Ireland name 30-player squad for World Rugby U20 Championship

Richie Murphy has named his Ireland U20s squad for the upcoming World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa. Ireland have been paired in Pool B alongside England, Australia and Fiji

Wed, 14 Jun, 2023 - 12:00

Cian Locke

Richie Murphy has named his Ireland U20s squad for the upcoming World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa.

26 of the 30-player squad for South Africa featured in the Grand Slam-winning U20 Six Nations campaign earlier this season.

Forwards Ronan Foxe, Max Clein and Dan Barron and scrum-half Jack Oliver are the four uncapped players in the travelling party, with Leinster hooker Gus McCarthy continuing to captain the side he led to Grand Slam glory.

Ireland have been paired in Pool B alongside England, Australia and Fiji, with Murphy’s side playing all three of their Pool matches at Paarl Gymnasium in the Western Cape.

The tournament, taking place in the Cape Town region, returns for the first time since 2019, and runs from 24 June to 14 July.

Ireland open their campaign against England on Saturday, June 24 (12.30pm Irish time), before facing Australia on on Thursday, June 29 (10am Irish time) and Fiji on Tuesday, July 4 (12.30pm Irish time).

Speaking ahead of the squad’s departure for South Africa, Murphy said: “It is an exciting time for the squad as we prepare to depart for South Africa for the World Rugby U20 Championship. It has been four years since the last edition of the tournament and we’re looking forward to getting to Cape Town to test ourselves against the world’s best teams.

“It has been a competitive couple of weeks as the squad have pushed each other in preparation for the tournament and we know we’ll need to grow and evolve as a team from the Six Nations for what will be a challenging couple of weeks against quality opposition in South Africa.”

Murphy also confirmed his coaching staff for the tournament, with Mark Sexton (Backs and Attack) and Aaron Dundon (Scrum and Contact) continuing in their roles, while Andrew Browne joins as Defence and Lineout Coach as Willie Faloon is unable to travel due to personal reasons.

World Rugby will confirm broadcast details for the World Rugby U20 Championship shortly, while there will be coverage of Ireland’s progress throughout the tournament on IrishRugby.ie and Irish Rugby social media platforms.

Ireland U20s Squad

Forwards (17):

George Hadden (Clontarf/Leinster)

George Morris (Lansdowne/Leinster)

Gus McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)

Max Clein (Garryowen/Munster)*

Danny Sheahan (UCC/Munster)

Paddy McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster)

Fiachna Barrett (Corinthians/Connacht)

Ronan Foxe (Old Belvedere/Leinster)*

Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD/Leinster)

Charlie Irvine (Queen’s University/Ulster)