Ireland U-19 team to play Italy announced

The Ireland U-19 team will begin their international season this Saturday with a match against Italy in Malahide RFC, Dublin.

Wed, 19 Mar, 2008 - 16:32

The Ireland U-19 team will begin their international season this Saturday with a match against Italy in Malahide RFC, Dublin.

The Ireland U-19s are the first level where players from the schools and youth systems come together and will be coached again by Charlie McAleese and Booby Byrne.

This season’s squad has had half a dozen arduous weekend training camps over the last four months and has remained undefeated through a successful set of warm-up games against Irish Colleges (13-12), a UCD XV (38-0) and an Ulster Academy XV (31-0), as well as a conditioned match against Ireland Schools.

Competition for places in the team has been intense and Manager John McKibbin paid tribute to the commitment and work that all the players in the squad had put in, both those fortunate to be selected and those who did not make the cut.

“Selection has been very difficult as we have been working with a squad of approximately 30 players, all of whom have impressed both during sessions and in the warm-up games,” he said.

“I can honestly say that all have fronted up and made strong cases to be picked. Unfortunately coaches Charlie McAleese and Bobby Byrne can only pick 15 on a team and the following players will represent Ireland on Saturday.”

The team is captained by Peter O’Mahoney, who was also captain of the Ireland Schools team last season.

The side also includes Ciaran Ruddock in the second row, son of former Leinster and Wales head coach Mick Ruddock, who is currently in charge of Premiership side Worcester.

The replacements also contain the winning schools team captains from Ulster and Leinster, Adam Macklin (Methody College) and Thomas Sexton (Belvedere College).

The Ireland U19 team to play Italy U19 in Malahide RFC on Saturday at 11.00am is as follows:

15 - David McIlwaine

14 - Johnny Shiels

13 - Gary Foley

12 - Shane Gahan

11 - Kyle Kirkpatrick

10 - Andrew Burke

9 - Conor Murray

1 - Gavin Duffy

2 - David McGregor

3 - Alan Whitten

4 - Ciaran Ruddock