Ireland have named their side for Friday night’s U20 Six Nations opener against Wales.
The game takes place at Musgrave Park, kicking off at 8pm, and will be shown live on BBC iPlayer as Ireland look for a repeat of last year’s dominant victory.
Reuben Crothers, the Ulster openside, captains the side and is one of four players that played in those 2021 Championships. Joining him with U20 experience in the forward pack are Leinster’s Mark Morrissey and Jack Boyle, at lock and loosehead respectively, while in the backline Bristol Bears’ Chay Mullins also returns.
Joining Crothers in the back row is his Ulster colleague James McNabney, with Leinster James Culhane at number 8. Morrissey has his Leinster clubmate Conor O’Tighearnaigh alongside him in the second row, while Boyle is joined in the front row by Ulster pair James McCormick and Scott Wilson.
In the back three Mullins sees Shane Mallon of Leinster on the other wing, with Munster’s Patrick Campbell at full back. The centre pairing is all Leinster, Ben Brownlee and Fionn Gibbons, with their club colleague Charlie Tector at fly half, and Connacht’s Matthew Decine at scrum half.
On the bench are two Ulster players, Josh Hanlon and Adam McNamee, as well as three Munstermen, Ronan O’Sullivan, Ethan Coughlan, and Tony Butler, plus three from Leinster, Oisin Michel, Rory McGuire, and Aitzol King.
Speaking ahead of the game Ireland U20 Head Coach Richie Murphy said: “We have been building towards Friday for a number of weeks now and the group have put in a huge amount of work in preparation for the Six Nations, We’re excited about the challenges ahead, starting with the visit of Wales to Musgrave Park under Friday night lights.”
“The prospect of returning to Cork and playing in front of a big crowd, including family and friends, is a really exciting one for the players and the management team.”
Ireland U20 XV v Wales – Friday, 8pm, Musgrave Park
15 Patrick Campbell (Young Munster RFC/Munster), 14 Chay Mullins (Bristol Bears/IQ Rugby), 13 Fionn Gibbons (UCD RFC/Leinster), 12 Ben Brownlee (Blackrock College/Leinster), 11 Shane Mallon (UCD RFC/Leinster), 10 Charlie Tector (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), 9 Matthew Devine (Corinthians RFC/Connacht), 1 Jack Boyle (UCD/Leinster), 2 James McCormick (Ballymena RFC/Ulster), 3 Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster), 4 Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster), 5 Mark Morrissey (UCD RFC/Leinster), 6 James McNabney (Ballymena RFC/Ulster), 7 Reuben Crothers (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster, captain), 8 James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster).
Replacements: 16 Josh Hanlon (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster), 17 Oisin Michel (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), 18 Rory McGuire (UCD/Leinster), 19 Adam McNamee (Malone RFC/Ulster), 20 Ronan O’Sullivan (Highfield RFC/Munster), 21 Ethan Coughlan (Shannon RFC/Munster), 22 Tony Butler (Garryowen FC/Munster), 23 Aitzol King (Clontarf FC/Leinster).
