Ireland Under-20 Squad Announced For Junior World Championship

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http://www.irishrugby.ie/283_17229.php

Ireland Under-20 coach Allen Clarke announced his 26-man squad for the 2009 IRB Junior World Championship tournament on Thursday morning at a media conference in the offices of sponsors PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The squad is built on the foundation of the RBS Under-20 6 Nations Championship panel which saw Ireland finish in the runners-up spot behind France who took the ***le on points difference. David O'Callaghan, Brian O'Hara and Nevin Spence all come into the squad, benefiting from their performances for the Under-20 Development side in their recent win against France in April, in addition to Jonny Shiels who was capped for Ireland Under-19s last season.

Ireland has been placed in Pool A of the Junior World Championship which is taking place in Japan for the first time.

Their opening three games see them play Argentina, defending champions New Zealand and newcomers to the top tier tournament, Uruguay.

The side will be captained again by number 8 Peter O'Mahony, whose leadership qualities were displayed during the recent RBS U-20 6 Nations.

Commenting on the build-up to the tournament, head coach Allen Clarke said: "We meet up the week prior to our first game against Argentina. Some of the squad will come in on the Friday, those who live outside of Dublin.

"The two days' preparation that we have in Dublin, on the Saturday and Sunday before we travel, is going to be absolutely essential to us, so that we deal with the jetlag - there's a time difference of eight hours.

"We want to be comfortable when we get on the plane on Sunday evening that our bodies are syncing towards Japanese time and that we have done the work on the field in preparation for the Argentinian game."

On the make-up of the squad, he added: "We actually have six players in the squad who are eligible for the Under-20 grade next year again.

"They are out of the Under-20 Development squad, and we believe that that is not only beneficial to next year's squad but beneficial to Irish rugby.

"We're not going over to Japan to make up the numbers. We're going over there to test ourselves as individuals, test ourselves as a team and to build on our performances in the Six Nations and the strengths of those performances.

"We also want to progress as a team and there are particular aspects we've been concentrating on - that in itself tells you something about the team.

"Whilst we won four out of five in the Six Nations, we weren't necessarily satisfied with our performances, even in victory, and we're looking to improve on that."

IRELAND UNDER-20 Squad (2009 IRB Junior World Championship, Japan, June 5-21):

Backs (12):

Andrew Burke (Garryowen/Munster)
Shane Gahan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Matthew Healy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
David Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Michael Keating (Clontarf/Leinster)
Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Ian McKinley (UCD/Leinster)
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
Ronan O'Mahony (Garryowen/Munster)
Eamonn Sheridan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Jonny Shiels (Queen's University/Ulster)
Nevin Spence (Ballynahinch/Ulster)

Forwards (14):

Mark Flanagan (UCD/Leinster)
Adam Macklin (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Paddy McAllister (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Jack McGrath (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
David McGregor (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Michael Noone (Seapoint/Leinster)
David O'Callaghan (UCC/Munster)
Jack O'Connell (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Brian O'Hara (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) (capt)
Rhys Ruddock (Millfield School/Exiles)
Ciaran Ruddock (Neath/Exiles)
Dominic Ryan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Thomas Sexton (Old Belvedere/Leinster)

Management -

Allen Clarke - Coach
Philip Orr - Team Manager
Nigel Carolan - Assistant Coach
Colin McEntee - Assistant Coach
Emma Gallivan - Physiotherapist
Brian Devitt - Doctor
Philip Morrow - Fitness & Conditioning Coach
Vinny Hammond - Analyst
Regina Flanagan - Masseuse
Martin Joyce - Baggage Master

IRB Junior World Championship Pool A Fixtures (all times are local) -

June 5 - 5pm: Argentina v Ireland, Mizuho Rugby Ground, Nagoya
June 5 - 7pm: New Zealand v Uruguay, Mizuho Rugby Ground, Nagoya
June 9 - 5pm: Argentina v Uruguay, Mizuho Rugby Ground, Nagoya
June 9 - 7pm: Ireland v New Zealand, Mizuho Rugby Ground, Nagoya
June 13 - 1pm: Ireland v Uruguay, Mizuho Rugby Ground, Nagoya
June 13 - 3pm: Argentina v New Zealand, Mizuho Rugby Ground, Nagoya[/b]

Provincial breakdown:

Exiles - 2


Leinster - 13


Munster - 6


Ulster - 5

Murray (a scrumhalf who can also play flyhalf) and Burke (a 10) both made the Munster 22 man squad last week with the latter making his debut. Eamonn Sheridan is a massive centre who appeared in an extended Leinster squad a couple of weeks ago. McKinley was on the bench for Leinster against Edinburgh and looks likely to start at flyhalf against the Dragons on Saturday. He was also play in the centre. Madigan (fullback/flyhalf) and Kearney (back three) are also likely to play for Leinster in a couple of days time.

One player who has been parachuted into the squad who could be worth watching is Nevin Spence. He's been in scintillating form for quadruple trophy winners Ballynahinch this season and stands a good chance of making the 13 shirt his own in Japan.

It'll be interesting to see who performs well in the World Cup. The best players in the 6 Nations were Madigan and the backrow trio of O'Mahony, Ryan and Rhys Ruddock. In my opinion the most talented players in the group are the two 10s, Burke and McKinley.

 

[Gavin]

Looks like a strong squad. I played against Adam Macklin at school level. He was bloody huge then and has gotten even bigger. While playing junior rugby, he also played for the senior side. Interesting to see how he gets on. Could see Ireland doing quite well if they are in the right frame of mind.
Is the championship going to be on tv? Or just highlights?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Gavin @ May 14 2009, 05:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Looks like a strong squad. I played against Adam Macklin at school level. He was bloody huge then and has gotten even bigger. While playing junior rugby, he also played for the senior side. Interesting to see how he gets on. Could see Ireland doing quite well if they are in the right frame of mind.
Is the championship going to be on tv? Or just highlights?[/b]

Setanta showed the last few tournaments so I suspect they'll show this one too. IRB.com might stream the games also.

Macklin is a terrific prospect. I know that Methody played him at no.8 a huge amount to capitalize on his ball carrying skills. That has played a significant part in his scrummaging not being up to scratch yet. With good coaching he can become a quality scrummager given his massive frame and his strength. It might take 2 or 3 years for him to play for Ulster (he needs to work on his weaknesses a bit first) but once he makes the breakthrough, he'll be a hell of a player - a Cian Healy clone on the tighthead side of the scrum. Hopefully he won't become a wasted talent like Tony Buckley.