Six Nations Championships 2017
Ireland U20s
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Ireland’s Jack Kelly takes inspiration from Leinster young guns Fullback will be sixth consecutive Under-20 captain from Dublin school St Michael’s Fri, Jan 27, 2017, John O’Sullivan
Jack Kelly smiles in describing himself as a “human tackle bag” during his time with the Ireland senior squad, not once but twice, last November. On the first occasion he had been training with the Ireland Under-20 squad, one that he will captain in the upcoming agegrade Six Nations Championship; on the second, Kelly and his Leinster and Ireland team-mate Jordan Larmour were summoned for a reprise at the Carton House training pitch. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience, confessing to being a bit wide-eyed as he sought to gain as much as he could from the opportunity. “What I noticed from it was that every training session is as important as the next,” said Kelly. “The senior players were striving for 100 per cent at every training session, they were never just thinking, ‘this is a training session, the game will come and that’s when we will switch on.’ There were always acting as if they were playing a match. “That’s what I took away from it; try to reach a certain intensity in training that you would look to get to in a match.” So did it whet the appetite? “My main reaction was ‘this is pretty cool.’ I was taken aback and a bit in awe of the circumstances that I found myself in. “On reflection, it is cool to get those experiences because you want to be in that position at some point in your career. It gives you a small taste and you want to come back for more.” Young backs
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Ireland senior coach Joe Schmidt took a moment to acknowledge the presence of the two young backs. “He greeted us as we came in and sent us a nice text afterwards, thanking us for coming up. They needed extra back three players.” The 19-year-old Kelly’s progress resembles the effortless elegance of his running style. Last year he captained St Michael’s in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup and has progressed impressively to first-team rugby at Dublin University in the Ulster Bank League Division 1A this season. More recently, he was voted by his peers to captain the Ireland Under-20 team. In doing so he will become the sixth consecutive Under-20s captain from St Michael’s, a staggering achievement for the one school, following on from James Ryan, Josh Murphy, Nick McCarthy, Dan Leavy and Luke McGrath. Kelly spoke about the quality of the coaching in the school that has produced so many professional rugby players in recent times, how honoured he felt on a personal level and name-checking returning players like Cillian Gallagher and Johnny McPhillips, upon whom he will rely for advice. And there was also a text message of support from his predecessor in the position. “James [Ryan] was my captain as I was going through the school. He sent me a text congratulating me. I have had a chat with him about what the Six Nations is like, what the World Cup is like and what the Under-20s is like as well. It is great to have friends that can give you that bit of guidance.” Pivotal influence. t was guidance of a less subtle nature that benefited him in his final year at school, one that had a pivotal influence on his fledgling career. “I only transitioned to fullback in sixth year. I always saw myself as a centre until my coach [Andy Skehan and backs coach Andy Kenny] told me otherwise. “I am pretty grateful that they made that decision for me as I didn’t agree with it at the time,” he laughed. He spoke about the qualities he admires in a couple of fullbacks close to home. He admires Rob Kearney’s high fielding in particular and Isa Nacewa’s tactical kicking and would love to develop those skills to complement his exceptional running ability. He’s also looking at a few players closer to his own age. “At the moment, seeing guys like Rory O’Loughlin and Garry Ringrose, who are only a few years ahead of me, getting onto the senior team in Leinster, doing so well and having such an impact, I would look at them. I would be looking to learn from them and maybe follow.”
The Ireland Under-20 squad, sponsored by PwC, has been named by head coach Nigel Carolan for the open-
ing rounds of the Under-20 Six Nations Championship.
The 32-man squad features three players from last year’s campaign. In the forwards, Corinthians and Connacht lock Cillian Gallagher and Shannon and Munster back rower John Foley return for their second U-20 Six Nations Championship, as does Ballynahinch and Ulster out-half Johnny McPhillips. Jack Kelly of Dublin University and Leinster, a regular starter for the student club in Ulster Bank League Division 1A, has been named as captain. Speaking about selecting the squad, Nigel Carolan said: “As is the nature of Under-20 rugby, we have a new-look squad this season, with just a few of last year’s players returning, so it will be a new and exciting challenge for both the players and management.“We had a number of camps before Christmas and the attitude and enthusiasm that the players brought with them to these camps has been extremely positive. “While international rugby at Under-20 level will be new to the most of these players, the majority of them have all come through the IRFU Player Pathway and will have worn the green jersey at Under-18 and Under-19 levels.“Several of the squad have also gotten good game-time with their provincial ‘A’ teams in the British & Irish Cup this season, so that should stand to them.“The U-20 Six Nations Championship is always an exciting competition, but we’ll be taking it one game at a time and we’re looking forward to getting things underway against Scotland on Friday week.”Commenting at the announcement of the PwC-sponsored U-20 squad, Feargal O’Rourke, Managing Partner, PwC, said: “We, in PwC, are very committed to supporting Irish Rugby principally through our sponsorship of the Under-20 team and we wish them every success for 2017 and in their upcoming Six Nations Championship campaign.” The Ireland Under-20s will open their Six Nations campaign against Scotland on Friday, February 3 at Broadwood Stadium in Glasgow (kick-off 8.30pm). They will then travel to Prato to play Italy on Friday, February 10, with a 7pm kick-off (local time).Carolan’s charges will then play their first home game of the Championship against France at Donnybrook Stadium on Friday, February 24. They will face Wales on Saturday, March 11 in Colwyn Bay in northern Wales and will finish off the Championship on St. Patrick’s Day against England in Donnybrook, in what will be a double header with the Ireland Women.
The Ireland Under-20 team, sponsored by PwC, to play Scotland in the opening round of the 2017 U-20 Six Nations at Broadwood Stadium on Friday (kick-off 8.30pm) has been named. A new-look Ireland
Under-20 team sees just two players previously capped at this level named in the side - out- half Johnny McPhillips and Cillian Gallagher in the back row. Friday’s game will be shown live on RTE 2. Joe Conway, Tadgh McElroy and Peter Cooper make up the front row with Fineen Wycherley and Oisin Dowling paired together in the second row. Gallagher, Paul Boyle and Caelan Doris complete the pack. Captain Jack Kelly will start at full-back with Jordan Larmour and Colm Hogan named on the wings. UCD duo Gavin Mullin and Ciaran Frawley make up the centre paring with McPhillips named at out-half alongside his Ulster colleague, scrum half Jonny Stewart. Commenting on the team selection and the challenge ahead, Ireland U-20 head coach Nigel Carolan said: “As is the nature of Under-20 rugby, there is fresh look to the side, the majority of the guys haven’t played at this level before however many have gotten good game-time with their provincial ‘A’ teams in the British & Irish Cup this season, so that should stand to them. “We are looking forward to starting the Six Nations. Training has gone well and the boys have gelled as a group. We are taking the tournament one game at a time and are looking forward to kicking things off in Scotland on Friday night.” IRELAND UNDER-20 Team & Replacements (v Scotland Under-20s, 2017 Under-20 Six Nations, Broadwood Stadium, Glasgow, Friday, February 3, kick-off 8.30pm): 15. Jack Kelly (Dublin University/Leinster) (capt) 14. Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 13. Gavin Mullin (UCD/Leinster) 12. Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster) 11. Colm Hogan (Dublin University/Munster) 10. Johnny McPhillips (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 9. Jonny Stewart (Queen’s University/Ulster) 1. Joey Conway (UL Bohemians/Munster) 2. Tadgh McElroy (Lansdowne/Leinster) 3. Peter Cooper (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) 4. Fineen Wycherley (Young Munster/Munster)
5. Oisin Dowling (Lansdowne/Leinster) 6. Cillian Gallagher (Corinthians/Connacht) 7. Paul Boyle (Lansdowne/Leinster) 8. Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) Replacements: 16. Adam Moloney (Shannon/Munster) 17. Rory Mulvihill (UCD/Leinster) 18. Charlie Connolly (Dublin University/Leinster) 19. Jack Regan (UCD/Leinster) 20. Marcus Rea (Queen’s University/Ulster) 21. Jack Lyons (Young Munster/Munster) 22. Conor Fitzgerald (Shannon/Munster) 23. Tommy O’Brien (UCD/Leinster)
Head coach Nigel Carolan has named the Ireland Under-20 team, sponsored by PwC, to face Wales in Saturday’s U-20 Six Nations clash at Parc Eirias in Colwyn Bay (kick-off 6.30pm). There are three personnel
changes and two positional switches. In the back-line, Jordan Larmour will wear the number 15 jersey, having played on the wing in the Ireland U-20s’ opening three wins over Scotland, Italy and France. Tommy O’Brien, the try-scoring man-of-the-match against the French, moves from the centre to the right wing, and Calvin Nash will again captain the side from the opposite flank. There is a new centre pairing as Jack Kelly returns from the shoulder injury he sustained in Scotland to join UCD’s Ciaran Frawley in midfield. Scrum half Jonny Stewart will again partner number 10 Bill Johnston, who kicked 11 points in Ireland’s 26-25 World Rugby U-20 Championship pool win over Wales in Manchester last June. The front row remains unchanged, with hooker Tadgh McElroy packing down with props Joey Conway and Charlie Connolly, while Fineen Wycherley, who made his Munster senior debut in Cardiff last Saturday, returns to partner Oisin Dowling in the second row. Flanker Gavin Coombes, one of three Young Munster players in the starting line-up, will make his first start of the campaign on the blindside. Paul Boyle and number 8 Caelan Doris complete the back row. Ahead of the RTE Two-televised round 4 match, Nigel Carolan
said: “The management team are very happy with how the side is progressing and developing so far in the Championship, but there is another big test ahead of us this Saturday in Colwyn Bay. “Wales have been going well in the competition, and despite a loss to England, they had a very big win against Scotland in the last round so they will be coming into this game full of confidence. “We’ve had a good two week build-up to this game and had another good (training) day with the senior side last week, so for us it’s now about getting out there and putting in a performance.” Wales U-20 v Ireland U-20 tickets are priced at £15 (seated), £ IRELAND UNDER-20 Team & Replacements (v Wales Under-20s, 2017 Under-20 Six Nations, Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay, Saturday, March 11, kick-off 6.30pm): 15. Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 14. Tommy O’Brien (UCD/Leinster) 13. Jack Kelly (Dublin University/Leinster) 12. Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster) 11. Calvin Nash (Young Munster/Munster) (capt) 10. Bill Johnston (Garryowen/Munster) 9. Jonny Stewart (Queen’s University/Ulster) 1. Joey Conway (UL Bohemians/Munster) 2. Tadgh McElroy (Lansdowne/Leinster) 3. Charlie Connolly (Dublin University/Leinster) 4. Fineen Wycherley (Young Munster/Munster) 5. Oisin Dowling (Lansdowne/Leinster) 6. Gavin Coombes (Young Munster/Munster) 7. Paul Boyle (Lansdowne/Leinster) 8. Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) Replacements: 16. Ronan Kelleher (UCD/Leinster) 17. Greg McGrath (Lansdowne/Leinster) * 18. Matthew Burke (Corinthians/Connacht) 19. Jack Regan (UCD/Leinster) 20. Marcus Rea (Queen’s University/Ulster) 21. Jack Stafford (Shannon/Munster) * 22. Conor Fitzgerald (Shannon/Munster) 23. Colm Hogan (Dublin University/Munster)
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