The Ireland Under-18 Schools squad (sponsored by PwC) will join five other teams at the 2025 U-18 Men's International Series in South Africa, which will be held in the Western Cape in August.
Coached by Michael Hodge, the Ireland Under-18s will play the South Africa U-18 'A' and U-18 sides, and their Georgian counterparts, across three match days between Friday, August 8, and Saturday, August 16.
Hodge's youngsters have already faced Georgia this year, winning 26-21 when they met at the U-18 Men's Six Nations Festival in Vichy in April. They also bounced back from a 32-24 defeat to Wales with a 38-21 victory over Scotland.
James Browne, a Leinster Schools Senior Cup winner with Blackrock College in March, led the try-scoring for Ireland with a fine hat-trick against Scotland.
Full-back Fionn Rowsome, and hookers Lee Fitzpatrick and Nathan Noble, scored two tries each in France, while the captaincy duties were shared between forwards Harry Goslin, Fitzpatrick, and Jonathan Ginnety.
Prior to the Six Nations Festival, the Ireland U-18s overturned a 17-point half-time deficit to overcome England 22-17 in a memorable 50th Anniversary Schools international. The bulk of the squad from earlier in the year will travel to South Africa.
Hodge has included four players in his 26-strong touring group who were not involved in the Six Nations Festival - Alex Lautsou, Joe Christle, Daniel O'Connell, and Harry Waters.
Prior to the Ireland U-18 Schools players and management team departing for South Africa, there will be a training camp held at the IRFU High Performance Centre on July 19-20.
Head coach Hodge commented:
"Congratulations to all the boys who have been selected, especially those who are joining the squad for the first time. We built some important connections across the Six Nations Festival, and we're looking forward to the next challenge.
"The U-18 International Series offers an unique opportunity within the age-grade pathway. The chance to tour South Africa and compete against some of the best players at this level is an invaluable experience.
"The boys will be working hard across all four provinces during the summer, focusing on individual and collective improvement. There is a sense of excitement within the group, as we come back together for our final camp next month."
This is the second year that Ireland have taken part in the South African tournament, with class of 2024 earning wins over England (42-28) and Georgia (17-15), while losing out to the host nation on a 38-26 scoreline.
Last season's U-18 Schools squad was captained Charlie Molony, who was a try scorer for the Ireland U-20s in their opening World Rugby U-20 Championship victory over Georgia yesterday.
Tom Wood and Luke McLaughlin are also part of Ireland's World U-20 Championship squad, while Connor Magee, another U-18 graduate from last year, played during the recent U-20 Six Nations.
Wayne Mitchell, the IRFU's National Talent Squad & Talent ID Manager, said: "We are very excited to return to South Africa with our Ireland U-18 Schools squad.
"We have grown the U-18 national programme over the past few season to seven Test matches, which has giving us the opportunity to see and work with more players across the whole season.
"It also exposes our players, coaches, and support staff to different environments and styles of play, and builds connections and gets them up to speed with the demands of playing in a green jersey.
"Touring this summer provides us with another opportunity to work more closely with these players on a daily basis while in a different environment. Getting to know them better as individuals is really valuable for us to make better decisions for the future."
Domestic
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