Ireland national under-20 rugby union team

Ireland U-20

Union	Irish Rugby Football Union
Emblem(s)	Shamrock
Ground(s)	Musgrave Park (Capacity: 8,008)
Coach(es)	Richie Murphy
Captain(s)	Evan O'Connell
Most caps	Dominic Ryan (20) Iain Henderson (20)
Top scorer	Ross Byrne (129)
Most tries	Andrew Conway (14)
Team kit Change kit
First international
Ireland 17–15 Wales (2 February 2007)
Largest win
Scotland 7–82 Ireland (10 March 2023) [1]
Largest defeat
New Zealand 69–3 Ireland (8 June 2017)
World Cup
Appearances	13 (First in 2008)
Best result	2nd, 2016, 2023

The Ireland national under-20 rugby team was formed in 2006, having previously been known as the under-21 team.

History

Ireland have won the Grand Slam four times and the Six Nations Championship five times: 2007, 2010, 2019, 2022 and 2023. In the pandemic-truncated competition in 2020, Ireland won the Triple Crown. At the time the competition was halted, Ireland were undefeated and led the table. However, this was not considered a championship nor a grand slam. ^{[2] [3] [4]} Ireland won two consecutive Grand Slams in the 2022 and 2023 Six Nations championships, but were denied a third consecutive Grand Slam and championship title following a draw away to England. ^[5] Despite Ireland and England having both recorded four wins and a draw, England were crowned champions as they had earned one more try bonus point than Ireland. ^[5]

Current squad

Head coach Richie Murphy named his 31–man squad for the 2024 Six Nations Under 20s Championship on 16 January. ^[6]

Name	Date of Birth	Height (m)	Weight (kg)	Position	Club	Province
Alex Usanov	10 July 2005			Prop	Clontarf	Leinster
Ben Howard	18 February 2004			Prop	Terenure College	Leinster
Danny Sheehan	7 April 2004	1.86	105	Hooker	Cork Constitution	Munster
Henry Walker	24 June 2005	1.87	100	Hooker	Queen's University	Ulster
Stephen Smyth	1 August 2004	1.87	110	Hooker	Old Wesley	Leinster
Patreece Bell	23 May 2004	1.80	111	Prop	Sale Sharks	IQ Rugby
Jacob Boyd	10 July 2004	1.86	125	Prop	Queen's University	Ulster
Andrew Sparrow	15 November 2004	1.82		Prop	UCD	Leinster
Billy Corrigan	25 June 2005	1.86		Lock	Old Wesley	Leinster
Evan O'Connell (c)	4 April 2004	2.01	109	Lock	UL Bohemians	Munster
Alan Spicer	4 May 2005	2.09	120	Lock	UCD	Leinster
Joe Hopes	16 March 2004	1.98	110	Back-row	Queen's University	Ulster
Bryn Ward	17 July 2004	1.85	113	Back-row	Ballynahinch	Ulster
Sean Edogbo	8 May 2004	1.96	103	Back-row	UCC	Munster
Brian Gleeson	5 February 2004	1.93	116	Back-row	Garryowen	Munster
Luke Murphy	27 January 2005			Back-row	Shannon	Munster
Josh Stevens	14 December 2004	1.79	105	Back-row	Queen's University	Ulster
Oliver Coffey	13 September 2004	1.83	83	Scrum-half	Blackrock College	Leinster
Tadhg Brophy	18 September 2004	1.73	73	Scrum-half	Naas	Leinster
Will Wootton	17 June 2005	1.72	78	Scrum-half	Sale Sharks	IQ Rugby
Jake O'Riordan	17 December 2004			Scrum-half	UL Bohemians	Munster
Jack Murphy	15 July 2004			Fly-half	Clontarf	Leinster
Sean Naughton	19 October 2004	1.82	78	Fly-half	Corinthians	Connacht
Hugo McLaughlin	26 May 2004			Wing	Lansdowne	Leinster
Finn Treacy	14 August 2004	1.80	81	Wing	Galwegians	Connacht
Stephen Kiely	25 January 2004	1.85	92	Wing	Shannon	Munster
Hugh Gavin	10 January 2004	1.92	103	Centre	Galwegians	Connacht
Wilhelm de Klerk	16 August 2004			Centre	UCD	Leinster
Rory Ellerby				Centre	Queen's University	Ulster
Ethan Graham	27 April 2004	1.81	87	Fullback	Ballynahinch	Ulster
Ben O'Connor	20 August 2004	1.88	94	Fullback	UCC	Munster

Coaching and management

Position	Name
Head coach	Richie Murphy
Forwards coach	Jimmy Duffy
Skills and backs coach	Mark Sexton
Defence coach	Willie Faloon
Team manager	Hendrik Kruger
Athletic performance coach	Martin Kennedy
Performance analyst	John Buckley
Media and communications	Ryan Bailey

Overall record

Opposition	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	% Won	For	Aga	Diff
Argentina	5	3	0	2	60%	101	73	+28
Australia	4	2	0	2	50%	83	98	–15
England	26	10	2	14	38.46%	589	716	–127
Fiji	3	3	0	0	100%	131	30	+101
France	24	11	0	13	45.83%	484	573	–89
Georgia	3	2	0	1	66.67%	79	49	+30
Japan	1	1	0	0	100%	39	33	+6
Italy	22	20	1	1	90.91%	647	340	+307
New Zealand	8	1	0	7	12.5%	115	316	–201
Samoa	3	2	0	1	66.67%	92	45	+47
Scotland	26	21	0	5	80.77%	831	505	+326
South Africa	6	2	0	4	33.33%	136	193	–57
Tonga	1	1	0	0	100%	45	27	+18
Uruguay	1	1	0	0	100%	45	0	+45
Wales	24	13	1	10	54.17%	608	474	+134
Total	157	93	4	60	59.62%	4,025	3,472	+553

Correct as of 16 March 2024 ^[7]

Six Nations Under 20s Championship

Main article: Six Nations Under 20s Championship

Year	Pos	Played	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TD	LBP	TBP	Triple Crown	Grand Slam
2008	4th	5	2	0	3	56	90	–34	3	13	–10	N/A	N/A	No	No
2009	2nd	5	4	0	1	86	88	–2	5	9	–4	N/A	N/A	No	No
2010	1st	5	4	0	1	147	62	85	17	5	12	N/A	N/A	Yes	No
2011	4th	5	2	1	2	147	99	48	11	14	–3	N/A	N/A	No	No
2012	3rd	5	4	0	1	86	46	40	7	4	3	N/A	N/A	No	No
2013	3rd	5	2	1	2	98	83	15	13	9	4	N/A	N/A	No	No
2014	4th	5	2	0	3	74	79	–5	7	8	–1	N/A	N/A	No	No
2015	5th	5	2	0	3	120	90	30	13	10	3	N/A	N/A	No	No
2016	3rd	5	3	0	2	108	120	–18	10	12	–2	N/A	N/A	No	No
2017	4th	5	3	0	2	111	122	–11	12	13	–1	1	0	No	No
2018	3rd	5	2	0	3	145	182	–37	21	26	–5	1	3	No	No
2019	1st	5	5	0	0	150	92	58	18	12	6	0	3	Yes	Yes
2020	Cancelled	3	3	0	0	113	69	44	17	10	7	0	3	Yes	Cancelled
2021	3rd	5	3	0	2	151	100	51	20	14	6	1	3	No	No
2022	1st	5	5	0	0	210	65	145	29	9	20	0	4	Yes	Yes
2023	1st	5	5	0	0	239	116	123	32	17	15	0	4	Yes	Yes
2024	2nd	5	4	1	0	171	93	78	23	12	11	0	4	No	No

World Rugby U20 Championship

Main article: World Rugby U20 Championship

Year	Place	Pool	Played	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TD	LBP	TBP
2008	9th	A	5	3	0	2	112	127	–15	11	13	–2	0	1
2009	8th	A	5	2	0	3	81	54	27	9	3	6	0	1
2010	9th	B	5	2	0	3	154	118	36	18	9	9	2	0
2011	8th	C	5	1	0	4	120	183	–63	11	24	–13	0	0
2012	5th	B	5	4	0	1	124	70	54	13	7	6	1	1
2013	8th	B	5	2	0	3	121	86	35	14	9	5	1	1
2014	4th	B	5	2	0	3	124	127	–3	14	16	–2	1	2
2015	7th	C	5	3	0	2	74	92	–18	6	9	–3	0	0
2016	2nd	A	5	4	0	1	173	153	20	17	16	1	0	1
2017	9th	B	5	2	0	3	128	167	–39	16	25	–9	2	0
2018	11th	C	5	1	0	4	129	158	–29	16	23	–7	2	0
2019	8th	B	5	2	0	3	137	155	–18	18	20	–2	0	2
2020-2022	Not held
2023	2nd	B	5	3	1	1	156	133	23	23	19	4	0	3
2024	TBD	B	To be determined

Honours

• Six Nations Under 20s Championship :
  • Winner (5): 2007, 2010, 2019, 2022, 2023
• Grand Slam :
  • Winner (4): 2007, 2019, 2022, 2023
• Triple Crown :
  • Winner (6): 2007, 2010, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
• World Rugby Under 20 Championship :
  • Runner Up (2): 2016, 2023

See also

• Ireland national rugby union team
• Ireland Wolfhounds
• Emerging Ireland
• Ireland national schoolboy rugby union team
• Six Nations Under 20s Championship
• World Rugby Under 20 Championship

References

1. "U20 Six Nations: Ireland thrash Scotland to move one step closer to Grand Slam". Irish Times. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
2. "Ireland Under-20s Complete Grand Slam Mission With Bonus Point Flourish". Irish Rugby. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
3. "Nine-try Ireland U20s crush Scotland to claim Grand Slam success". The42 . 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
4. "Six-try Ireland U20s make history with back-to-back Grand Slam titles". The42 . 19 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
5. "Six Nations U20s Championship: Ireland 36 Scotland 0". Irish Times. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
6. "Murphy Announces Ireland Under-20 Squad For 2024 U-20 Six Nations". Irish Rugby . 16 January 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
7. "Fixtures & Results". Irish Rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.

External links

• Ireland U-20 Squad from official IRFU site