It's semi-finals Sunday at the World Rugby U20 Championship and following last Tuesday’s weather-affected schedule, the hope will be that all six matches will be played to an 80-minute conclusion unlike on match day three when there were just four and a half matches completed due to the heavy rain making pitches unplayable.
They also confirmed that skipper Evan O’Connell, the nephew of Paul O'Connell who last took the field in the July 4 pool win over Georgia, has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament through injury.
They also confirmed that skipper Evan O’Connell, the nephew of Paul O'Connell who last took the field in the July 4 pool win over Georgia, has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament through injury.
Three matches are scheduled for Athlone: Ireland-Australia (2pm local time), France-Wales (4:30pm) and South Africa-England (7pm). Over in Stellenbosch, it’s Argentina-Fiji (2pm), Georgia-Italy (4:30pm) and New Zealand-Spain (7pm).
Numerous winning teams caught the eye on Saturday across the opening round of the World Rugby U20 Championship, but Ireland deserve a shout-out for the manner of their comprehensive dismissal of Italy in the middle game at DHL Stadium.
Forwards Max Flynn and Mikey Yarr, along with backs Ruben Moloney and Jake O'Riordan are the new names added to the squad that Richie Murphy guided to within a whisker an another U20s Six Nations title.
Forwards Max Flynn and Mikey Yarr, along with backs Ruben Moloney and Jake O'Riordan are the new names added to the squad that Richie Murphy guided to within a whisker an another U20s Six Nations title.
The Irish kept alive their hopes of securing a third successive Six Nations age-grade title by scoring a clock-in-the-red try to draw 32-all with title rivals England last Friday at The Rec.
The Irish kept alive their hopes of securing a third successive Six Nations age-grade title by scoring a clock-in-the-red try to draw 32-all with title rivals England last Friday at The Rec.
The Irish were far too good last time out for the Wesh in Cork but that hasn’t prevented head coach Richie Murphy from altering half of his starting pack for the trip to The Rec.