edinburgh on Sunday (kick-off 12.30pm).

Cian Bohane stepped back from a professional rugby career with his native province last season to pursue PE studies at UCC, where he has playing for the college’s senior side in Division 1B of the Ulster Bank League this year.

Having missed out on international representation during his professional days, Bohane has now been honoured with captaincy of the Ireland Students team for their showdown with Scotland at Boroughmir RFC this weekend.

The Corkman leads an exciting Irish selection which features young prospects like IT Carlow prop Ntinga Mpiko, Dublin University flanker Sam Pim and UCC out-half James Taylor.

“Like the Club International side, the Ireland Students team is a wonderful opportunity for amateur players to showcase their talents in an international setting,” said head coach David O’Mahony, the former Munster, Leinster and Ireland scrum half.

“For guys who missed the professional boat or, like Cian, opted to focus on a career outside professional rugby, it is a tremendous honour. There is a lot of talent in the amateur game in Ireland, particularly in third level rugby, and we are hoping games like this international in Scotland can help student internationals become a regular feature again.”

There will be a special feature on the Ireland Students on next Monday night’s ‘Against The Head’ programme on RTÉ Two, including footage from the match against Scotland in Edinburgh.

IRELAND STUDENTS (v Scotland Students): Richard Walsh (UCC); Steven Kilgallen (UCD), Cian Bohane (UCC) (capt), Paul Kiernan (UCC), Michael Courtney (Dublin University); James Taylor (UCC), Rowan Osborne (Dublin University); Ntinga Mpiko (IT Carlow), Ty Chan (UL), Michael Moynihan (UCD), JJ O’Dea (DCU), Lee Nicholas (University of Limerick), Sam Pim (Dublin University), Paddy Thornton (DCU), Jack O’Sullivan (DBS).

Replacements: Tadgh McCarthy (UCC), James Bollard (DIT), Anton Lupari (University of Ulster), Ryan Murphy (UCC), Alex Penny (UCD), Gerard Treanor (Queen’s University), Fergal Cleary (DIT), Colm Mulcahy (UCD).