O’Connell to captain Ireland U20s at World Championship

Ireland head coach Willie Faloon has named a 30-man squad for the World Rugby U20 Championship later this month, with Munster’s Evan O’Connell captaining the side in South Africa.

The second row is one of five players in the squad who featured in last year’s tournament, where Ireland reached the final before being defeated by France.

Munster pair Brian Gleeson and Danny Sheahan, Connacht’s Hugh Gavin, and recent Ulster academy recruit Sam Berman are the other returning players from 12 months ago

Faloon, who has taken over as head coach following Richie Murphy’s move to Ulster, can count on a large portion of his squad from this year’s U20 Six Nations group, where Ireland finished second behind England.

There are four uncapped players in the 30-man squad, with Leinster’s Mikey Yarr and Connacht’s Max Flynn included in the forwards, while Munster’s Jake O’Riordan and Leinster Ruben Moloney are in the backs.

Ireland open their 2024 campaign against Six Nations rivals Italy on Saturday, 29 June in Cape Town, before facing Georgia on Thursday, 4 July at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch, before taking on and Australia on Tuesday, 9 July at Athlone Sports Stadium in Cape Town.

Speaking ahead of the squad’s departure for South Africa, Faloon (below) said: “It is an exciting time for the squad as we prepare to depart for the World Rugby U20 Championship.

“It has been a competitive couple of weeks as the squad have pushed each other in preparation for the tournament and we know we’ll need to grow and evolve as a team from the Six Nations for what will be a challenging couple of weeks against quality opposition in South Africa.”

Ireland squad

Forwards: Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster), Patreece Bell (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby), Alan Spicer (UCD RFC/Leinster), Evan O’Connell (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster) (captain), James McKillop (Queen’s University RFC/Ulster), Max Flynn (Corinthians RFC/Connacht), Brian Gleeson (Garryowen FC/Munster), Emmet Calvey (Shannon RFC/Munster), Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster), Jacob Boyd (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster), Billy Corrigan (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster), Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster), Bryn Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster), Luke Murphy (Shannon RFC/Munster), Mikey Yarr (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), Andrew Sparrow (UCD RFC/Leinster)

Backs: Oliver Coffey (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Ulster), Hugo McLaughlin (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Wilhelm de Klerk (UCD RFC/Ulster), Finn Treacy (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster), Tadhg Brophy (Naas RFC/Leinster), Sean Naughton (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), Sam Berman (Terenure RFC/Ulster), Davy Colbert (Dublin University FC/Leinster), Ruben Moloney (UCD RFC/Leinster), Jake O’Riordan (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)

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