Ireland prepare for battle without Ross Byrne

Ireland coach Nigel Carolan admits the loss of experienced out-half Ross Byrne is a huge blow ahead of their World Rugby U20 Championship campaign but he is confident they have the strength in the squad to cope.

Byrne, who played in last year’s tournament in New Zealand and who started all five games in this year’s Six Nations, has withdrawn with a back injury.

“It is a big blow to Ross and to the squad. He was a key player in the Six Nations and at last year’s World Cup. But it is the nature of the sport that injuries happen and you deal with them,” said Carolan.

He has drafted in Cork Con’s Tomas Quinlan, who is one of two uncapped players in the 28-man squad — former Blackrock College captain and scrum-half Charlie Rock is the other — for the tournament which begins for Ireland tomorrow in Parma against Argentina. Joey Carbery of UCD and Lansdowne’s Fergal Cleary are front-runners to take over from Byrne at out-half. Ireland will also play Scotland and New Zealand in the pool games and will also have two more games in the play-off stages when they will try to surpass last year’s fourth place finish.

Carolan said that Byrne would not have started all five games as he will be rotating players to ensure they meet the demands of playing so many matches in 19 days.

“Ross wouldn’t have started all the games in any event. It is a demanding schedule so using all resources is key. We have a good squad and have good options,” added Carolan.

Quinlan was in the squad for a recent trip to play France in a warm-up game and is familiar with the set-up. Carolan explained: “We track players on an ongoing basis and have a number of players on standby in case we need them. Four of them featured in the Six Nations, it is impossible to accommodate them all and sometimes you select players who can cover a number of positions or give options. They are very tight calls.”