Tom Ahern is making the leaps and bounds you might expect from a long-striding 6ft 9ins lock but the Munster second row’s progress through Ireland’s age-grade ranks is just as impressive as his performance levels.

As Joey Carbery and Jacob Stockdale lined up against each other at Ravenhill, it was noted that four years ago, at the time of the 2015 World Cup, neither had made their provincial debuts.

Ireland’s U20s are not about to shy away from talk of history.