Full back Ross McCarron has been forced to pull out of the Ireland Under 21 team to play France in Thomond Park, Limerick at 7.30pm tonight due to injury.

The Ireland Under 21 team to play against France at Thomond Park in Limerick tomorrow has been named.

The Ireland Under 21 squad to play against France at Thomond Park on Friday at 7.30pm has been named.

Ireland make five changes to the Under 21 team which lost to Scotland as they play England at Donnybrook on Friday at 4pm.

The following is the Ireland U21 team, with replacements, to meet Scotland at Falkirk on Friday evening (7.30).

Italy Under-21s 21 Ireland Under-21s 33

With the RBS Six Nations Championship occupying everybody’s thoughts, the Ireland under 21s will be opening their Six Nations Championship away to Italy in Udine (110km from Venice) this Saturday.

The Irish under-21s will have their first competitive outings this season when they take on two French regional selections in Paris.

Despite a late come-back from Scotland, the Ireland Under 19s kept their composure to hold on for a 28-22 victory at the IRB/FIRA World Championships at Creteil, Paris, yesterday.

The Irish Under 19s will play their Welsh counterparts in Stradey Park tonight at 7pm.