Ireland U-20 squad named

An Ireland U-20 squad of 26 players has been named for the forthcoming U-20 RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Coach Allen Clarke, has named 14 forwards and 12 backs in the squad with seven players having previously lined out for the U-20's including recent Leinster debutant, Rhys Ruddock.

Ireland open their campaign with a fixture against Italy on Friday February 5 and will again make Dubarry Park in Athlone their home for the tournament.

Speaking of his selection Clarke said: "Tthe attitude of the players has been excellent, both in their individual attention and motivation while developing with their provincial rugby and fitness coaches and while playing for their clubs.

"The warm up games against the Provincial Development sides have provided the opportunity to develop our game and identify the areas we need to improve.

'We all recognize the potential of the squad while respecting the challenges ahead, the first of which is to start the Six Nations campaign against Italy at home with a good performance. Being the first game of the championship means we have little knowledge of the opposition so our concentration is to be accurate with and without the ball."

Ireland U-20 RBS 6 nations squad (* denotes previously capped player at U-20 level):

Backs -

Andrew Conway (Blackrock/Leinster)

John Cooney (UCD/Leinster)*

Eoin Griffin (Corinthians/Connacht)

Michael Heaney (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)

Darren Hudson (St. Mary's /Leinster)

Brian Kingston (Blackrock/Leinster)

Brendan Macken (Blackrock/Leinster)

James McKinney (Queens/Ulster)

David McSharry (UCD/Leinster)

Tiernan O'Halloran (Galwegians/Connacht)

Nevin Spence (Ballynahinch/Ulster)*

Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)

Forwards-

Niall Annett (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)

Denis Buckley (Corinthians/Connacht)

Patrick Butler (Shannon/Munster)

Bryan Cagney (UCC/Munster)

David Doyle (UCD/Leinster)

Brian Hayes (Cork Constitution/Munster)*

Stewart Maguire (Old Belvedere/Leinster)

Ben Marshall (UCD/Leinster)

Jordi Murphy (Blackrock/Leinster)

Robin O'Sullivan (Bective/Leinster)

David O'Callaghan (UCC/Munster)*

Jack O'Connell (Lansdowne/Leinster)*

Rhys Ruddock (UCD/Leinster)*

Dominic Ryan (Lansdowne/Leinster)*