IRELAND U20 HEAD coach Willie Faloon has named his 30-man squad for the upcoming World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa.

Evan O’Connell continues as captain, having led Ireland through the U20 Six Nations.

O’Connell — nephew of Ireland and Munster legend Paul — is one of five returning players from last year’s tournament, alongside Brian Gleeson, Danny Sheahan, Hugh Gavin, and Sam Berman.

There are four uncapped players at U20 level in the squad: Leinster duo Mikey Yarr and Ruben Moloney, Connacht’s Max Flynn and Jake O’Riordan of Munster.

Ireland finished runners-up to France in 2023, and will face Australia, Italy and Georgia in Pool B this time around. The tournament runs over five match days from 29 June to 19 July in Cape Town, with Faloon’s side opening their campaign against Italy.

“It is an exciting time for the squad as we prepare to depart for the World Rugby U20 Championship,” Faloon said.

“It has been a competitive couple of weeks as the squad have pushed each other in preparation for the tournament and we know we’ll need to grow and evolve as a team from the Six Nations for what will be a challenging couple of weeks against quality opposition in South Africa.”

Ireland Men’s U20s Squad

Forwards (17)

Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster)

Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)

Patreece Bell (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby)

Alan Spicer (UCD RFC/Leinster)

Evan O’Connell (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster) — captain

James McKillop (Queen’s University RFC/Ulster)

Max Flynn (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)*

Brian Gleeson (Garryowen FC/Munster)

Emmet Calvey (Shannon RFC/Munster)

Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)

Jacob Boyd (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)

Billy Corrigan (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)

Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster)

Bryn Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)

Luke Murphy (Shannon RFC/Munster)

Mikey Yarr (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)*

Andrew Sparrow (UCD RFC/Leinster)

Backs (13)

Oliver Coffey (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)

Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Ulster)

Hugo McLaughlin (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)

Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)

Wilhelm de Klerk (UCD RFC/Ulster)

Finn Treacy (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)

Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster)

Tadhg Brophy (Naas RFC/Leinster)

Sean Naughton (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht)

Sam Berman (Terenure RFC/Ulster)

Davy Colbert (Dublin University FC/Leinster)

Ruben Moloney (UCD RFC/Leinster)*

Jake O’Riordan (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)*

*Denotes uncapped at U20s level

Ireland Men’s U20s Fixtures

Saturday 29 June: Ireland v Italy, DHL Stadium, Cape Town, 4.30pm local time/3.30pm Irish time

Thursday 4 July: Ireland v Georgia, Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch, 2pm local time/1pm Irish time

Tuesday 9 July: Ireland v Australia, Athlone Sports Stadium, Cape Town, 2pm local time/1pm Irish time

Sunday 14 July: Match Day 4 (Semi-finals and play-off matches)

Friday 19 July: Match Day 5 (Final and ranking matches).