The party will be whittled down to 28 before departure for Santa Fe, via Amsterdam and Buenos Aires. Ireland face England, Australia and Italy in their pool: a tough task.

Jim Stokes has been synonymous with Ulster rugby for over three decades.

Ireland Under-20 Grand Slam winner Rob Russell got among the tries as Dublin University claimed the scalp of All-Ireland League leaders Cork Constitution to take a step closer to a historic semi-final place.

Three teams in the lower half of All-Ireland League Division 1A all won on Saturday

Ireland, ever-present in the tournament since it started in Wales in 2008, will face a baptism of fire this evening when they open their World Rugby U20 Championship campaign against France at Stade Aime Giral.

Terenure College and Garryowen were the big winners on the final day of Division 1A’s regular season, setting up semi-final clashes with defending champions Cork Constitution and table-topping Lansdowne respectively.

Lansdowne continue to look the team to beat in Ulster Bank League Division 1A after winning at Tom Clifford Park for the first time since 2011, while defending champions Cork Constitution have leapfrogged Terenure College in pursuit of the second home semi-final berth.

The prospect of an Irish U20s jersey must have seemed a distant dream to a 16-year-old Tom O’Toole, as he looked out the window of Campbell College, in Belfast, on his first night at the school, and thought about the family he had left 10,000 miles behind, in Australia.

Naomi Carroll’s goal 15 minutes from time saw Cork Harlequins record another marquee win on the road as they beat Ulster’s finest, Pegasus, 2-1 at Queen’s in the women’s EY Hockey League.

Ireland’s representatives at the U20s grade haven’t exactly made Donnybrook a fortress since swapping Dubarry Park for the Dublin venue midway through the 2015 Six Nations campaign.

It’s the job of the Ireland U20s coach to push and prod the players of tomorrow further down the development line but Noel McNamara found himself talking about one from the past yesterday.

Cork Constitution 26 Buccaneers 0: Gerry Hurley was thrilled to have participated in one of Cork Constitution’s most impressive Ulster Bank League performances of the season at Temple Hill on Saturday.

Munster Development XV 10 Ireland U20 26: Two tries in the dying minutes by right winger Peter Sullivan gave Ireland U20 a flattering 26-10 victory over a Munster Development XV in a hard-fought but scrappy encounter at Thomond Park yesterday.

Four Irish hopefuls will begin their final journey towards a European Tour card in the last Qualifying School stage at Lumine, Spain, today.

Three Irish stars made it through to the second stage of the European Tour qualifying school after top-20 finishes at Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire.

Joe Schmidt’s young son Tim scored the bonus point try for Terenure College as they won their Dublin 6W derby with St. Mary’s College to continue their excellent start.

Skerries teenager Ciaran Frawley converted four of UCD’s five tries and kicked a penalty as they dished out a 36-8 derby defeat to Dublin University, moving to the top of Ulster Bank League Division 1A in the process.

Joe Schmidt said that the five uncapped players who have made it into the squad for the first game of the summer tour against the USA on Saturday evening deserve their chance.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Table-toppers Lansdowne and defending champions Clontarf will have home advantage in the Division 1A semi-finals after a tumultuous final day in the Ulster Bank League.

Ulster Bank All-Ireland League: Lansdowne will enjoy the festive period that little bit more than their Division 1A rivals after defeating Young Munster 30-24 in a supercharged top of the table clash on Saturday.

A look ahead to today’s action in Divisions 1A and 1B...

Boxing chiefs have conceded that suspended fighter Michael O’Reilly is unlikely to clear his name in time to make his first bout following a failed doping test.

If Steven Donnelly reflects the opinion of the rest of Ireland’s Olympic boxers, the Michael O’Reilly affair has had no more impact than the punches of the Algerian he beat yesterday.

Coach Nigel Carolan has urged his men to play the game and not the occasion when they take on England this evening (7pm) in the World Rugby U20 Championship at the AJ Bell Stadium in Greater Manchester.

Ireland 37 Argentina 7: Irish coach Nigel Carolan says they will treat next Saturday’s World Rugby U-20 Championship final in much the same way as they have approached every other game in the tournament and try not to dwell on the significance of their appearance.

Ireland 33 New Zealand 24: As winger Malo Tuitama raced in for his second try to cut the gap to six points with as many minutes remaining, up on the press bench we started preparing another hard luck story for Irish rugby against New Zealand.

Some big knockout action takes place today...

Brett Connon is used to the sound of Callum Chick’s voice. Clubmates at Newcastle Falcons, the pair are housemates as well.