4 Connacht players named in Irish U20 side

17 March 2023

4 Connacht players named in Irish  U20 side

Head Coach Richie Murphy has named his Ireland U20s Match Day Squad, sponsored by PwC, for Sunday evening’s U20 Six Nations finale against England at a sold-out Musgrave Park (Kick-off 5pm, live on Virgin Media Two).

Connacht academy players, Hugh Gavin, John Devine, Fiachna Barrett and Harry West are all named in the Irish U20 matchday 23 for Sunday.

Unbeaten in the Championship to date, Murphy’s side are chasing a memorable Grand Slam success in Cork for the second consecutive year and come into the game on the back of a record victory in Scotland last weekend.

Gus McCarthy captains the team from the front row, with George Hadden and Paddy McCarthy also named to start. Diarmuid Mangan and the ever-present Conor O’Tighearnaigh are in the engine room, with James McNabney, Ruadhan Quinn and Brian Gleeson continuing in the back row.

Fintan Gunne and Sam Prendergast once again start at scrum-half and out-half respectively, with John Devine and Hugh Cooneyin midfield. The back three of Henry McErlean, James Nicholson and Hugh Gavin complete the starting XV.

The match is live on Virgin Media Two.

Ireland U20s:

15. Henry McErlean (Terenure/Leinster)
14. James Nicholson (UCD/Leinster)
13. Hugh Cooney (Clontarf/Leinster)
12. John Devine (Corinthians/Connacht)
11. Hugh Gavin (Galwegians/Connacht)
10. Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster)
9. Fintan Gunne (Terenure/Leinster)

1. George Hadden (Clontarf/Leinster)
2. Gus McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)(captain)
3. Paddy McCarthy (DUFC/Leinster)
4. Diarmuid Mangan (UCD/Leinster)
5. Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD/Leinster)
6. James McNabney (Ballymena/Ulster)
7. Ruadhán Quinn (Old Crescent/Munster)
8. Brian Gleeson (Garryowen/Munster)

Replacements:

16. Danny Sheahan (UCC/Munster)
17. George Morris (Lansdowne/Leinster)
18. Fiachna Barrett (Corinthians/Connacht)
19. Joe Hopes (Queen’s University/Ulster)
20. Liam Molony (Dublin University/Leinster)
21. Oscar Cawley (Naas/Leinster)
22. Harry West (Buccaneers/Connacht)
23. Andrew Osborne (Naas/Leinster).