An extended squad of 30 players has been named for the Ireland Under-20s ahead of their 2015 RBS U-20 6 Nations campaign.
Eight players named in the squad have previous 6 nations experience, having played in the tournament last year, Harrison Brewer, Ross Byrne, Jack Cullen, Oisin Heffernan, Nick McCarthy, Sean McNulty, Rory Moloney and Garry Ringrose in addition, a further three players played in the 2014 Junior World Championship, Billy Dardis, Ciaran Gaffney and Josh Murphy.
The side will be captained by Leinster Academy scrum-half Nick McCarthy.
Speaking ahead of the Tournament, Head Coach Nigel Carolan said:
“The squad sees a great mixture of new faces and those with experience at this level from last season. We have been really impressed by the attitude of the players, both on and off the field. Their enthusiasm and attention to detail has been second to none.
“The warm up games against the provincial development sides over Christmas have provided the opportunity to develop our game and confirm the potential within our player group.
“We are looking forward to getting the campaign underway with our opening game away to Italy.”
Ireland have two home games this year, against France in Dubarry Park, Athlone on Friday, 13th February, and they will play their English counterparts in Donnybrook stadium on Friday 28th February, the first time the U20s have played in the capital since 2005.
In total their are 14 Leinster players in the extended 30-man squad
Ireland U-20 Squad, RBS 6 Nations 2015
Samuel Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Harrison Brewer (Terenure/ Leinster)*
Ross Byrne (UCD RFC/ Leinster)*
Joey Carbery (UCD/ Leinster)
Fergal Cleary (Lansdowne / Leinster)
Jack Cullen (Shannon /Munster)*
Billy Dardis (UCD/Leinster) *
Lorcan Dow (Queens/Ulster)
Jack Dwan (Leinster)
Stephen Fitzgerald (Shannon/ Munster)
Ciaran Gaffney (Galwegians/Connacht) *
Oisin Heffernan (Terenure/Leinster)*
Michael Lagan (Ballymena/Ulster)
Jeremy Loughman (UCD/Leinster)
Zac McCall (Queens University/Ulster)
Nick McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)*
Sean McNulty (UCD/Munster)*
Stephen McVeigh (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Rory Moloney (Buccaneers/Connacht)*
Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster) *
David O’Connor (St. Mary’s/Leinster)
Conan O’Donnell (Sligo/Connacht)
Conor Oliver (St. Mary’s/Leinster)
Greg O’Shea (Shannon/Munster)
Jack Owens (Queens University/Ulster)
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)*
Cian Romaine (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Jacob Stockdale (Queens University/Ulster)
Alexander Thompson (Queens University/Ulster)
Nick Timoney (St. Mary’s/Leinster)
*Denotes previously capped at this level
