Ireland U20 2015 6 nations and junior world cup

The Lost Sheep · 11-04-2015 10:45am

bilston wrote: »

I'd have thought Queens would have been well able to put forward a decent U20s team considering 5 or 6 of this years Irish U20s play for them.

Most of those Queens players eligible and playing for Irish 20s when available would be playing AIL for Queens. They haven't played much AIL though.

ArmchairQB · 13-04-2015 11:20am

Went to watch Lansdowne v Trinity in All Ireland Final yesterday. Great game to watch with Lansdowne edging a thriller 16-15. Great to see the passion and flowing rugby from both teams at this age group. High drama till the end with Lansdowne finishing with 13 men and at least 8 minutes of injury time. Some ferocious tackling by both teams.

specttator · 13-04-2015 4:19pm

I went to this match too. Result in doubt til the end. Tremendous defence play from Lansdowne to secure the win.

ArmchairQB · 14-04-2015 1:08pm

IRFU have highlights posted of Frazer MC Mullen Final http://www.irishrugby.ie/matchdaytv?play=media&id=20707

under age rugby · 21-04-2015 2:30pm

any I dear when world cup under 20 side will be pick there was a trail last week I think

The Lost Sheep · 21-04-2015 7:05pm

under age rugby wrote: »

any I dear when world cup under 20 side will be pick there was a trail last week I think

What you trying to say....

Squad never really confirmed for another few weeks closer to the competition. The squad did have a session last week.

Board_man · 25-04-2015 1:38pm

Squad confirmed for JWC. All players have been notified afaik...a few big names left out of the squad although being fit. Squad travelling to Paris for a pre World Cup warm up game on the 21st of May.

Quint2010 · 25-04-2015 4:06pm

Board_man wrote: »

Squad confirmed for JWC. All players have been notified afaik...a few big names left out of the squad although being fit. Squad travelling to Paris for a pre World Cup warm up game on the 21st of May.

well dont keep us in suspense!

funtime93 · 25-04-2015 6:17pm

Board_man wrote: »

Squad confirmed for JWC. All players have been notified afaik...a few big names left out of the squad although being fit. Squad travelling to Paris for a pre World Cup warm up game on the 21st of May.

You can't just say that and then just leave it at that

typhoony · 27-04-2015 1:53pm

Here is the squad for ther JWC....

Sam Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster)
Joey Carbery (UCD/Leinster)
Fergal Cleary (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Billy Dardis (UCD/Leinster)
Lorcan Dow (QUB/Ulster)
Jack Dwan (UCD/Leinster)
Stephen Fitzgerald (Shannon/Munster)
Ciaran Gaffney (Galwegians/Connacht)
Oisin Heffernan (Terenure/Leinster)
Jeremy Loughman (UCD/Leinster)
Zack McCall (QUB/Ulster)
Nick McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)
Sean McNulty (UCD/Munster)
Stephen McVeigh (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Rory Moloney (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster)
Conán O'Donnell (Sligo/NUIG/Connacht)
David O'Connor (St.Mary's/Leinster)
Conor Oliver (St.Mary's/Leinster)
Jack Owens (Queens University/Ulster)
Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)
Charlie Rock (Old Belvedere/Leinster)*
Cian Romaine (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Jacob Stockdale (QUB/Ulster)
Alex Thompson (Queens University/Ulster)
Nick Timoney (St. Mary's/Leinster)

* Denotes uncapped player at International Under-20 level.

The Lost Sheep · 27-04-2015 2:12pm

Poor representation from Munster. Injuries will have messed up Greg O Shea amongst others chances at place in squad.
Leinster dominated as you would expect.

total former · 27-04-2015 2:16pm

Think I know most of them but if someone can break that squad down by position, I'd be grateful.

Snegg · 27-04-2015 3:03pm

total former wrote: »

Think I know most of them but if someone can break that squad down by position, I'd be grateful.

Sam Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster) - centre
Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster) - out-half
Joey Carbery (UCD/Leinster) - out-half
Fergal Cleary (Lansdowne/Leinster) - centre
Billy Dardis (UCD/Leinster) - fullback
Lorcan Dow (QUB/Ulster) - back-row
Jack Dwan (UCD/Leinster) -lock
Stephen Fitzgerald (Shannon/Munster) - wing
Ciaran Gaffney (Galwegians/Connacht) -fullback
Oisin Heffernan (Terenure/Leinster) -prop
Jeremy Loughman (UCD/Leinster) - prop
Zack McCall (QUB/Ulster) - hooker
Nick McCarthy (UCD/Leinster) - scrum-half
Sean McNulty (UCD/Munster) - hooker
Stephen McVeigh (Buccaneers/Connacht) - back-row
Rory Moloney (Buccaneers/Connacht) - back-row
Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster) - back-row
Conán O'Donnell (Sligo/NUIG/Connacht) - prop
David O'Connor (St.Mary's/Leinster) - lock
Conor Oliver (St.Mary's/Leinster) - back-row
Jack Owens (Queens University/Ulster) - wing
Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) - prop
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) - centre
Charlie Rock (Old Belvedere/Leinster)* - scrum-half
Cian Romaine (Buccaneers/Connacht) - lock
Jacob Stockdale (QUB/Ulster) - centre
Alex Thompson (Queens University/Ulster) - lock
Nick Timoney (St. Mary's/Leinster) - back-row

Hagz · 27-04-2015 3:08pm

Delighted to see Charlie Rock in there. Think he could be a brilliant impact player.

FrannoFan · 27-04-2015 3:29pm

Hagz wrote: »

Delighted to see Charlie Rock in there. Think he could be a brilliant impact player.

totally agree. Had a great service from the base when i saw him play schools. Hope he goes well. Thought the 9 during 6 nations was a little slow.

typhoony · 27-04-2015 4:12pm

i thought McCarthy got worse as the 6 nations went on but then again he was consistently going backwards from a reversing forward pack.

Suprised that Sean O' Hagan didnt get called up, i thought he had recovered from his injury

Hagz · 27-04-2015 4:46pm

I'm a bit conflicted re Harrison Brewer. I think he would probably be a more effective player at this level than Fergal Cleary. He's been playing well in the AIL, he's a more physical customer and has experience already at this level.

On the other hand, this level of rugby is about identifying talent, and Harrison Brewer is already in the Leinster Academy, so perhaps it is better on the whole that Cleary gets a chance to show how effective he can be at this level.

The Lost Sheep · 27-04-2015 8:44pm

typhoony wrote: »

i thought McCarthy got worse as the 6 nations went on but then again he was consistently going backwards from a reversing forward pack.

Suprised that Sean O' Hagan didnt get called up, i thought he had recovered from his injury

Why surprise at SOH? Hasn't been involved. Wasn't looked at at all for 20s this year. Who of the 3 guys capable playing 10 would you have him ahead of? Does he cover other positions like the other two in this squad behind Byrne can?

Hagz wrote: »

I'm a bit conflicted re Harrison Brewer. I think he would probably be a more effective player at this level than Fergal Cleary. He's been playing well in the AIL, he's a more physical customer and has experience already at this level.

On the other hand, this level of rugby is about identifying talent, and Harrison Brewer is already in the Leinster Academy, so perhaps it is better on the whole that Cleary gets a chance to show how effective he can be at this level.

Would disagree about Brewer being more effective than Cleary. Has he been playing well enough in AIL to deserve a place in squad? Is his physicality enough to deserve a squad place ahead of Cleary?
Do Brewers performances at 20s warrant him being in squad ahead of Cleary?

Hagz · 27-04-2015 8:52pm

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Would disagree about Brewer being more effective than Cleary. Has he been playing well enough in AIL to deserve a place in squad? Is his physicality enough to deserve a squad place ahead of Cleary?
Do Brewers performances at 20s warrant him being in squad ahead of Cleary?

I wasn't commenting on who 'deserved' to be there or who 'warranted' selection, I was commenting on who I thought would be a more effective option. And in that sense, yes I do think experience, physicality and exposure to AIL rugby contribute to the impact a player can make at u20 level. Do you disagree?

I would say they both deserve to be there, but there are a limited number of places in the squad and one of them had to lose out. Such is the nature of sport.

FrannoFan · 27-04-2015 9:17pm

Hagz wrote: »

I'm a bit conflicted re Harrison Brewer. I think he would probably be a more effective player at this level than Fergal Cleary. He's been playing well in the AIL, he's a more physical customer and has experience already at this level.

On the other hand, this level of rugby is about identifying talent, and Harrison Brewer is already in the Leinster Academy, so perhaps it is better on the whole that Cleary gets a chance to show how effective he can be at this level.

He doesn't deserve to be there and glad to see a coach look past name recognition and a throwaway comment on rte from a pundit who is completely out of touch. He hasn't been up to much since he was playing JCT!made very little impact at SCT level.
Girvan Dempsey picked him for academy straight out of school-part of the reason i don't have massive faith in Dempsey judgement.

Don't mean to bash a young guy but he hasn't done anything to warrant the hype.
Delighted for Cleary-he looks a real talent.

The Lost Sheep · 27-04-2015 9:26pm

Hagz wrote: »

I wasn't commenting on who 'deserved' to be there or who 'warranted' selection, I was commenting on who I thought would be a more effective option. And in that sense, yes I do think experience, physicality and exposure to AIL rugby contribute to the impact a player can make at u20 level. Do you disagree?

I would say they both deserve to be there, but there are a limited number of places in the squad and one of them had to lose out. Such is the nature of sport.

I see where you are coming from but I don't see how Brewer could be considered the more effective option. How is he more effective. Cleary can play 10/12/13, kicks at goal and has been in fine form this season. Brewer plays 12 and does he do enough to warrant a place?

FrannoFan wrote: »

He doesn't deserve to be there and glad to see a coach look past name recognition and a throwaway comment on rte from a pundit who is completely out of touch. He hasn't been up to much since he was playing JCT!made very little impact at SCT level.
Girvan Dempsey picked him for academy straight out of school-part of the reason i don't have massive faith in Dempsey judgement.

Don't mean to bash a young guy but he hasn't done anything to warrant the hype.
Delighted for Cleary-he looks a real talent.

That is a bit OTT but I would agree with you. He got too much hype when playing 16s... He had too much made out of him due to his name and has struggled to match the hype to a large extent. Very talented player but FF did Brewer not enter academy until 1 year out of school? He is year behind Dardis in the academy..

Hagz · 27-04-2015 10:01pm

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

I see where you are coming from but I don't see how Brewer could be considered the more effective option. How is he more effective. Cleary can play 10/12/13, kicks at goal and has been in fine form this season. Brewer plays 12 and does he do enough to warrant a place?

Cleary's versatility is certainly something that weighs in his favour and although Brewer has played 13, I think it is fair to say that he is primarily a 12. I don't think Cleary's goal-kicking will be a factor for this u20 team, what with Ringrose and Byrne being adept in that area.

I think he is more effective for various reasons. Physicality counts for a lot at u20 level and I think Brewer would be more effective at getting over the gain-line than Cleary. Brewer has also exhibited slick offloading skills and I'd like to see that complimented alongside the dangerous runners in the squad. I also think Brewer is a more dangerous running threat. He's showed for Terenure and when he played sevens last season that he has lovely stepping ability.

I like Cleary. He's a formidable defender and I would say he's better at distributing the ball than Brewer, but I don't think he's enough of an individual threat in the mid-field, and I don't think he offers anything significantly different to the likely starters of Sam Arnold and Garry Ringrose.

typhoony · 28-04-2015 10:47am

I think Fitzgerald could be a lively attacking option if picked at Full-Back, I wasn't that impressed with Dardis in the 6 nations after all the hype.

Stainalert · 28-04-2015 1:03pm

mystic0 wrote: »

Like starting team?

1. Jeremy Loughman
2. Zach McCall
3. Oisin Heffernan
4. David O'Connor
5. Alex Thompson
6. Josh Murphy
7. Rory Moloney
8. Lorcan Dow
9. Nick McCarthy
10. Ross Byrne
11. Stephen Fitzgerald
12. Sam Arnold
13. Gary Ringrose
14. Ciaran Gaffney
15. Billy Dardis
16. Sean McNulty
17. Andrew Porter
18. Conan O'Donnell
19. Cian Romaine
20. Nick Timoney
21. Charlie Rock
22. Joey Carbery
23. Jacob Stockdale

wouldn't be surprised to see Dardis dropped and one of the wingers moved to fullback and Stockdale starting.

What do people make of Carbery? Only ask because I don't know a whole lot about him.

The Lost Sheep · 28-04-2015 1:33pm

Stainalert wrote: »

What do people make of Carbery? Only ask because I don't know a whole lot about him.

Has played 9, 10, 15 at provincial level. Primarily a 9 at this grade IMO. Leinster Youth(Athy like Loughman) and then Blackrock
Real good option across the backline

ArmchairQB · 28-04-2015 2:31pm

Carberry is an interesting one, has looked good at 10 & 15 but is being looked as a 9 for next year by UCD from what I hear which seems strange. Any other club I am sure he would get a 10 or a 15 spot but UCD are very well covered in these areas so trying to fit him in elsewhere. Think if gets to play 15 he could really push on

wise7 · 28-04-2015 4:09pm

mystic0 wrote: »

Must not be being looked at strongly for an academy position so.

Always wondered why he moved out of 9, unless it was suggested he was unlikely to make the academy if he stayed there and he would be better off elsewhere.

UCD must not be expecting to see much of Nick McCarthy next season, Bobby Holland not still playing away?

Carberry has got Academy.

wise7 · 28-04-2015 4:37pm

mystic0 wrote: »

Interesting.. any word on who else?

Jeremy Loughman?
Oisin Heffernan?
Andrew Porter?
David O'Connor?
Josh Murphy?
Nick Timoney?
Charlie Rock?
Fergal Cleary?

If I had to guess, all 3 props will go in and Murphy/Timoney.

Cleary/O'Connor/Rock i'm not so sure about, can't see Oliver/Dwan getting spots.

Heard a rumour Sean McNulty is going in.

No word leaked on any school players joining, specifically James Ryan or Max Deegan.

I heard that all on your list above got in except for Nick Timoney and Fergal Cleary with Charlie Rock being included on some basis.
don't think any straight from school.

case885 · 28-04-2015 5:50pm

mystic0 wrote:

Heard a rumour Sean McNulty is going in.

Munster trading him for a TH?

case885 · 28-04-2015 6:49pm

That's fair enough and good reason for him to opt for the Leinster academy seeing as he will be studying in Dublin, we also have a good few hookers at the moment. Will phelan make it do you reckon?

FR2 · 30-04-2015 8:13am

wise7 wrote: »

I heard that all on your list above got in except for Nick Timoney and Fergal Cleary with Charlie Rock being included on some basis.
don't think any straight from school.

Loughman - Y
Heffernan - Y
McNulty - Y
Deegan - Y
Ryan - Y
O'Connor - Y

No Cleary, Timoney Porter or Rock and it will be hard to impress at JWC from the bench!

hype101 · 30-04-2015 7:44pm

Does anyone know anything about Olly Lyons?.. Looks to be joining the Munster Academy.. Played in the A game during the week.. Scored a try n did well by all accounts.. He's u20 as well as far as I can see but obviously the squad is picked at this stage.. Might be interesting if there was an injury in the JWC. Backrow is a little underwhelming this year

The Lost Sheep · 30-04-2015 8:00pm

hype101 wrote: »

Does anyone know anything about Olly Lyons?.. Looks to be joining the Munster Academy.. Played in the A game during the week.. Scored a try n did well by all accounts.. He's u20 as well as far as I can see but obviously the squad is picked at this stage.. Might be interesting if there was an injury in the JWC. Backrow is a little underwhelming this year

Been involved with Northampton and Wasps at different stages. I think he is 20s but very unlikely to be picked for world cup even if there is injuries

Board_man · 04-05-2015 7:30pm

Now that squad is officially announced, I would love to see this team take the field..unfortunately I don't think this will be the case.

Loughman
McNulty
Heffernan
O'Connor
Thompson
Murphy
Oliver
Dow
McCarthy
Byrne
Fitzgerald
Arnold
Ringrose
Gaffney
Stockdale

McCall
Porter
O'Donnell
Dwan
Timoney
Rock
Carberry
Dardis

Hagz · 04-05-2015 7:51pm

I think Dardis is looked at as one of the key leaders in the team so I'd doubt we'll see him resigned to the bench, even though he did have an uninspiring 6 nations campaign. I would love to see Stockdale starting somewhere in the back-line though. Personally I'd move Fitzgerald to the bench and put him on the left wing.

The Lost Sheep · 12-05-2015 7:18pm

Daniel Joyce and Dylan Horgan both started for Canada at halfback in their opening world trophy game in Portugal today. Cnada won 35-20 against Namibia. Hong Kong and Tonga clash in Pool Bs other game

Georgia beat Uruguay 46-12 in the Pool As opening game. Fiji and Portugal face off in the other game in this group

The Lost Sheep · 15-05-2015 7:38pm

Big win for Georgia. They've so many playing in France these days even at this level. Hopefully they can qualify for next year and get best prep possible for 2017 when they host the World Championships.

Pool A
Uruguay 12 Georgia 46
Fiji 34 Portugal 19
16 May
Fiji v Georgia, Uruguay v Portugal
20 May
Fiji v Uruguay, Portugal v Georgia

Pool B
Canada 35 Namibia 20
Tonga 35 Hong Kong 16
16 May
Canada v HK, Tonga v Namibia
20 May
Canada v Tonga, Namibia v HK

The Lost Sheep · 16-05-2015 7:18pm

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Big win for Georgia. They've so many playing in France these days even at this level. Hopefully they can qualify for next year and get best prep possible for 2017 when they host the World Championships.

Pool A
Uruguay 12 Georgia 46
Fiji 34 Portugal 19
16 May
Fiji v Georgia, Uruguay v Portugal
20 May
Fiji v Uruguay, Portugal v Georgia

Pool B
Canada 35 Namibia 20
Tonga 35 Hong Kong 16
16 May
Canada v HK, Tonga v Namibia
20 May
Canada v Tonga, Namibia v HK

Today saw second round of games
Pool A
Uruguay 37 Portugal 26
Fiji 13 Georgia 30
Pool B
Tonga 45 Namibia 11
Canada 24 Hong Kong 15

Final most likely to be Georgia against winner of Canada and Tonga.

The Lost Sheep · 21-05-2015 12:11am

Last round of group games of the World Trophy was today
Georgia won 19-11 to make final of this competition for the first time
They will play Canada in the final

No matter who wins, there will be a new team in the u20 world championships in 2016. Ideally Georgia will win with them hosting the world championships next year.

typhoony · 21-05-2015 11:55am

First round of matches start Tuesday week, very little info on how the preperation has been going would have expected to see a couple of players interviews by now

ArmchairQB · 22-05-2015 1:03pm

Lost 21-10 in JWC warm up game today

The Lost Sheep · 22-05-2015 1:05pm

ArmchairQB wrote: »

Lost 21-10 in JWC warm up game today

against? venue? teams?

ArmchairQB · 22-05-2015 1:12pm

No Team news against France

typhoony · 25-05-2015 9:51pm

anyone heard officially or unofficially that Ringrose has been made captain going into the JWC, makes sense after a somewhat disappointing effort from McCarthy in the 6-Nations.

All the Irish matches are being televised on TG4...

Ireland Fixtures -
Ireland Under-20s v Argentina Under-20s, Parma, Tuesday, June 2, kick-off 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time
Ireland Under-20s v Scotland Under-20s, Calvisano, Saturday, June 6, kick-off 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time
Ireland Under-20s v New Zealand Under-20s, Viadana, Wednesday, June 10, kick-off 8.30pm local time/7.30pm Irish time

kingofthekong · 25-05-2015 10:02pm

Before I saw Ireland in the six nations I would've said the fixtures against Argentina and Scotland were in the bag and that we'd give New Zealand a good go but I think the boys will struggle for wins in this years tournament , how did New Zealand get on in those games they had against Samoa , Australia and Japan?

typhoony · 25-05-2015 10:17pm

after last years performances I'm having difficulty even contemplating losing the first 2 games, hopefully a lot of work and a few extra kg's have been added to the forwards.

the only NZ result i could find was against the aussies: New Zealand 46 – Australia 29.

Highlights here.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=UJRZaN6ScVs

Hagz · 25-05-2015 10:27pm

kingofthekong wrote: »

Before I saw Ireland in the six nations I would've said the fixtures against Argentina and Scotland were in the bag and that we'd give New Zealand a good go but I think the boys will struggle for wins in this years tournament , how did New Zealand get on in those games they had against Samoa , Australia and Japan?

75-0 against Japan
36-14 against Samoa
46-29 against Australia

I don't think NZ have had a run of games before the JWC before, so they should be more prepared than usual.

Damian McKenzie won't be available as he's needed with the Chiefs but it's a strong year at out-half for New Zealand. They have two back up 10's in Otere Black and Mitchell Hunt who have a fair bit of hype surrounding them. The other big names that I know of are Tevita Li (wing), Blake Gibson (back-row) and Akira Ione (back-row). All three are Blues players and have featured in the Super XV.
The only weakness looks to be the scrum, but aside from that it looks like a NZ side that's capable of winning the whole thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJRZaN6ScVs

wadacrack · 25-05-2015 10:58pm

typhoony wrote: »

anyone heard officially or unofficially that Ringrose has been made captain going into the JWC, makes sense after a somewhat disappointing effort from McCarthy in the 6-Nations.

All the Irish matches are being televised on TG4...
Ireland Fixtures -
Ireland Under-20s v Argentina Under-20s, Parma, Tuesday, June 2, kick-off 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time
Ireland Under-20s v Scotland Under-20s, Calvisano, Saturday, June 6, kick-off 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time
Ireland Under-20s v New Zealand Under-20s, Viadana, Wednesday, June 10, kick-off 8.30pm local time/7.30pm Irish time

Do u have a link for that

The Lost Sheep · 25-05-2015 11:17pm

Hagz wrote: »

75-0 against Japan
36-14 against Samoa
46-29 against Australia

I don't think NZ have had a run of games before the JWC before, so they should be more prepared than usual.

Damian McKenzie won't be available as he's needed with the Chiefs but it's a strong year at out-half for New Zealand. They have two back up 10's in Otere Black and Mitchell Hunt who have a fair bit of hype surrounding them. The other big names that I know of are Tevita Li (wing), Blake Gibson (back-row) and Akira Ione (back-row). All three are Blues players and have featured in the Super XV.
The only weakness looks to be the scrum, but aside from that it looks like a NZ side that's capable of winning the whole thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJRZaN6ScVs

This is the first year New Zealand have had official set of internationals before JWC. They introduced them as its 4 years since they've won this competition. Don't think England will win this year.

Hard to say, even before 6Ns - well advance of this comp - that Argentina/Scotland were in the bag especially Argentina when so little would be known about them

mogwai81 · 26-05-2015 5:14am

Hopefully the forwards can produce quick ball for what is a talented back line. Really enjoyed watching how Ross Byrne controlled the game in terrible conditions in Italy. Does anybody have a link to any of the other 6 Nations games? I can only find highlights of the other games on youtube.
On a side note is Billy Dardis in danger of losing the fullback slot.

Ireland U20 2015 6 nations and junior world cup

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