UNDER-19 INTERNATIONAL:THE AUSTRALIAN schoolboys will be looking for a second successive victory in as many matches on their tour to Ireland and Britain when they take on an Ireland Under-19 team in Cork IT tomorrow night (7.30). Australia beat an Irish Schoolboys side 31-14 at Belfield last Friday, a margin of victory that flattered them a little.
The Irish schools enjoyed a fractured preparation for the match but despite leading 14-12 at the interval couldn’t sustain that momentum as the visitors took over in the second 40 minutes.
The young Wallabies now face an Ireland Under-19 team that is an amalgam of schools and club players in a week which will also see the visitors take on a Wales Under-19 team.
The Ireland side boasts several outstanding young players, including fullback Andrew Conway, wing Tiernan O’Halloran and the versatile Corey Hircock, who is named on the left wing but can also play centre. The team will be led by Blackrock’s Jordi Murphy. Among the replacements is Worcester Warriors prop Louis Padian, who bucks a recent trend. Having played for England Schools he is now ensconced in the Ireland Under 19 set-up.
IRELAND U-19:A Conway (Blackrock RFC); T O'Halloran (Galwegians), B Macken (Blackrock RFC), L Marshall (Ballymena), C Hircock (Bedford Blues); J McKinney (QUB), P Du Toit (UCD); J Tracy (Newbridge College), D Doyle (UCD), M Moore (Lansdowne); S Hanbridge (CBC Cork), P O'Mahony (PBC Cork); J Murphy (Blackrock RFC, capt), A Conneely (Colaiste Iognaid), E McKeon (Colaiste Iognaid). Replacements: L Padian (Worcester Warriors), P Mullen (King's Hospital), K O'Byrne (UCC), S Leckey (Glasgow Hawks), D Gallagher (Dublin University), M Dolan (Marist, Athlone), G Quinn McDonagh (Shannon), A Kelly (St Michael's College).
