Ireland coach Richie Murphy names 32-man squad for Under-20 Six Nations

Ireland head coach Richie Murphy has named a 32-man squad for the upcoming Under-20 Six Nations Championship that includes seven players who were involved in last year’s tournament and/or the Under-20 Summer Series in Italy.

Hooker Gus McCarthy, who captained Blackrock to the Leinster Schools Senior Cup title last season, will lead the Irish side that begins its campaign in Colwyn Bay – they completed a Six Nations Grand Slam at the Welsh venue in 2019 under the then head coach Noel McNamara – on Friday, February 3rd.

Aaron Dundon will join Murphy’s coaching team as scrum and contract coach, while Mark Sexton (backs and attack) and Willie Faloon reprise their roles from last year.

Leinster duo Diarmuid Mangan and Conor O’Tighearnaigh, as well as Ulster backrow James McNabney, were part of last season’s Grand Slam winning squad, while a further four players, Sam Prendergast (outhalf), younger brother of Connacht’s Cian, Charlie Irvine (secondrow), Harry West (outhalf) and George Hadden (prop) featured in the Under-20 Summer Series in Italy last June.

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Danny and Jacob Sheahan are nephews of former Munster and Ireland hooker, Frankie, Evan O’Connell is a nephew of Ireland forwards’ coach, Paul, Paddy McCarthy is the younger brother of Leinster and Ireland secondrow Joe, while John Devine is a younger brother to last year’s Grand Slam winning scrumhalf, Matthew.

Ruadhán Quinn became the youngest player to line out for Munster in a senior competitive game in the professional era at the tender age of 18, when coming on as a replacement against Zebre.

The squad have enjoyed a series of camps at the High Performance Centre (HPC) while also playing matches against Italy and Munster and Leinster Development XVs. Ireland will play their two home games in the tournament, in the second round of fixtures against France, and the final match against England, at Musgrave Park. Three of their games will be shown on RTE, the other two on Virgin Media.

Murphy said: “We have been working hard and it’s an exciting time for these young players, who have the honour of representing the wider group in the Six Nations.

“We as coaches have pushed the players over the last number of months and I have been impressed by their work-rate, commitment and application. Now our focus turns to performance and the opening game against Wales, which we know will be a big challenge first up.

“We are looking forward to the opportunities over the coming weeks and are excited by the prospect of an Ireland U-20s team returning to Six Nations action at Musgrave Park in Cork, where we always have huge support.”

Tickets for Ireland’s home matches at Musgrave Park are available to purchase now via Ticketmaster.ie.

Ireland Under-20s Squad (forwards): George Morris (Lansdowne/Leinster), George Hadden (Clontarf/Leinster), Gus McCarthy (UCD/Leinster, capt), Conall Henchy (DUFC/Munster), Danny Sheahan (UCC/Munster), Ronan Foxe (Leinster/Old Belvedere), Fiachna Barrett (Corinthians/Connacht), Paddy McCarthy (DUFC/Leinster), Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD/Leinster), Charlie Irvine (QUB/Ulster), Evan O’Connell (UL Bohemian/Munster), Joe Hopes (QUB/Ulster), Jacob Sheahan (UCC/Munster), Diarmuid Mangan (UCD/Leinster), Ruadhán Quinn (Old Crescent/Munster), James McNabney (Ballymena/Ulster), Brian Gleeson (Garryowen/Munster). Backs: Jack Oliver (Garryowen/Munster), Oscar Cawley (Naas/Leinster), Fintan Gunne (Terenure/Leinster), Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster), Matthew Lynch (DUFC/Leinster), Harry West (Buccaneers/Connacht), Sam Berman (DUFC/Leinster), Hugh Gavin (Galwegians/Connacht), Hugh Cooney (Clontarf/Leinster), John Devine (Corinthians/Connacht), Ike Anagu (La Rochelle/IQ Rugby), James Nicholson (UCD/Leinster), Rory Telfer (QUB/Ulster), Henry McErlean (Terenure/Leinster), Noah Sheridan (Clontarf/Leinster).

Ireland Under-20 fixtures:

Friday, February 3rd: Wales v Ireland, Colwyn Bay (7.0, Virgin Media)

Friday, February 10th: Ireland v France, Musgrave Park (8.0, RTÉ)

Friday, February 24th: Italy v Ireland, Stadio Comunale di Monigo (7.15, RTÉ)

Friday, March 10th: Scotland v Ireland, Scotstoun Stadium (7.15pm, RTÉ)

Sunday, March 19th: Ireland v England, Musgrave Park (5.0, Virgin Media).