Different coach, new mission, same script as Ireland U20s get campaign underway

'We have licence to play what we see in front of us, play heads up rugby'

Sat, 19 Jun, 2021 - 06:00

Simon Lewis

Ireland U20s embark on the 2021 Six Nations with a different coach and new mission as they prepare to face Scotland Saturday afternoon in their championship opener at Cardiff Arms Park. Do not, however, expect Richie Murphy’s squad to veer too far from the script that earned a Grand Slam in 2019 and took them to the cusp of another last year before Covid-19 denied them with two rounds remaining.

That was the work of former head coach Noel McNamara and, as is the way with age-grade rugby, a different group of 20s but there are some constants in personnel and one of them, centre Cathal Forde, sees continuity in the style of Ireland’s play that proved so irresistible for Irish supporters and players in the past two seasons.