Ireland's head coach Willie Faloon has named his U20s match day squad for Thursday’s second World Rugby U20 Championship Pool B clash v Georgia in Stellenbosch. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the match.
2023 runners-up Ireland opened their campaign with a comfortable 55-15 win over Italy in Cape Town on Saturday and will bid to make it two from two when they meet Georgia in Round 2.
In Faloon's first match as head coach, the Ireland U-20s impressively outscored Italy by eight tries to two, with returning centre Sam Berman helping himself to a 20-minute hat-trick either side of half-time.
A total of 19 players made their World Rugby U-20 Championship debuts for Ireland, while UL Bohemian scrum half Jake O'Riordan came on to win his first cap.
The result marked Ireland's biggest win over Italy at this level since the 2010 U20 Six Nations (39-0), and their highest score against the Azzurrini since winning 47-15 in the Six Nations nine years ago.
Luke Murphy, captain Evan O'Connell, and Berman made sure the bonus point was secured by 27th minute, and even second half yellow cards for Sean Edobgo and Jacob Boyd failed to derail Faloon's well-drilled side.
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OPPONENTS
Georgia began their campaign with a disappointing 35-11 defeat to Australia in Round 1. The fitness of the young Wallabies proved crucial as they dominated possession to score five second-half tries. Lado Kilasonia's team will hope to bounce back against a well-drilled Irish team.
How to watch Ireland U20s v Georgia in the World Rugby U20 Championship.
Ireland U20s are set to face Georgia in the World Rugby U20 Championship this Thursday July 4th in Stellenbosch, South Africa, with kick-off scheduled for 1pm.
The match will be streamed live on RugbyPass.tv at 1pm, with the streaming service holding the rights for all the matches in the tournament. The service, run by World Rugby, is completely free with users only needing to sign up to the service to watch.
Ireland U20s V Georgia Team News
Ireland have confirmed seven changes to their starting 15 for their match against Georgia at the World Rugby U20 Championship.
The Ireland Men's U20s Match Day Squad to face Georgia in Stellenbosch! 🟢#FutureIsGreen — Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) July 2, 2024
Ben O’Connor and Davy Colbert are joined in the back three by Ruben Moloney, who is line for his Ireland U20s debut, while Sam Berman continues at outside centre and Hugh Gavin starts at inside centre. Sean Naughton starts at out-half, with Oliver Coffey at nine.
In the pack, Jacob Boyd, Stephen Smyth and Andrew Sparrow start in the front row, with James McKillop coming into the second row to partner captain Evan O’Connell. The back row of Sean Edogbo, Max Flynn and Luke Murphy remains unchanged.
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