The U20s Six Nations Summer Series resumes tonight for Richie Murphy's team in Verona, as the Ireland U20s - who are sponsored by PwC Ireland - take on the might of the South Africa U20s. On the back of a challenging defeat against an imperious French side last Friday evening, the Ireland U20s face another mighty test tonight against one of the best U20s sides in the world.
You can follow every twist and turn on our liveblog below. Kickoff is at 7pm.
Ireland U20s news and notes
Yesterday, Richie Murphy named his 26 man squad to play the South Africa U20s. There are six changes to the team that played France. Munster's Patrick Campbell, one of the stars of the Ireland U20s in the 2022 Six Nations, starts at fullback for Ireland in his first start at this tournament. Ireland U20s Man of the match Aitzol King retains his place on the wing. Reuben Crothers captains the side.
15. Patrick Campbell (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
14. Aitzol King (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
13. Fionn Gibbons (UCD RFC/Leinster)
12. Daniel Hawkshaw (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
11. Dylan O’Grady (UCD RFC/Leinster)
10. Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
9. Michael Moloney (UCD RFC/Leinster)
1. George Hadden (Gorey RFC/Clontarf FC/Leinster)
2. James McCormick (Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
3. Darragh McSweeney (Shannon RFC/Munster)
4. Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
5. Diarmuid Mangan (UCD RFC/Leinster)
6. James McNabney (Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
7. Reuben Crothers (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster) (capt)
8. George Shaw (Cardiff University/IQ Rugby)
Replacements:
16. Josh Hanlon (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)
17. Oisin Michel (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
18. Kieran Ryan (Shannon RFC/Munster)
19. Adam McNamee (Malone RFC/Ulster)
20. Lorcan McLoughlin (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
21. Andrew O’Mahony (UCC RFC/Munster)
22. Reece Malone (Loughborough University/Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)
23. George Coomber (UCC RFC/Munster)
24. Shay McCarthy (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
25. Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
26. Charlie Irvine (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
After the France defeat, Crothers lamented the Ireland U20s slow start:
“There was no shortage of hard work from us lads, but it’s tough when you go 17-0 down to try and climb back into it,” he said.
“From our point of view we just had a slow start which sort of forced us to maybe try a few things that we normally wouldn’t.
“France had a very good game, they kept the ball alive out of the tackle and they played well, so credit to them.”
