Ireland U-20 Team Named For Scottish Game

Head coach Nigel Carolan has made four changes to the side that overcame Argentina 18-16 in their opening Pool C outing on Tuesday.
 
Galwegians clubman Ciaran Gaffney is named on the right wing having recovered from an ankle injury he picked up before the first game. He joins Stephen Fitzgerald and Billy Dardis in the back-three.

The rest of the back-line is unchanged with Garry Ringrose and Sam Arnold continuing in the centre and captain Nick McCarthy and Joey Carbery, the scorer of five penalties against Argentina, combine again at half-back.

There are two alterations to the front row where UCD and Leinster duo Andrew Porter and Sean McNulty (pictured below) make their first starts at Under-20 level, packing down alongside Terenure tighthead Oisin Heffernan.

David O’Connor and Alex Thompson link up once more in the second row, while flanker Conor Oliver, a new member of the Munster Academy for 2015/16, comes into the back row alongside Josh Murphy and number 8 Lorcan Dow.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s encounter with Scotland, who lost 68-10 to New Zealand in their pool opener, Carolan said: “We had a shaky start to the tournament but it’s good to have the win under our belt.

“We narrowly lost (17-10) to Scotland during the Six Nations this year so we are aware of the challenge ahead of us. We know we have a tough battle on our hands, but that’s what we have prepared for. We are all looking forward to the game and hopefully we can perform to our potential.”

The round 2 match in Calvisano will be shown live on TG4 and BT Sport 2.

IRELAND UNDER-20 Team & Replacements (v Scotland Under-20s, 2015 World Rugby Under-20 Championship – Pool C, Stadio San Michele, Calvisano, Saturday, June 6, kick-off 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time):
 
15. Billy Dardis (UCD/Leinster)
14. Ciaran Gaffney (Galwegians/Connacht)
13. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)
12. Sam Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
11. Stephen Fitzgerald (Shannon/Munster)
10. Joey Carbery (UCD/Leinster)
9. Nick McCarthy (UCD/Leinster) (capt)
1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)
2. Sean McNulty (UCD/Leinster)
3. Oisin Heffernan (Terenure College/Leinster)
4. David O’Connor (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
5. Alex Thompson (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
6. Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster)
7. Conor Oliver (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
8. Lorcan Dow (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
 
Replacements:

16. Zack McCall (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
17. Liam O’Connor (Cork Constitution/Munster) *
18. Conan O’Donnell (Sligo/NUIG/Connacht)
19. Jack Dwan (UCD/Leinster)
20. Nick Timoney (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
21. Charlie Rock (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
22. Tomás Quinlan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
23. Jacob Stockdale (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)

* Denotes uncapped player at Under-20 international level

WORLD RUGBY UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP POOLS –

POOL A – England, France, Wales, Japan
POOL B – South Africa, Australia, Samoa, Italy
POOL C – New Zealand, Ireland, Argentina, Scotland

IRELAND U-20 FIXTURES/RESULTS:

Ireland Under-20s 18 Argentina Under-20s 16, Parma, Tuesday, June 2
Ireland Under-20s v Scotland Under-20s, Calvisano, Saturday, June 6, kick-off 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time (live on TG4/BT Sport 2)
New Zealand Under-20s v Ireland Under-20s, Viadana, Wednesday, June 10, kick-off 8.30pm local time/7.30pm Irish time (live on TG4/BT Sport 2)

Match Day 4: Play-offs and semi-finals, Monday, June 15
Match Day 5: Play-offs and final, Saturday, June 20