Munster duo Quinn and Gleeson in from start as Ireland name team for U20 World Final

Further Munster representation comes in the form of Max Clein and Evan O’Connell, who are listed as replacements in the Match Day 23.

Ireland U20 Head Coach Richie Murphy has named his Match Day Squad for Friday’s World Rugby U20 Championship Final against France.

Munster duo Ruadhan Quinn and Brian Gleeson have been named in the back row, alongside returning Ulster man James McNabney. Further Munster representation comes in the form of Max Clein and Evan O’Connell, who are listed as replacements in the Match Day 23.

Gleeson scored a try last time out, as Murphy’s side powered past host nation South Africa in the semi-final, and Quinn has been one of the standout performers of the tournament.

“The entire group are fully focused on producing our best performance of the season on Friday night because we know we’ll need it against a very strong France team. We have made good progress throughout the tournament but we will need to fine-tune all areas of our game for the final.”

Irish U20 manager Richie Murphy

It is the second World Final Ireland have made at the U20 grade, following in the footsteps of the 2016 team, and they will be hoping to go one step further when they clash with France on Friday night.

Ireland go into the final as favourites on Paddy Power, priced at 4/5, while France are priced at EVS, in what is expected to be a tight battle.

Ireland U20s:

15. Henry McErlean (Terenure/Leinster)
14. Andrew Osborne (Naas/Leinster)
13. Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
12. John Devine (Corinthians/Connacht)
11. James Nicholson (UCD/Leinster)
10. Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster)
9. Fintan Gunne (Terenure College RFC/Leinster)

1. Paddy McCarthy (Dublin University FC/Leinster)
2. Gus McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)(captain)
3. Ronan Foxe (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
4. Diarmuid Mangan (UCD/Leinster)
5. Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
6. James McNabney (Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
7. Ruadhan Quinn (Old Crescent RFC/Munster)
8. Brian Gleeson (Garryowen/Munster)

Replacements:

16. Max Clein (Garryowen/Munster)
17. George Hadden (Clontarf/Leinster)
18. Fiachna Barrett (Corinthians/Connacht)
19. Charlie Irvine (Queen’s University/Ulster)
20. Evan O’Connell (UL Bohemians/Munster)
21. Oscar Cawley (Naas/Leinster)
22. Matthew Lynch (Dublin University/Leinster)
23. Sam Berman (Dublin University/Leinster).