Carty called into Ireland U20s camp

12 June 2017

Carty called into Ireland U20s camp
Connacht sub-Academy out-half Luke Carty has been called into the Ireland camp ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship clash against Samoa tomorrow as the injured Sean Masterson returns to Ireland.

Following a medical review, the injured Marcus Rea, Jack Kelly, Masterson, Conor Fitzgerald and Liam Coombes will be returning to Ireland with Buccaneers man Carty added to the squad in Georgia along with winger Mark Keane (Instonians/Ulster), back rower Cormac Daly (Navan/Leinster).

A horrible run of luck with injuries hit the Ireland U20 squad before the World Rugby U20 Championship, ruling six regular starters out of selection, and coaches Peter Malone and Kieran Campbell have had to cope with further withdrawals ahead of Tuesday's 9th-12th place play-off against Samoa in Tbilisi (kick-off 1pm local time/10am Irish time).

Backs Fitzgerald and Coombes were both called up as injury replacements just earlier in the week, coming straight in to start against New Zealand in Ireland's final pool game in Kutaisi. The out-half position has been especially attritional this season, with Malone losing the services of Johnny McPhillips (groin), Bill Johnston (fractured fibula), Angus Curtis (concussion) and now Fitzgerald (ankle).

Versatile back Kelly began the year as Ireland U20 captain but he had an injury-disrupted Six Nations. He recovered from a shoulder injury to prove his fitness for Georgia, but just when he was hitting form with a brace of tries against Scotland, the luckless Dublin University clubman is sidelined again.

Of the three latest call-ups, out-half Carty is a brother of Connacht's Jack Carty and is in the province's sub-Academy. The fleet-footed Keane scored a try in all three of the Ireland U19s' internationals this season against Japan and France (2), while he also crossed the whitewash for Ulster against the Barbarians last week.

Daly was a try scorer for the Ireland U20s in a warm-up game against a Munster Development side last month. He lined out in the second row in the Navan U20s' historic Fraser McMullen Cup final win over Lansdowne in April.