Seven Munster players selected for Ireland’s U-20 clash with Italy

Ireland U-20 head coach Noel McNamara has named seven Munster players in his 23-man-squad for their game with Italy in Rieti this Friday.

Jake Flannery, Jonathan Wren, Craig Casey, Josh Wycherley and John Hodnett start the game, while Ben Healy and Billy Scannell are set to make their Six Nations Championship debuts from the bench.

Ireland have two wins from their opening two games against England and Scotland.

“We’re pleased to have won our opening two games, but the players are ambitious, and they are constantly looking for improvements in their performance, both individually and collectively,” said McNamara.

“Our previous meetings with Italy have been really challenging encounters, with only one score separating the sides in our past number of games.

“The down week allowed for the players to get some good recovery in, as well as reviewing the Scotland game and looking ahead to this weekend.

“We had a really positive session with the Ireland Senior side last Friday in the Aviva Stadium, so the players are now looking forward to getting back into the green jersey on Friday night in Rieti.”

The game is not on tv but will be streamed via the Irish Rugby YouTube Channel.

Full Team is below:

Jake Flannery (Shannon/Munster); Angus Kernohan (Queen’s University/Ulster), Liam Turner (Dublin University/Leinster), David Hawkshaw (Clontarf/Leinster) Captain, Jonathan Wren (Cork Constitution/Munster); Harry Byrne (Lansdowne/Leinster), Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster); Josh Wycherley (Young Munster/Munster), Dylan Tierney-Martin (Corinthians/Connacht), Thomas Clarkson (Dublin University/Leinster); Charlie Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Niall Murray (Buccaneers/Connacht); Martin Moloney (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Scott Penny (UCD RFC/Leinster), John Hodnett (UCC/Munster).

Replacements:
Billy Scannell (Young Munster/Munster), Callum Reid (Banbridge/Ulster), Michael Milne (UCD/Leinster), Brian Deeny (Clontarf/Leinster), Ronan Watters (St.Mary’s College/Leinster), Cormac Foley (St.Mary’s College / Leinster), Ben Healy (Garryowen/Munster), Rob Russell (Dublin University/Leinster).