Ireland U20s Team Named For World Championship Final

Head Coach Richie Murphy has named his Ireland U20 matchday squad for Friday night’s World Rugby U20 Championship final against France at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town (Kick-off 7pm local time/6pm Irish time).

Murphy has made one change to his starting XV from last weekend’s semi-final win over South Africa, as James McNabney comes back into the back row and Diarmuid Mangan switches to the second row.

Munster’s Ruadhán Quinn and Brian Gleeson start in the back row with Max Clein, George Hadden and Evan O’Connell among the replacements.

Henry McErlean, Andrew Osborne and James Nicholson continue in the back three, with John Devine and Hugh Gavin named in the Ireland midfield. Fintan Gunne and Sam Prendergast are the half-backs.

In the pack, Paddy McCarthy, captain Gus McCarthy and Ronan Foxe are in the front row, with Mangan joining Conor O’Tighearnaigh in the engine room. The returning McNabney is named in the back row alongside Ruadhan Quinn and Brian Gleeson.

Murphy has strong options on the bench, with Max Clein, George Hadden, Fiachna Barrett, Charlie Irvine and Evan O’Connell providing the reinforcements in the pack, while Oscar Cawley, Matty Lynch and Sam Berman complete the matchday 23 for Friday’s decider.

Commenting ahead of the game Murphy said: “The entire group are fully focused on producing our best performance of the season on Friday night because we know we’ll need it against a very strong France team. We have made good progress throughout the tournament but we will need to fine-tune all areas of our game for the final.

“The players and staff are excited about the challenge ahead and we look forward to representing Ireland in the World Rugby U20 Championship final. The level of support we have received from back home throughout has been incredible and a major boost for everyone, and we will do everything to finish the season on the ultimate high.”

Friday’s match is live on Virgin Media Two in Republic of Ireland and on World Rugby platforms where there is no local broadcaster.

Ireland U20s

15. Henry McErlean (Terenure/Leinster)
14. Andrew Osborne (Naas/Leinster)
13. Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
12. John Devine (Corinthians/Connacht)
11. James Nicholson (UCD/Leinster)
10. Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster)
9. Fintan Gunne (Terenure College RFC/Leinster)

1. Paddy McCarthy (Dublin University FC/Leinster)
2. Gus McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)(captain)
3. Ronan Foxe (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
4. Diarmuid Mangan (UCD/Leinster)
5. Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
6. James McNabney (Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
7. Ruadhán Quinn (Old Crescent RFC/Munster)
8. Brian Gleeson (Garryowen/Munster)

Replacements:

16. Max Clein (Garryowen/Munster)
17. George Hadden (Clontarf/Munster)
18. Fiachna Barrett (Corinthians/Connacht)
19. Charlie Irvine (Queen’s University/Ulster)
20. Evan O’Connell (UL Bohemians/Munster)
21. Oscar Cawley (Naas/Leinster)
22. Matthew Lynch (Dublin University/Leinster)
23. Sam Berman (Dublin University/Leinster)