Ireland have named their side for their crucial 9th-12th place semi final against Samoa on Tuesday in the World Rugby U20 Championships.
It is a must win game for Ireland, whose injury ravaged squad lost to Italy, Scotland, and New Zealand in the groups. A defeat to Samoa would leave them facing a relegation play off against the loser of Argentina v Georgia.
Head Coach Peter Malone has made twelve changes to the side that was hammered 69-3 against New Zealand on Thursday as injuries continue to decimate his team.
Paul Boyce makes a return to the side at openside, and takes over the captaincy once again, with Caelan Doris and Gavin Coombes joining him in the back row. Oisin Dowling and Fineen Wycherley are in the second row, with JordanDuggan, Ronan Kelleher, and Peter Cooper in the front row.
Jack Stafford and Conor Dean return and nine and then respectively, while Ciaran Frawley and Gavin Mullin partner up in midfield for the sixth time in 2017. Calvin Nash comes in on the left wing, while Alan Tynan and Michael Silvester retain their spots at full back and on the right wing. Mark Keane could make his debut from the bench after being called up to the squad as an injury replacement.
Speaking ahead of the game, Peter Malone said:
“Things didn’t go to plan in the pool but now it is about digging deep and looking to get a result against Samoa. That’s not going to be easy as they caused problems for their opposition throughout their pool games and we know they’re going to be very physical. The players know what lies ahead tomorrow and they’re very focused, and really up for this game.”
Ireland U20 v Samoa U20 – 9th-12th Place Semi Final, Tuesday 13th June, 10am kick off (BST) – Live on www.worldrugby.org
Ireland U20 XV:
15 Alan Tynan (Young Munster/Munster)
14 Michael Silvester (Dublin University/Leinster)
13 Gavin Mullin (UCD/Leinster)
12 Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster)
11 Calvin Nash (Young Munster/Munster)
10 Conor Dean (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
9 Jack Stafford (Shannon/Munster)
1 Jordan Duggan (Naas/Leinster)
2 Ronan Kelleher (UCD/Leinster)
3 Peter Cooper (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
4 Fineen Wycherley (Young Munster/Munster)
5 Oisin Dowling (Lansdowne/Leinster)
6 Gavin Coombes (Young Munster/Munster)
7 Paul Boyle (Lansdowne/Leinster, captain)
8 Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Replacements: 16 Adam Moloney (Shannon/Munster), 17 Joey Conway (UL Bohemians/Munster), 18 Charlie Connolly (Dublin University/Leinster), 19 Jack Regan (UCD/Leinster), 20 John Foley (Shannon/Munster), 21 Jonny Stewart (Queen’s University/Ulster), 22 David McCarthy (Garryowen/Munster), 23 Mark Keane (Instonians/Ulster).
2017 World Rugby U20 Championship Fixtures & Results (all times BST):
Semi Finals – Tuesday 13th June (1st-4th, 5th-8th, and 9th-12th)
Ireland (10th) v Samoa (11th) – 10am kick off
Argentina (9th) v Georgia (12th) – 12.30pm kick off
Australia (5th) v Italy (8th) – 12.30pm kick off
Scotland (6th) v Wales (7th) – 3pm kick off
England (2nd) v South Africa (3rd) – 3pm kick off
New Zealand (1st) v France (4th) – 5.30pm kick off
Finals – Sunday 18th June
| Round 1 – Wednesday 31st May | ||
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
| Australia 24-17 Wales | Ireland 21-22 Italy | Argentina 37-26 Georgia |
| England 74-17 Samoa | New Zealand 42-20 Scotland | South Africa 23-23 France |
| Round 2 – Sunday 4th June | ||
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
| Australia 33-26 Samoa | Ireland 28-32 Scotland | Argentina 25-26 France |
| England 34-22 Wales | New Zealand 68-26 Italy | South Africa 38-14 Georgia |
| Round 3 – Thursday 8th June | ||
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
| England 20-19 Australia | Ireland 3-69 New Zealand | Argentina 14-72 South Africa |
| Wales 54-20 Samoa | Scotland 17-16 Italy | France 54-0 Georgia |
2017 World Rugby U20 Championship Final Group Standings:
| Group A | |||||||
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BP | Points |
| 1 | England | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Wales | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Samoa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Group B | |||||||
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BP | Points |
| 1 | New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| 2 | Scotland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | Italy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Ireland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Group C | |||||||
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BP | Points |
| 1 | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 2 | France | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| 3 | Argentina | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Georgia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |