Willie Faloon has announced his 30 man Ireland U20 squad for the upcoming Rugby World U20 Championship in South Africa.
The tournament which gets underway in the Western Cape region on June 29th will be Faloon's first as Ireland U20 head coach following his appointment to the job after Richie Murphy took over the Ulster job permanently.
Ireland U20 finished second in this years U20 Six Nations to winners England by a point, and the team will be hoping to bounce back from that disappointment and pull out a few big performances in South Africa.
Faloon's side have been drawn in pool B in the tournament with Australia, Georgia, and Italy. Only the pool winners will qualify automatically for the semi-finals, while the best second placed team among the three pools will also qualify.
Evan O'Connell has been named as captain for the tournament after an excellent spell captaining Ireland in their U20 Six Nations campaign this year, while Brian Gleeson is named despite injuries causing him to miss four games in this years Six Nations.
Gleeson was crucial for the Irelands U20s in their Grand Slam win and run to the World Rugby u20 Championship final in 2023.
O'Connell and Gleeson are amongst five players who also featured in last years U20 championship team who finished runners-up to France, alongside Danny Sheahan, Hugh Gavin, and Sam Berman.
READ HERE: Selecting The Best Ireland U20s XV Of The Richie Murphy Era
Ireland U20 World Rugby U20 Championship fixtures.
MD1: Ireland v Italy- DHL Stadium, Cape Town- June 29th-3:30pm
MD2: Ireland v Georgia- Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch-July 4th-1pm
MD3: Ireland v Australia- Athlone Sports Stadium, Cape Town- July 9th-1pm
Semi-Final and Play-Offs: July 14th
Final and Ranking Matches: July 19th
Ireland U20 Squad in full
15 March 2024; Ireland captain Evan O'Connell speaks to his teammates after the U20 Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and Scotland at Virgin Media Park in Cork. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Forwards
Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
Patreece Bell (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby)
Alan Spicer (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Evan O’Connell (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster) (captain)
James McKillop (Queen’s University RFC/Ulster)
Max Flynn (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
Brian Gleeson (Garryowen FC/Munster)
Emmet Calvey (Shannon RFC/Munster)
Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)
Jacob Boyd (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
Billy Corrigan (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster)
Bryn Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)
Luke Murphy (Shannon RFC/Munster)
Mikey Yarr (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Andrew Sparrow (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Backs
Oliver Coffey (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)
Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Ulster)
Hugo McLaughlin (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
Wilhelm de Klerk (UCD RFC/Ulster)
Finn Treacy (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster)
Tadhg Brophy (Naas RFC/Leinster)
Sean Naughton (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
Sam Berman (Terenure RFC/Ulster)
Davy Colbert (Dublin University FC/Leinster)
Ruben Moloney (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Jake O’Riordan (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)
