Munster’s Craig Casey named as vice captain of Ireland U20 World Cup squad

An extended Ireland Under 20 Squad of 33 players, sponsored by PwC, has been named by the Ireland U20 Management team ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship in Argentina next month.

Head Coach Noel McNamara and his staff will reduce the squad to a 28-man travelling party in the next week.

The tournament will take place from the 4th – 22nd of June, with Ireland playing their Pool B games in Santa Fe at the Club de Rugby Atheneo Immaculada. The play-off games will take place in Rosario between the Racecourse Stadium and Club Old Resian.

Ireland share Pool B with Australia, England and Italy and will face Six Nations rivals England on the opening day of the tournament.

The squad will be captained by UCD and Leinster’s Charlie Ryan, with Shannon and Munster scrum-half Craig Casey (pictured below) named as vice-captain.

In total there are eight Munster players named among the squad.

Ryan and Dylan Tierney-Martin are the two members of the squad with previous experience at the World Championships, having taken to the field in France last summer.

There are six uncapped players named, with Declan Adamson, Thomas Ahern, Azur Allison and Charlie Ward named in the forwards and Adam LaGrue and Stewart Moore in the backs.

Speaking about the tournament, McNamara commented:

“History has shown us that this is an attritional competition and it’s important that anyone who may take to the field in Argentina is up to speed with how want to play.

With that in mind we have named an extended squad ahead of setting off in two weeks’ time.

We have had some really positive sessions since the Six Nations, and with another camp coming up next week we will continue to build on preparations ahead of the first game against England.”

At the squad announcement, PwC Partner Paraic Joyce said:

“As long-standing partners of Irish Rugby, we’re delighted to support the U20 team in this year’s World Rugby Championship.

The development of talent, collaborative teamwork and a pursuit of excellence are some of the core values of PwC and are the hallmarks of this team. It is these shared values that have made our partnership with the IRFU so successful over the last 14 years.

Following a momentous Six Nations Grand Slam, all of us here in PwC are confident that the team will put their best foot forward on the world stage.

The team are excellent ambassadors for the country, for Irish Rugby and for PwC Ireland. We wish them the best of luck in Argentina in the upcoming games.”

Ireland’s games will be shown live on Eir Sport.

Extended Ireland U20 Squad (World Rugby U20 Championship 2019)

Forwards
Declan Adamson (Clontarf/Leinster) *
Thomas Ahern (Shannon/Munster) *
Azur Allison (Ballymena/Ulster) *
Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster)
Tom Clarkson (Dublin University/Leinster)
Brian Deeny (Clontarf/Leinster)
John Hodnett (UCC/Munster)
David McCann (Banbridge/Ulster)
John McKee (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Michael Milne (UCD/Leinster)
Martin Moloney (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Niall Murray (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Callum Reid (Banbridge/Ulster)
Charlie Ryan (UCD/Leinster) Captain
Dylan Tierney-Martin (Corinthians/Connacht)
Charlie Ward (Clontarf/Leinster) *
Ronan Watters (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
Josh Wycherley (Young Munster/Munster)

Backs
Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster) Vice-Captain
Jake Flannery (Shannon/Munster)
Cormac Foley (St.Mary’s College/Leinster)
Sean French (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Ben Healy (Garryowen/Munster)
Bruce Houston (Ballymena/Ulster)
Iwan Hughes (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Angus Kernohan (Queen’s University/Ulster)
Adam LaGrue (Terenure College/Leinster) *
Stewart Moore (Malone/Ulster) *
Colm Reilly (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Rob Russell (Dublin University/Leinster)
Liam Turner (Dublin University/Leinster)
Jonathan Wren (Cork Constitution/Munster)

*Denotes uncapped at this level

Unavailable due to injury

Harry Byrne
David Hawkshaw
Scott Penny
Conor Phillips

Ireland U20 World Rugby U20 Championships Fixtures

Pool A
England v Ireland
Club de Rugby Atheneo Immaculada, Santa Fe
Tuesday 4th June 2019
KO: 15:30 (local) / 19:30 (Irish)

Australia v Ireland
Club de Rugby Atheneo Immaculada, Santa Fe
Sunday 8th June, 2019
KO: 10:30 (local) / 14:30 (Irish)

Italy v Ireland
Club de Rugby Atheneo Immaculada, Santa Fe

Saturday 12th June, 2019
KO: 10:30 (local) / 14:30 (Irish)

Semi-Finals / Play-Offs
Racecourse Stadium, Rosario OR Club Old Resian, Rosario
Monday 17th June 2019

Finals Day
Racecourse Stadium, Rosario / Club Old Resian, Rosario
Sunday 22nd June 2019