Ireland U20 Side Named For U20 World Championship Opener Against France

Head Coach Noel McNamara has named the Ireland U20 side, sponsored by PwC, to face hosts France tomorrow night, in Ireland's opening pool game of the World Rugby U20s Championships. A total of four Munster players are included in the starting line-up with UCC's Peter Sylvester, Young Munster's Dan Hurley named in the backline, and UCC's James French and Garryowen's Diarmuid Barron selected in the pack.  In the front row, props French and Jack Aungier pack down with hooker Barron. Barron is one of six players included who is appearing at the U20 World Championships for a second time. Matthew Dalton and Jack Dunne start in the second row, with the back row consisting of Joe Dunleavy, Matthew Agnew and Number 8 and Captain Caelan Doris, another player who marks his second U20 Championship. There are three uncapped players in the backs, with wingers Hurley and Tom Roche, along with centre Sylvester set to win their first U20 caps. Sylvester lines out in the centre alongside Tommy O’Brien, with Hugh O’Sullivan and Harry Byrne forming the half-back partnership. Full-back Michael Silvester was also involved last summer in Georgia. The bench contains two uncapped players in hooker Dan Sheehan and prop Joe Byrne, while Aaron Hall, Charlie Ryan and Sean O’Brien were all involved in this season’s U20 Six Nations campaign. Jordan Duggan, Jonny Stewart and Conor Dean will all provide experience from the replacements, having all played at last year’s competition. Speaking ahead of the game, McNamara said: "There has been a great build up to this game, with positive work done both at home and since we arrived here in France and everyone is looking forward to getting the tournament underway. We know from the Six Nations how vocal and passionate the French fans are and there’s no doubt that there will be a fantastic atmosphere in Perpignan tomorrow night. The players have worked hard and they know the task ahead, so for them it’s about focusing on their roles and going out there and playing with conviction." The match will be broadcast live by Eir Sport in the Republic of Ireland and online in non-geoblocked locations via World Rugby’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/WorldRugby) and website (www.worldrugby.org).

Ireland U20 v France U20, World Rugby U20s Championship

(Stade Aime-Giral, Perpignan, Wednesday, 30th May 2018, 9.00pm local time/8.00pm Irish time) 15. Michael Silvester (Dublin University/Leinster) 14. Tom Roche (Lansdowne/Leinster) * 13. Tommy O’Brien (UCD/Leinster) 12. Peter Sylvester (UCC/Munster) * 11. Dan Hurley (Young Munster/Munster) * 10. Harry Byrne (UCD/Leinster) 9. Hugh O’Sullivan (Clontarf/Leinster) 1. James French (UCC/Munster) 2. Diarmuid Barron (Garryowen/Munster) 3. Jack Aungier (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 4. Matthew Dalton (Malone/Ulster) 5. Jack Dunne (Dublin University/Leinster) 6. Joe Dunleavy Malone(/Ulster) 7. Matthew Agnew (Ballymena/Ulster) 8. Caelan Doris (St. Mary's College/Leinster) Captain Replacements: 16. Dan Sheehan (Dublin University/Leinster) * 17. Jordan Duggan (Naas/Leinster) 18. Joe Byrne (Dublin University/Leinster) * 19. Charlie Ryan (UCD/Leinster) 20. Aaron Hall (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 21. Jonny Stewart (Queen's University/ Ulster) 22. Conor Dean (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 23. Sean O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster) *Denotes uncapped at this level.   Ireland U20 World Rugby U20 Championships Fixtures Pool C France v Ireland Stade Aime-Giral, Perpignan Wednesday 30th May, 2018 KO: 21:00 (local) / 20:00 (Irish) South Africa v Ireland Stade d'Honneur du Parc des Sports et de l'Amitie, Narbonne Sunday 3rd June, 2018 KO: 16:30 (local) / 15:30 (Irish) Ireland v Georgia Stade d'Honneur du Parc des Sports et de l'Amitie, Narbonne Thursday 7th June, 2018 KO: 18:30 (local) / 17:30 (Irish) Semi-Finals Stade d'Honneur du Parc des Sports et de l'Amitie, Narbonne OR Stade Aime-Giral, Perpignan Tuesday 12th June 2018 Finals Day Stade De La Mediterranee in Béziers. Sunday 17th June 2018 Visit here for more tournament information: www.worldrugby.org/u20