Four Munster Players In Ireland U-20 Squad

Four Munster players have been named in the extended 30-man Ireland U-20 squad, sponsored by PwC, ahead of their 2015 RBS U-20 6 Nations campaign.

Shannon trio Greg O'Shea, Stephen Fitzgerald and Jack Cullen are named among the backs while former Rockwell College hooker Seán McNulty is also included in the squad.

Former Ardscoil Rís full-back Fitzgerald made his Munster debut in the pre-season friendly away to Gloucester in August 2014 and captained the Munster U-20s in the Interprovincial series in September.

Flying winger O'Shea was part of the Crescent College side that won the SEAT Munster Schools Senior Cup in March 2013. He also made his Munster bow against Gloucester in August 2014, along with playing for the Munster U-20s this season.

Scrum-half Cullen started against France for the Ireland U-20's in last season's Six Nations and came off the bench in three of Ireland U-20s' other games.

UCD's McNulty also featured for the Ireland U-20s last season after impressing for the Munster U-19s as they were pipped to the Interprovincial title by a last-minute converted try by Connacht in their final game.

Cullen and McNulty are two of eight players named in the squad with previous 6 nations experience, in addition, a further three players played in the 2014 Junior World Championship, Billy Dardis, Ciaran Gaffney and Josh Murphy.

The side will be captained by Nick McCarthy.

Speaking ahead of the Tournament, Head Coach Nigel Carolan said "The squad sees a great mixture of new faces and those with experience at this level from last season. We have been really impressed by the attitude of the players, both on and off the field. Their enthusiasm and attention to detail has been second to none.

"The warm up games against the provincial development sides over Christmas have provided the opportunity to develop our game and confirm the potential within our player group.

"We are looking forward to getting the campaign underway with our opening game away to Italy.”

Ireland have two home games this year, they will take on France in Dubarry Park, Athlone on Friday, 13th February.

Ireland U20's will play their English counterparts in Donnybrook stadium on Friday 28th February, the first time the age grade play in the capital since 2005.

Ireland U-20 Squad, RBS 6 Nations 2015
Samuel Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Harrison Brewer (Terenure/Leinster)*
Ross Byrne (UCD RFC/Leinster)*
Joey Carbery (UCD/Leinster)
Fergal Cleary (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Jack Cullen (Shannon /Munster)*
Billy Dardis (UCD/Leinster) *
Lorcan Dow (Queens/Ulster)
Jack Dwan (Leinster)
Stephen Fitzgerald (Shannon/Munster)
Ciaran Gaffney (Galwegians/Connacht) *
Oisin Heffernan (Terenure/Leinster)*
Michael Lagan (Ballymena/Ulster)
Jeremy Lougman (UCD/Leinster)
Zac McCall (Queens University/Ulster)
Nicolas McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)*
Seán McNulty (UCD/Munster)*
Stephen McVeigh (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Rory Moloney (Buccaneers/Connacht)*
Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster) *
David O'Connor (St. Mary's/Leinster)
Conan O'Donnell (Sligo/Connacht)
Conor Oliver (St. Mary's/Leinster)
Greg O'Shea (Shannon/Munster)
Jack Owens (Queens University/Ulster)
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)*
Cian Romaine (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Jacob Stockdale (Queens University/Ulster)
Alexander Thompson (Queens University/Ulster)
Nick Timoney (St. Mary's/Leinster)

*Denotes previously capped at this level

Ireland Under-20 Management Team
Nigel Carolan – Head Coach
Colin McEntee – Assistant Coach / High Performance Manager
John Fogarty – Assistant Coach / Scrum Coach
Steven Aboud – Assistant Coach/ Head of Technical Direction
Hendrik Kruger – Team Manager
Sinéad Bennett – Squad Co-ordinator
Garrett Coughlan – Physio
Will Duggan – Doctor
Eamonn Flanagan – Strength and Conditioning Coach
Lar Hogan – Baggage Master
Gareth Rossi – Massage Therapist
Jim Herring – Performance Analyst
Maria Boland – Media Officer

RBS 6 Nations Ireland Under-20 Fixtures

Fri 6 Feb 19:00 Italy U20 v Ireland U20 Stadio Pozzi Lamarmora
Fri 13 Feb 19:05 Ireland U20 v France U20 Dubarry Park
Fri 27 Feb 19:05 Ireland U20 v England U20 Donnybrook
Fri 13 Mar 19:45 Wales U20 v Ireland U20 Parc Eirias
Fri 20 Mar 19:30 Scotland U20 v Ireland U20 Netherdale