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Ireland U20 coach Richie Murphy. Evan Treacy/INPHO

Ireland U20s make two changes ahead of England showdown

Ireland travel to face England on Saturday night.

IRELAND U20 HEAD coach Richie Murphy has made two changes to the side that defeated Italy in the Six Nations, as they prepare to face England at StoneX Stadium on Saturday (Kick-off 7.15pm, RTÉ News Now/BBC iPlayer).

Ben Carson has been named to start in the centre while Lorcan McLoughlin slots into the back row.

Carson featured for Ireland during last year’s U20 Six Nations in Cardiff and joins Jude Postlethwaite in midfield for the England clash, after Ben Brownlee was ruled out through injury.

The back three remains unchanged with Patrick Campbell, Chay Mullins and Fionn Gibbons retained, while Charlie Tector and Matthew Devine continue their half-back partnership.

Ulster’s Reuben Crothers once again captains the side from the back row, where McLoughlin comes in at blindside and James Culhane continues at number eight.

“We’ve had another good window of preparation for this game, including last week’s session against the Senior Team at Aviva Stadium. We identified areas where we needed to improve on from Italy and recognise the requirement to hit another level of performance on Saturday night.”

Ireland U20s (to play England)

  • 15. Patrick Campbell (Young Munster/Munster)
  • 14. Chay Mullins (Bristol Bears/IQ Rugby)
  • 13. Jude Postlewhaite (Banbridge/Ulster)
  • 12. Ben Carson (Banbridge/Ulster)
  • 11. Fionn Gibbons (UCD/Leinster)
  • 10. Charlie Tector (Lansdowne/Leinster)
  • 9. Matthew Devine (Galway Corinthians/Connacht)
  • 1. Jack Boyle (UCD/Leinster)
  • 2. James McCormick (Ballymena/Ulster)
  • 3. Rory McGuire (UCD/Leinster)
  • 4. Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD/Leinster)
  • 5. Mark Morrissey (UCD/Leinster)
  • 6. Lorcan McLoughlin (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
  • 7. Reuben Crothers (Ballynahinch/Ulster) (capt)
  • 8. James Culhane (UCD/Leinster)

Replacements:

  • 16. Josh Hanlon (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
  • 17. Oisin Michel (Lansdowne/Leinster)
  • 18. Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast/Ulster)
  • 19. James McNabney (Ballymena/Ulster)
  • 20. Diarmuid Mangan (UCD/Leinster)
  • 21. Ethan Coughlan (Shannon/Munster)
  • 22. Tony Butler (Garryowen FC/Munster)
  • 23. Aitzol King (Clontarf/Leinster)
Author
Sinead Farrell
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