New Ireland U20 captain Kendellen can call on wealth of experience

The former Cork PBC skipper will captain his country in Wales later this month.

Munster's Alex Kendellen Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

Alex Kendellen may have been a Kieran Read fan as a young back-row hopeful but it is the influence of those closer to him which is proving most beneficial to the new Ireland U20 captain ahead of the 2021 Six Nations Championship.

People like the now-retired Billy Holland and another Munster hero, Denis Leamy, Ireland U20 forwards coach whose rugby brain and experience Kendellen, 20, has tapped into ahead of this Saturday’s Championship opener against Scotland at Cardiff Arms Park.