Wales and Ireland have named their sides for their 2023 U20 Six Nations opener in Colwyn Bay on Friday night.
The two sides meet in a 7pm kick off that will be shown on BBC iPLayer, S4C, and Virgin Media Two as Ireland begin their defence of Six Nations crown after winning the Grand Slam in 2022.
Ireland Head Coach Gus McCarthy has named three players that featured in that Grand Slam winning campaign in Friday night’s starting XV, Leinster second row pair Diarmuid Mangan and Conor O’Tighearnaigh, and Ulster blindside James McNabney. Alongside those three are three players that featured in the U20 Six Nations Summer Series last year, Leinster fly half Sam Prendergast, clubmate George Hadden at loosehead, and Connacht’s Harry West, who is on the bench.
Alongside Prendergast is his Leinster teammate Fintan Gunne at scrum half, while in the centres it’s a Connacht/Leinster pairing of John Devine and Hugh Cooney. The back three sees Leinster’s James Nicholson at full back, Connacht’s Hugh Gavin on the left wing, and La Rochelle’s Ike Anagu, a product of the IQ Rugby system, is on the right.
The side is actually led by one of the less experienced heads, Leinster’s Gus McCarthy, who is joined by the aforementioned Hadden at loosehead and namesake and club colleague Paddy McCarthy at tighthead. Behind the experienced second row pair and alongside McNabney in the back row are Munster pair Ruadhán Quinn and Brian Gleeson. The bench meanwhile features three Munstermen, Danny Sheahan, Evan O’Connell, and Jacob Sheahan, as well as three Leinstermen, George Morris, Oscar Cawley, and Henry McErlan, plus two Connacht players, Fiachna Barrett and the aforementioned West.
Wales head Coach Bryon Hayward has meanwhile got four players returning with U20 experience, including skipper and blindside flanker Ryan Woodman of the Dragons, with Cardiff Rugby full back Cameron Winnett, and Ospreys pair Harri Houston on the left wing and Dan Edwards at fly half.
Elsewhere in the backlines, Scarlets’ Archie Hughes is at scrum half, with Ospreys Llien Morgan on the right wing, Dragons’ Harri Ackerman at inside centre, and Bath Rugby rising star Louie Hennessey at outside centre.
In the pack, former Kirkham Grammar School man Huw Davies of Sale Sharks is at number 8 alongside Woodman and Scarlets’ Luca Giannini, while in the second row Ospreys’ Liam Edwards is partnered by Harlequins Jonny Green, a real rising star since his Seaford College days. In the front row Dragons pair Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths and Sam Scarfe are joined by Scarlets’ Tomas Pritchard.
On the bench three Ospreys will await their chance, Freddie Chapman, Ellis Fackrell, and Tom Florence, with two from Cardiff Rugby, Harrison James and Mackenzie Martin, two Scarlets, Osaac Young and Harri Williams, and Owain Evans of RGC.
Speaking ahead of the game, Hayward said: “By and large it is full strength squad, we’ve got three players who are injured in Morgan Morse, Bryn Bradley and Oli Andrew but we are in a good place and we’re looking forward to the game on Friday. Oli was probably one of our best players last season, but he’s out and Llien Morgan has come in and played exceptionally well against Poland and deserves his opportunity to start. I think we have a strong backline which is experienced at this level and provided we can get enough possession we can cause Ireland some problems.”
“They will be a massive challenge as they are Grand Slam champions. Irish rugby is flourishing at the moment and has been for a number of years. But it is a challenge we are looking forward too. The reason you are in sport is because you want to play against the best and we face the best team first up. The boys did play some exceptional rugby against Poland and hopefully that translates to a few more ticket sales. I have no doubt the boys will be competitive this year and we are in a far better place than we were 12 months ago. We have a good preparation going into the championship and as a result I expect us to be competitive against everyone this year.”
His counterpart McCarthy meanwhile said: “We are excited to get the Six Nations underway in Wales on Friday night, following a good period of preparation for the group. The squad have come together well over the last couple of weeks, gelling both on and off the pitch, and we have now turned the focus this week to performance.”
Wales U20 v Ireland U20: CSM Stadium, Friday, 7pm
Wales XV
15 Cameron Winnett (Cardiff Rugby), 14 Llien Morgan (Ospreys), 13 Louie Hennessey (Bath Rugby), 12 Harri Ackerman (Dragons), 11 Harri Houston ((Ospreys), 10 Dan Edwards (Ospreys), 9 Archie Hughes (Scarlets), 1 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths (Dragons), 2 Sam Scarfe (Dragons), 3 Tomas Pritchard (Scarlets), 4 Liam Edwards (Ospreys), 5 Jonny Green (Harlequins), 6 Ryan Woodman (Dragons, captain), 7 Luca Giannini (Scarlets), 8 Huw Davies (Sale).
Replacements: 16 Isaac Young (Scarlets), 17 Freddie Chapman (Ospreys), 18 Ellis Fackrell (Ospreys), 19 Owain Evans (RGC), 20 Mackenzie Martin (Cardiff Rugby), 21 Harri Williams (Scarlets), 22 Harrison James (Cardiff Rugby), 23 Tom Florence (Ospreys).
Ireland XV
15 James Nicholson (UCD/Leinster), 14 Ike Anagu (La Rochelle/IQ Rugby), 13 Hugh Cooney (Clontarf/Leinster), 12 John Devine (Corinthians/Connacht), 11 Hugh Gavin (Galwegians/Connacht), 10 Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster), 9 Fintan Gunne (Terenure/Leinster), 1 George Hadden (Clontarf/Leinster), 2 Gus McCarthy (UCD/Leinster, captain), 3 Paddy McCarthy (DUFC/Leinster), 4 Diarmuid Mangan (UCD/Leinster), 5 Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD/Leinster), 6 James McNabney (Ballymena/Ulster), 7 Ruadhán Quinn (Old Crescent/Munster), 8 Brian Gleeson (Garryowen/Munster).
Replacements: 16 Danny Sheahan (UCC/Munster), 17 George Morris (Lansdowne/Leinster), 18 Fiachna Barrett (Corinthians/Connacht), 19 Evan O’Connell (UL Bohemians/Munster), 20 Jacob Sheahan (UCC/Munster), 21 Oscar Cawley (Naas/Leinster), 22 Harry West (Buccaneers/Connacht), 23 Henry McErlean (Terenure/Leinster).
