Limerick’s Evan O’Connell to captain Ireland U20s in England Six Nations meeting

Evan O’Connell captains the side, the Limerick native one of four Munster men named from the start in Murphy’s XV.

Head Coach Richie Murphy has named his Ireland U20s Match Day Squad, sponsored by PwC, for Friday night’s U20 Six Nations clash with England in Bath, set to kick off at 7.15p).

Evan O’Connell captains the side, the Limerick native one of four Munster men named from the start in Murphy’s XV.

The Head Coach has selected an unchanged backline for the trip to Bath as Ben O’Connor, Finn Treacy and Hugo McLaughlin continue in the back three, with Hugh Gavin and Wilhelm de Klerk selected in midfield.

Jack Murphy and Oliver Coffey are retained as the half-back pairing.

In the pack, Alex Usanov, Danny Sheahan and Jacob Boyd start in the front row, with Alan Spicer returning to the Match Day Squad to partner captain O’Connell in the second row. Joe Hopes switches back to blindside flanker alongside Bryn Ward and Luke Murphy in the back row.

Murphy has strong options among the replacements bench as Henry Walker, Ben Howard, Patreece Bell, Billy Corrigan, and Sean Edogbo provide the reinforcements up front, with backs Tadhg Brophy, Sean Naughton and Davy Colbert, completing the Match Day 23.

Ireland U20 squad to play England:

15. Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster)
14. Finn Treacy (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
13. Wilhelm de Klerk (UCD RFC/Leinster)
12. Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
11. Hugo McLaughlin (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
10. Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
9. Oliver Coffey (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)

1. Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
2. Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)
3. Jacob Boyd (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
4. Alan Spicer (UCD RFC/Leinster)
5. Evan O’Connell (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)(captain)
6. Joe Hopes (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
7. Bryn Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)
8. Luke Murphy (Shannon RFC/Munster)

Replacements:

16. Henry Walker (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
17. Ben Howard (Terenure College RFC/Leinster)
18. Patreece Bell (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby)
19. Billy Corrigan (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
20. Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster)
21. Tadhg Brophy (Naas RFC/Leinster)
22. Sean Naughton (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
23. Davy Colbert (Dublin University FC/Leinster).