Ireland Under-20s head coach Nigel Carolan has made five changes for Friday’s trip to England as they seek a return to winning ways.
Ireland Under-20s head coach Nigel Carolan has made five changes for Friday’s trip to England as they seek a return to winning ways.
The Emerald Isle suffered defeat to France last time out, but will hope to get their Six Nations back on track at Kingston Park.
Scrum-half Stephen Kerins comes into the starting line-up after two appearances from the bench, while Jack Power is back No15 after injury.
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Conan O’Donnell gets the nod in the front row in place of the injured Conor Kenny, while Greg Jones is set for his debut in place of Max Deegan, who also is sidelined by injury.
But, in better news for Carolan, Will Connors is back after a short spell on the treatment table.
Five changes made to Ireland Under-20 team #ShouldertoShoulder https://t.co/upNTPHLnmY pic.twitter.com/BjIkZjpC7i
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 24, 2016
Carolan said: “We were disappointed with the result in France last time out. We started the game well, but we let things slip away from us before half-time and never managed to recover.
“Looking towards England on Friday, we are expecting a tough encounter in Newcastle.
“The English side made up for their opening loss to Scotland with a convincing win against Italy so we are prepared for them to be coming into this game full of confidence.”
Ireland team
15. Jack Power (UCD/Leinster)
14. Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster)
13. Shane Daly (Cork Con/Munster)
12. Jimmy O’Brien (UCD/Leinster)
11. Conor O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
10. Johnny McPhillips (QUB/Ulster)
9. Stephen Kerins (Sligo/Connacht)
1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)
2. Adam McBurney (Ballymena/Ulster)
3. Conán O’Donnell (Sligo/Connacht)
4. Peter Claffey (Galwegians/Connacht)
5. James Ryan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
6. Cillian Gallagher (Sligo/Connacht)
7. Will Connors (UCD/Leinster)
8. Greg Jones (UCD/Leinster)
Replacements
16. Shane Fenton (Young Munster/Munster)
17. James Bollard (Dublin University/Leinster)
18. Ben Betts (Munster/Young Munster)
19. Sean O’Connor (Cashel/Munster)
20. Kelvin Brown (Shannon/Munster)
21. John Poland (Cork Con/Munster)
22. Brett Connon (Newcastle Falcons)
23. Matthew Byrne (Terenure/Leinster)
Click here to view the complete 2016 RBS 6 Nations fixture schedule with TV coverage