Charlie Molony (Fullback, Leinster)
One of the true standouts of last year’s Leinster Schools Senior Cup, fullback Molony opened the scoring in Blackrock College’s semi-final victory over St Mary’s after just 18 seconds, scything his way through the Mary’s defence off first phase and taking one to the house from 40-odd metres.
Molony was part of ‘Rock’s Cup-winning leadership group alongside tonight’s Ireland U20 right wing Derry Moloney (who incidentally scored a hat-trick in that same semi-final) and went on to captain the Ireland Schools during their International Series in South Africa last spring.
A flying, flamboyant 15 who possesses excellent instinct in the backfield and an astute kicking game, Molony has been earmarked for a professional career for several years and should make himself known to a wider audience at Musgrave Park tonight.
Connor Fahy (Centre, Leinster)
Fahy is a product of Wexford Wanderers but he has ripped it up for Clontarf in AIL Division 1A this season having enjoyed his first taste of senior rugby with Enniscorthy during their 2023/24 campaign in 2C.
Fahy, who caught the eye for Leinster ‘A’ at the end of last year, blends natural power in the carry with fleet footwork partly honed on the Sevens scene, where he played age-grade ball for Ireland.
That Fahy has been given the nod at 13 over the supremely gifted Gene O’Leary-Kareem, whom he outshone in a provincial ‘A’ game in November, speaks to his all-round talent. The deft-handed O’Leary-Kareem, a year Fahy’s junior in rugby terms, captained Pres to the Munster Schools Senior Cup title in 2024 and will equally be one to watch in this championship.
Eoghan Smyth (Centre, Munster)
Like his former Ireland Clubs teammate Fahy, Smyth has taken the road less travelled to U20 international level. The Cork man came through not at Pres or Christians but at Midleton RFC and Midleton College, where he sat the Leaving Cert last year.
Smyth has since become a mainstay in the midfield of AIL champions Cork Con and partnered O’Leary-Kareem in midfield for Munster ‘A’ back in November.
What stood out to Con boss Jonny Holland when Smyth crossed his desk was the inside centre’s veracious appetite for defensive work: there was a 90-second clip of Smyth in action for Munster 19s in which he made seven tackles, including several double efforts on the fold.
Having added more heft to his carrying up in Temple Hill, Smyth should complement his old pal Fahy in an all-clubs Ireland midfield at Musgrave Park.
Ciarán Mangan (Wing/centre, Leinster)
An electrifying back who has featured primarily at 13 for Blackrock in AIL Division 1B this campaign, Mangan should act not only as a finisher but as a distributor off Ireland’s left wing against England, not dissimilarly to how James Lowe is deployed for the senior team.
Mangan boasts a different athletic profile to Lowe, however: he’s powerful for his age, certainly, but his dynamism is predicated upon raw speed as much as it is upper-body strength.
A former Newbridge College standout, Ciarán is incidentally the younger brother of two-time U20 Grand Slam winner Diarmuid Mangan and they played against each other when Neil Doak’s Ireland 20s faced Leinster ‘A’ in a Six Nations warm-up game three weeks ago.
Clark Logan (Scrum-half, Ulster)
Ballymoney RFC product Logan hopes to one day challenge for scrum-half supremacy at Ulster and, with the departure of John Cooney seemingly imminent, he can at least spark that conversation as he links up with exciting half-back partner Sam Wisniewski against England tonight.
Captain of Coleraine Grammar School during their 2024 Ulster Schools Senior Cup campaign, Logan hails from a sporting family: his father played hockey for Ulster and his older brother won several national road and track cycling titles during his school days.
Logan, though, says that for as long as he can remember, there’s been a rugby ball in the boot of the family car, which has shown during his polished performances for Ulster’s age-grade squads and Ireland U19s.
Bobby Power (Back row, Connacht)
Power starts at openside against England but can equally shine at blindside, just as he did for Connacht ‘A’ against their Ulster equivalents two months ago.
On that freezing afternoon at Kingspan Stadium, Belfast, Power lived up to his surname with an 80-minute performance consisting of 17 tackles, seven carries, and a try at the death.
The all-action flanker was nominated for Connacht’s U19 Player of the Year award in 2024 and is one of two Galwegians RFC men starting in the Ireland back row alongside captain Éanna McCarthy, the former Christian Brothers College Cork and Munster U19 skipper who joined Connacht’s academy last year.
Michael Foy (Lock/flanker, Munster)
Completing the Ireland back row against England is McCarthy’s former schools teammate with Christians, Michael Foy, who was the outstanding forward during last year’s Munster Schools Senior Cup.
Foy, whose second-row partner at CBC, Conor Kennelly, has also been included in Neil Doak’s squad for this year’s Six Nations, will start at blindside for tonight’s meeting with champions England.
Carrigaline RFC and Cork Con product Foy was a titan in the Christians lineout during his two years of Senior Cup, a trait which should ease some of the pressure on impressive Old Wesley/Leinster duo Mahon Ronan and Billy Corrigan in the Ireland second row at Musgrave Park tonight.
At six-foot-five — which is fractionally on the short side for a senior lock — Foy may well convert to blindside full-time if he has stopped growing. But his ball-carrying, tackling, and ferocious work at the breakdown, coupled with his being an excellent lineout option, make him one of Munster’s most exciting academy prospects.
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