*Tony Butler, Conor Moloney and Ethan Coughlan.
IRISH U20 head coach, Richie Murphy has included three Clare men among the thirty one person squad for the upcoming 6 Nations.
Barefield duo Ethan Coughlan and Tony Butler along with Conor Moloney of Kildysart will be hoping to make their first appearances in the 6 Nations, the opening fixture sees Ireland host Wales a Musgrave Park on Friday (February 4th) at 8pm. They are all products of Ennis RFC.
Parachuted into the Munster Champions Cup squad following a COVID-19 break, the trio were all introduced in the final ten minutes of Munster’s 35-14 bonus point win against Wasps in Pool B of the Heineken Champions Cup. It was the first time, three men from the Banner County were all on the field for the province at the one time during the competition.
Just last week, Butler was on top form as Garryowen battled Limerick rivals Young Munster to end their six-match losing streak in the Energia All-Ireland League. In their 31-24 win at Dooradoyle, Butler had a hand in three of their tries and also kicked eleven points.
Ulster back row, Reuben Crothers has been appointed the Irish U20 captain, four of the squad were involved in last year’s campaign. They include Crothers, winger Chay Mullins and Leinster pair Jack Boyle and Mark Morrissey.
Ireland take on Wales first before travelling to France in Round 2 on February 11th. Murphy’s side will then go head-to-head with Italy on February 25th at Musgrave Park, before facing England away on March 12th and concluding their run at home to Scotland in Cork on March 20th.
Murphy is joined by assistance coaches Jimmy Duffy, Willie Faloon and Mark Sexton. They held a series of squad camps and challenge matches in recent weeks before finalising the squad. “We have been working hard for a number of weeks and it’s an exciting time for these young players, who have the honour of representing the wider group in the Six Nations,” Richie said.
He added, “It has been a challenging year but the players have come in, worked hard and bonded well, and I have been impressed by their work-rate, commitment and application. Now our focus turns to performance and next Friday’s opening game against Wales, which we know will be a big challenge first up”.
Ireland Squad For 2022 U20 Six Nations:
Forwards (17):
Oisin Michel (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Josh Hanlon (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)
Adam McNamee (Malone RFC/Ulster)
Conor Moloney (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
John Glasgow (City of Armagh RFC/Ulster)
Mark Morrissey (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Reuben Crothers (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)(Captain)
James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Rory McGuire (UCD/Leinster)
James McCormick (Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Darragh McSweeney (Shannon RFC/Munster)
Jack Boyle (UCD/Leinster)
James McNabney (Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
Jack O’Sullivan (UCC RFC/Munster)
Ronan O’Sullivan (Highfield RFC/Munster)
Backs (14):
Matthew Devine (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
Charlie Tector (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Aitzol King (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
Ben Brownlee (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Fionn Gibbons (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Patrick Campbell (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
Daniel Hawkshaw (Belvedere College/Leinster)
Ethan Coughlan (Shannon RFC/Munster)
Chay Mullins (Bristol Bears/IQ Rugby)
Tony Butler (Garryowen FC/Munster)
Dylan O’Grady (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Daniel Squires (UCC RFC/Munster)
Adam Maher (Rockwell College/Munster)
Shane Mallon (UCD RFC/Leinster).
Ireland Fixtures:
Ireland v Wales, Friday 4 February, Musgrave Park, 8pm (RTÉ)
France v Ireland, Friday 11 February, Stade Maurice David, 8pm (Virgin Media)
Ireland v Italy, Friday 25 February, Musgrave Park, 8pm (Virgin Media)
England v Ireland, Saturday 12 March, StoneX Stadium, 7.15pm (RTÉ)
Ireland v Scotland, Sunday 20 March, Musgrave Park, 5pm (Virgin Media).
