Tag Archives: Ireland U20

Noel McNamara has made four changes to his Ireland starting XV as the U20s travel to Franklin’s Garden for Friday’s Six Nations clash with England.  Having performed excellently against Scotland in the opening round, Ulster pair Hayden Hyde and Ethan McIlroy, unfortunately, fell ill prior to Ireland’s comfortable defeat of Wales in round two. However, both have been recalled to …

Stepping off his right and then quickly off his left, Jack Crowley burst through the Scottish defence in his own 22 to raise the decibel level at Musgrave Park in Cork.  Showing superb pace to sprint down the field, Crowley used a powerful left arm fend to take care of the Scottish fullback before touching down under the posts. That …

Ireland U20 36 – 22 Wales U20 Sean McMahon reporting from Musgrave Park. A week on, Ireland were back out under Friday Night Lights at Musgrave Park in Cork as they looked to back up their opening-round victory over Scotland. Their opponents on this occasion were Wales, a team smarting from their defeat to Italy in Colwyn Bay last weekend. …

Noel McNamara believes the AIL plays a vital and crucial role in the development of young players in this country.  The Ireland U20 head coach was speaking in the aftermath of Ireland’s excellent 38-26 victory over Scotland at Musgrave Park in Cork on Friday night and he highlighted how almost every single one of this year’s squad have been playing …

Ireland U20 38 – 26 Scotland U20 Sean McMahon reporting from Musgrave Park.  A new year, a new batch of talent ready to announce themselves to the wider Irish rugby audience. Last year’s U20 Grand Slam success brought much optimism that the future of rugby in this country was in good hands. That has been reflected by the meteoric rise …

Ireland have named their side for their clash with Scotland in the first round of the U20 Six Nations at Irish Independent Park in Cork on Friday night (KO 7.15 pm).  Noel McNamara’s side will be looking to get their campaign off to the best possible start as they look to defend their title after Ireland secured the Grand Slam …

Such is the nature of age-grade rugby, each year brings a whole host of new faces and talent ready to make their mark on the international stage.  For the upcoming U20 Six Nations, Ireland head coach Noel McNamara welcomes back seven players who were involved in last year’s edition of the tournament and at the World Cup which took place …

Ireland U20s head coach Noel McNamara believes that the U20 age-grade is an ideal platform for players to grow and develop into senior players.  And it’s difficult to argue with when you consider the rise of some of last year’s Grand Slam-winning contingent. Azur Allison (Ulster), Ryan Baird (Leinster), Michael Milne (Leinster), Niall Murray (Connacht), Scott Penny (Leinster), Harry Byrne …

New Zealand U20 – 40 Ireland U20 – 17 Ireland rounded off their 2019 World Rugby U20 Championships with defeat to New Zealand in their seventh-place playoff encounter after a horrible opening 20 minutes that saw Noel McNamara’s side give the Baby Blacks a four-try lead. Ireland showed great heart to battle back and make a game of it midway …

Ireland U20s head coach Noel McNamara has announced his starting XV which will take on England (KO 7:30 pm) in the 5th place semi-final at the World Rugby U20 Championships on Monday.  Ireland, who have suffered from an extensive injury list throughout this campaign, will meet England for the third time this season having defeated them already in the pool …

Ireland U20s head coach Noel McNamara has confirmed that two players have been ruled out of the remainder of the World Rugby U20 Championship in Argentina.  Flanker Ciaran Booth suffered a knee injury in the bonus-point win over Italy. The circumstances surrounding the injury have come in for criticism on social media as Booth was in the jackal position at …

The final pool matches of the 2019 World Rugby U20 Championship take place on Wednesday.  Australia are the only team to have secured a semi-final berth but the final makeup of the top four teams won’t be known until the culmination of action tomorrow. Noel McNamara’s Ireland U20 side came into this championship with plenty of expectation and they got …

Ireland U20 head coach Noel McNamara has named his starting XV for Wednesday’s final pool match at the World Rugby U20 Championship.  Ireland will take on Italy (KO 2.30 pm) in the knowledge that there is still a mathematical possibility that they can reach the semi-finals. Ireland have been plagued by injuries throughout the campaign and McNamara has made a …

The World Rugby U20 Championship offers rugby fans from around the world the opportunity to see the next generation of players who will make it in the game.  From an Irish point of view, if you look back at the 2016 U20 team who reached the final of the world championships, the likes of James Ryan, Andrew Porter and Jacob …

Louth native Michael McDonald has been named to start at scrum-half for the junior Wallabies’ World Rugby U20 Championship clash with Ireland in Santa Fe on Saturday (KO 2.30 pm).  McDonald, who hails from the Cooley peninsula in Co. Louth, emigrated to Perth with his family when he was 13 and has since blazed a trail through Western Australia’s underage …

Ireland will be looking to make it two wins from two at the World Rugby U20 Championships in Santa Fe when they take on Australia on Saturday (KO 2.30 pm).  Noel McNamara’s side got their campaign off to a superb start when they recorded a bonus-point 42-26 victory over England on Tuesday. With Ireland securing a Grand Slam Six Nations …

The second round of the World Rugby U20 Championships 2019 takes place on Saturday and already, many teams are in a do-or-die position if they want to reach the semi-finals.  There were some big wins for the likes of South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland and Australia in the opening round and here, we provide you with a list of the …