TEAM: Ireland Under 20 squad to Face England

The Irish U20’s continue their Six Nations Championship campaign this week against England. Ireland are coming off the back of two bonus-point wins over Scotland and Wales, and Murphy has made two changes to his starting 15 for Thursday’s showdown with England in Cardiff.

Munster’s Alex Kendellen returns to the number eight position and also as captain, while Munster trio Mark Donnelly, Jack Kelleher and Daniel Okeke are among the replacements.

Head coach Richie Murphy’s backline remains unchanged along with scrum-half Nathan Doak, who scored 20 points in his man of the match performance against Wales last weekend, is named beside Tim Corkery at out-half.

Temi Lasisi and Sam Illo pack down either side of hooker Ronan Loughnane, while the second row pairing of Alex Soroka and Harry Sheridan remains unchanged. Kendellen is joined in the back row by Donnacha Byrne and Oisin McCormack.

“We have been pleased with our start to the Championship, but we know we must continue to make improvements week-on-week, starting on Thursday evening against a very strong England side. The squad have worked incredibly hard on optimising our recovery in between matches and we go into Thursday’s game confident that we are moving in the right direction.”

Commenting ahead of the game, Murphy said:

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☘️ ☘️ ☘️

Munster Rugby Academy back-row Alex Kendellen captains the @IrishRugby U20s against England tomorrow night with Mark Donnelly, Jack Kelleher & Daniel Okeke among the replacements.

Full team details & broadcast info ⤵️

— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) June 30, 2021

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IRELAND UNDER-20 Team & Replacements (v England Under-20s, 2021 Under-20 Six Nations Championship – Round 3, Cardiff Arms Park, Thursday, July 1, kick-off 8pm):

15 Jamie Osborne (Naas CBS/Naas RFC/Leinster)

14 Ben Moxham (Larne High School/Ballymena RFC/Ulster)

13 Shane Jennings (Garbally College/Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)

12 Cathal Forde (Colaiste Iognaid/Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht)

11 Chris Cosgrave (St. Michael’s College/UCD RFC/Leinster)

10 Tim Corkery (St. Kieran’s College, Kilkenny/UCD RFC/Leinster)

9 Nathan Doak (Wallace High School/Banbridge RFC/Ulster)

1 Temi Lasisi (CBS Enniscorthy/Lansdowne FC/Leinster)

2 Ronan Loughnane (Cistercian College Roscrea/UCD RFC/Leinster)

3 Sam Illo (Wesley College/Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)

4 Alex Soroka (Belvedere College/Clontarf RFC/Leinster)

5 Harry Sheridan (Sullivan Upper School/Dublin University FC/Ulster)

6 Donnacha Byrne (Summerhill College/Sligo RFC/Connacht)

7 Oisin McCormack (Garbally College/Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)

8 Alex Kendellen (PBC Cork/UCC RFC/Munster) (Capt)

Replacements:

16 Eoin de Buitléar (Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin/An Ghaeltacht/Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht)

17 Jack Boyle (St. Michael’s College/UCD RFC/Leinster)

18 Mark Donnelly (CBC Cork/Garryowen FC/Munster)

19 Mark Morrissey (Blackrock College/UCD RFC/Leinster)

20 Reuben Crothers (Wallace High School/Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)

21 Conor McKee (Sullivan Upper School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)

22 Ben Carson (Wallace High School/Banbridge RFC/Ulster)

23 Jude Postlethwaite (RBAI/Banbridge RFC/Ulster)

24 Jack Kelleher (PBC Cork/UCC RFC/Munster)

25 Daniel Okeke (Ardscoil Ris/Shannon RFC/Munster)

26 Chay Mullins (SGC Filton/Bristol Bears/IQ Rugby).