Murphy puts his faith in old boys

IRELAND

By SAM JACKSON

Ireland head coach Richie Murphy has retained consistency in selection from the memorable Grand Slam-winning campaign earlier this season, with 26 of the 30-player squad for South Africa having featured in the U20 Six Nations.

The four uncapped players are Garryowen hooker Max Klein, Old Belvedere tighthead prop Ronan Foxe, Dublin University’s Dan Barron and Garryowen scrumhalf Jack Oliver.

Murphy said: “It is an exciting time for the squad as we prepare to depart for South Africa for the World Rugby U20 Championship. It has been four years since the last edition of the tournament and we’re looking forward to getting to Cape Town to test ourselves against the world’s best teams.

“It has been a competitive couple of weeks as the squad have pushed each other in preparation for the tournament and we know we’ll need to grow and evolve as a team from the Six Nations for what will be a challenging couple of weeks against quality opposition in South Africa.”

The squad includes highly rated 6 ft 4inch Leinster fly-half Sam Prendergast, who scored 69 points in this year’s Six Nations and went on to make two appearances in the United Rugby Championship.

Leinster hooker Gus McCarthy, who led Ireland to Championship glory in March, has been named captain for the upcoming tournament and Murphy will be hoping his leadership skills and experience will be vital in guiding the team towards their goals in South Africa.

Murphy also confirmed his coaching staff for the tournament, with Mark Sexton (backs and attack) and Aaron Dundon (scrum and contact) continuing in their roles, while Andrew Browne joins as defence and lineout coach as Willie Faloon is unable to travel due to personal reasons.

Ireland’s best ever finish at the tournament is second when they finished runners up to England in 2016, while in 2019 they ended up eighth.

But after back-to-back Grand Slams Murphy’s side will be hoping for more luck in the form of an inaugural World Championship crown. You too could get lucky at luckybarry.co.uk.