The schedule for the U18 International Series, beginning on Monday 12th August, has been reconfigured after France’s withdrawal following the tragic news that one of their players, Medhi Narjissi, had been swept out to sea earlier in the week.
Understandably, France withdrew shortly after and returned home on Friday with the thought of the entire rugby community with them and the family of Narjissi.
With that, the number of fixtures per matchday has moved from three to two, with organisers keen to ensure as little disruption to the travelling teams as possible. That means that England, Ireland, and Georgia will all still play three games, while South Africa will play two, and South Africa A one.
The changes mean that on matchday 1 the South Africa v France fixture is cancelled, England v Ireland and South Africa A v Georgia go ahead as planned.
On matchday 2, Friday 16th August, England will now play Georgia instead of France, with Georgia’s second game against S.A. A cancelled, South Africa v Ireland goes ahead as scheduled.
The final matchday, Tuesday 20th August, sees South Africa v England go ahead as schedule, while Ireland v South Africa A and France v Georgia are both cancelled, instead Ireland and Georgia will meet.
Ireland were one of the last sides to announce their squad, revealing the travelling party only on Saturday morning ahead of Monday’s kick off. The squad consists of six Munster players, two Connacht players, and four Ulster players, and a whopping fourteen players from Leinster. Head Coach Michael Hodge has named Blackrock College superstar Charlie Molony as skipper for the tour.
Updated U18 International Series Fixtures (all times BST)
Monday 12th August (Stellenberg High School)
12.30pm England v Ireland
2.30pm South Africa A v Georgia
Friday 16th August (Paarl Gimnasium)
12.30pm Georgia v England
2.30pm South Africa v Ireland
Tuesday 20th August (Paarl Boys High)
12.30pm South Africa v England
2.30pm Ireland v Georgia
Ireland U18 Squad
Bill Hayes (CC Roscrea College/Munster Rugby)
Blake McClean (RBAI/Ulster Rugby)
Brian O’Flaherty (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
Charlie Meagher (CBC Monkstown/Leinster Rugby)
Charlie Molony (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
Christopher Barrett (CBC Cork/Munster Rugby)
Conor Magee (Banbridge Academy/Ulster Rugby)
Conor O’Shaughnessy (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
Diarmaid O’Connell (Carrick on Shannon RFC/Sligo Grammar/Connacht Rugby)
Donnacha McGuire (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
Dylan McNeice (St. Michael’s College/Leinster Rugby)
Jack Deegan (CC Roscrea College/Leinster Rugby)
James O’Dwyer (Gonzaga College/Leinster Rugby)
James O’Leary (PBC Cork/Munster Rugby)
Jamie Conway (Castletroy College/Munster Rugby)
Joe Finn (Roscrea College/Munster Rugby)
Johnny O’Sullivan (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
Josh Gibson (RBAI/Ulster Rugby)
Luke McLaughlin (Gonzaga College/Leinster Rugby)
Max Doyle (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster Rugby)
Michael Walsh (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
Noah Byrne (Gonzaga College/Leinster Rugby)
Sami Bishti (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
Sean Walsh (Colaiste Einde/ Corinthians RFC/Connacht Rugby)
Thomas Dougan (Royal School Armagh/Ulster Rugby)
Tom Wood (St. Munchins College/Munster Rugby)