 | |||
| Union | Irish Rugby Football Union | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem(s) | the Shamrock | ||
| Coach(es) | Terry McMaster | ||
| |||
The Irish Schoolboys rugby union team is the national team for secondary school students and under-18 school players in Ireland. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] There is an equivalent Ireland under 18 clubs side that play international rugby.
The Irish Schoolboys side represents the nation against youths of other nations.
They provide a starting point for Ireland qualified players that has led to players representing the National Team, Ireland A, Development, Provincial, Students, Irish U-20 and AIL teams. [6]
Currently in both the Republic and Northern Ireland there are 246 Schools playing rugby; Ulster (107), Leinster (75), Munster (41) and Connacht (23). [7] [8] [9]
Each of the four Provinces holds a Schools Cup competition every season, usually culminating in a Provincial Cup Final held on or around St Patricks Day (17 March each year). Despite the age group the qualifying games and finals are usually very well attended with crowds often better than those attending most adult club games, for Leinster Schools Cup Finals crowds of 15–20,000 are not unusual. This has brought onboard sponsors of the various competitions such as the Northern Bank Schools' Cup (Ulster), [10] Supermacs Schools Cup (Connacht) and the Powerade Schools' Cup (Leinster). [11]
They also play against other 6 Nations countries' schoolboys sides during the year, and also other test playing nations schools teams on a more infrequent basis. [1] [2] [12] [13] [14]
Recent matches include a narrow loss to France in a schoolboy Under-18 match on 20 December 2007. [15]
Since 2011, the team has taken part in the annual European Under-18 Rugby Union Championship, winning the title in this competition in 2011. It was Ireland's fourth appearance in the final, having previously lost to France in 2007, 2008 and 2010. 2011 marked the first time that Ireland was represented by a schools team rather than a Clubs XV. [16]
The following players have been called up by the Ireland senior national team.
The team's final positions in the European championship:
| Year | Division | Tier | Place |
| 2004 | A Division | I | |
| 2005 | A Division | I | 5th |
| 2006 | A Division | I | 2nd – Runners-up |
| 2007 | A Division | I | 2nd – Runners-up |
| 2008 | A Division | I | 2nd – Runners-up |
| 2009 | A Division | I | 3rd |
| 2010 | A Division | I | 2nd – Runners-up |
| 2011 | Elite Division | I | 1st – Champions |
| 2012 | Elite Division | I | 2nd – Runners-up |
| 2013 | Elite Division | I | 3rd |
| 2014 | Elite Division | I | 2nd – Runners-up |
| 2015 | Elite Division | I | 7th |
Brian Gerard O'Driscoll is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the British & Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand. He is regarded by critics as one of the greatest rugby players of all time.
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competition's other territories, the split branding mirroring the format previously adopted in Super Rugby. The Championship represents the highest level of domestic club or franchise rugby in each of its constituent countries.
Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht Branch, which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union throughout the geographical Irish province of Connacht.
Leinster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Gordon William D'Arcy is a retired Irish rugby player who played most of his career at inside centre. He played for Irish provincial side Leinster for his entire professional career and is second on the record list for most Leinster appearances at 257, behind Devon Toner and is third on the all time Leinster try list with 60. He was registered to club side Lansdowne.
The Leinster Schools Senior Challenge Cup is the premier rugby union competition for secondary schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), and was first held in 1887.
Rugby union is a popular team sport on the island of Ireland, organised on an all-Ireland basis, including players and teams from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Its governing body, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), was founded in 1879, making it the third oldest rugby union in the world after the RFU (England) and the SRU (Scotland).
Rocky Elsom is an Australian former rugby union player. He played the positions of flanker and number eight. He was selected for 75 caps for Australia and scored 75 points. He is the most capped Australian blindside flanker. Elsom was the 76th Australian test captain, having replaced Stirling Mortlock in 2009 for two years. He played for the Wallabies from 2005 until 2011. Elsom played professionally for New South Wales, Brumbies and Leinster.
Eoin Reddan is a retired Irish rugby union player who played at scrum half. He initially attended the Jesuit boarding school, Clongowes Wood, before moving school to Crescent College Comprehensive where he captained the school side. On leaving school he studied at the University of Limerick.
James Heislip is an Irish former rugby union player who represented Leinster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. He played as a number 8. Heislip earned 95 caps for Ireland during his international career from 2006 to 2017, making him one of the most capped players in Irish national team history.
Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton is an Irish former professional rugby union player who played as a fly-half and captained the Ireland national team from 2019 until 2023. He also played club rugby for Leinster and French side Racing 92.
Seán Kevin O'Brien is an Irish retired professional rugby union player. He previously represented home province Leinster for eleven seasons. At Leinster, he helped the team win four European titles, and was named ERC European Player of the Year for the 2010–11 season, he then played three season's for English Premiership Rugby side London Irish.
The 2009 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2008–09 Heineken Cup, the 14th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 23 May 2009 at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh; this was the second time that the Heineken Cup final had been held at Murrayfield after the 2005 final, when Toulouse beat Stade Français 18–12 after extra time.
Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road or Dublin Arena, is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators. It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and replaced it as home to its chief tenants: the Irish rugby union team and the Republic of Ireland football team. The decision to redevelop the stadium came after plans for both Stadium Ireland and Eircom Park fell through. Aviva Group Ireland signed a 10-year deal for the naming rights in 2009, and subsequently extended the arrangement until 2025.
Seán Cronin is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Leinster in the United Rugby Championship. He also played for the Ireland national rugby union team.
Michael McCarthy is an English-born retired Irish professional rugby union. He played his club rugby for the Irish provincial team Leinster Rugby in the Pro14, having joined from rival Irish team Connacht in 2013. He played in the second row and as a flanker.
Robert Anthony Henshaw is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team.
Finlay Harry Bealham is a professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club Connacht. Born in Australia, he represents Ireland at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.
The 2016 Pro12 Grand Final was the final match of the 2015–16 Pro12 season. The 2015–16 season was the second with Guinness as the title sponsor and the seventh ever League Grand Final. The final was played between Leinster and Connacht.
Cian Prendergast is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for United Rugby Championship club Connacht and the Ireland national team.
