Ireland national under-20 rugby union team

The Ireland national under-20 rugby team was formed in 2006, having previously been known as the under-21 team.

Ireland U-20
UnionIrish Rugby Football Union
Emblem(s)Shamrock
Ground(s)Musgrave Park (Capacity: 8,008)
Coach(es)Willie Faloon
Captain(s)Evan O'Connell
Most capsDominic Ryan (20)
Iain Henderson (20)
Top scorerRoss Byrne (129)
Most triesAndrew Conway (14)
Team kit
Change kit
First international
Ireland Ireland 17–15 Wales Wales
(2 February 2007)
Largest win
Scotland Scotland 7–82 Ireland Ireland
(10 March 2023)[1]
Largest defeat
New Zealand New Zealand 69–3 Ireland Ireland
(8 June 2017)
World Cup
Appearances13 (First in 2008)
Best result2nd, 2016, 2023

History

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Ireland have won the Grand Slam four times and the Six Nations Championship five times: 2007, 2010, 2019, 2022 and 2023. In the pandemic-truncated competition in 2020, Ireland won the Triple Crown. At the time the competition was halted, Ireland were undefeated and led the table. However, this was not considered a championship nor a grand slam.[2][3][4] Ireland won two consecutive Grand Slams in the 2022 and 2023 Six Nations championships, but were denied a third consecutive Grand Slam and championship title following a draw away to England.[5] Despite Ireland and England having both recorded four wins and a draw, England were crowned champions as they had earned one more try bonus point than Ireland.[5]

Players

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Current squad

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Head coach Willie Faloon named his 30–man squad for the 2024 U20 Rugby Championship on 14 June.[6]

Name Date of Birth Position Club Province
Alex Usanov 10 July 2005 Prop Clontarf Leinster
Danny Sheehan 7 April 2004 Hooker Cork Constitution Munster
Stephen Smyth 1 August 2004 Hooker Old Wesley Leinster
Patreece Bell 23 May 2004 Prop   Sale Sharks IQ Rugby
Jacob Boyd 10 July 2004 Prop Queen's University Ulster
Andrew Sparrow 15 November 2004 Prop UCD Leinster
Billy Corrigan 25 June 2005 Lock Old Wesley Leinster
Evan O'Connell (c) 4 May 2004 Lock UL Bohemians Munster
Alan Spicer 4 May 2005 Lock UCD Leinster
Bryn Ward 17 July 2004 Back-row Ballynahinch Ulster
Sean Edogbo 8 May 2004 Back-row UCC Munster
Brian Gleeson 5 February 2004 Back-row Garryowen Munster
Luke Murphy 27 January 2005 Back-row Shannon Munster
James McKillop Back-row Queen's University Ulster
Max Flynn Flanker Corinthians Connacht
Emmet Calvey Prop Shannon Munster
Mikey Yarr Hooker Lansdowne Leinster
Oliver Coffey 13 September 2004 Scrum-half Blackrock College Leinster
Tadhg Brophy 18 September 2004 Scrum-half Naas Leinster
Jake O'Riordan 17 December 2004 Scrum-half UL Bohemians Munster
Jack Murphy 15 July 2004 Fly-half Clontarf Leinster
Sean Naughton 19 October 2004 Fly-half Corinthians Connacht
Hugo McLaughlin 26 May 2004 Wing Lansdowne Leinster
Finn Treacy 14 August 2004 Wing Galwegians Connacht
Hugh Gavin 10 January 2004 Centre Galwegians Connacht
Wilhelm de Klerk 16 August 2004 Centre UCD Leinster
Ben O'Connor 20 August 2004 Fullback UCC Munster
Ruben Moloney Fullback UCD Leinster
Sam Berman Centre Terenure College Leinster
Davy Colbert Wing Dublin University Leinster

Award winners

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The following Ireland U20s players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2008:[7]

World Rugby Junior Player of the Year
Year Nominees Winners
2012 JJ Hanrahan
2014 Garry Ringrose
2016 Max Deegan Max Deegan

Coaching and management

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Position Name
Head coach Richie Murphy
Forwards coach Jimmy Duffy
Skills and backs coach Mark Sexton
Defence coach Willie Faloon
Team manager Hendrik Kruger
Athletic performance coach Martin Kennedy
Performance analyst John Buckley
Media and communications Ryan Bailey

Overall record

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Opposition Played Won Drawn Lost % Won For Aga Diff
  Argentina 5 3 0 2 60% 101 73 +28
  Australia 4 2 0 2 50% 83 98 –15
  England 27 10 2 15 37.04% 609 747 –138
  Fiji 3 3 0 0 100% 131 30 +101
  France 24 11 0 13 45.83% 484 573 –89
  Georgia 4 3 0 1 75% 101 65 +36
  Japan 1 1 0 0 100% 39 33 +6
  Italy 23 21 1 1 91.3% 702 355 +347
  New Zealand 9 1 0 8 11.11% 139 354 –215
  Samoa 3 2 0 1 66.67% 92 45 +47
  Scotland 26 21 0 5 80.77% 831 505 +326
  South Africa 6 2 0 4 33.33% 136 193 –57
  Tonga 1 1 0 0 100% 45 27 +18
  Uruguay 1 1 0 0 100% 45 0 +45
  Wales 24 13 1 10 54.17% 608 474 +134
Total 161 95 4 62 59.01% 4,146 3,572 +574

Correct as of 22 July 2024[8]

Six Nations Under 20s Championship

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World Rugby U20 Championship

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Honours

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "U20 Six Nations: Ireland thrash Scotland to move one step closer to Grand Slam". Irish Times. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Ireland Under-20s Complete Grand Slam Mission With Bonus Point Flourish". Irish Rugby. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Nine-try Ireland U20s crush Scotland to claim Grand Slam success". The42. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Six-try Ireland U20s make history with back-to-back Grand Slam titles". The42. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Six Nations U20s Championship: Ireland 36 Scotland 0". Irish Times. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Murphy Announces Ireland Under-20 Squad For 2024 U-20 Six Nations". Irish Rugby. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Fixtures & Results". Irish Rugby. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Ireland v Australia in World U20 Championship cancelled". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 July 2024.
  10. ^ Williamson, Nathan (9 July 2024). "Australia U20s coach Grey blasts call to cancel Ireland game, ending World Championship semi-final hopes". rugby.com.au. Rugby Australia.
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