Eleven players from Connacht Clubs have been named in Irish Under-19, Ireland Under-18 Clubs and Ireland Under-18 Schools squads for the first training camps of the season.
The Squads, sponsored by PwC, have been assembling in Dublin this week.
The breakdown of the players sees four from Corinthians, Two from Galwegians and Ballina and one each from Buccaneers, Ballinasloe and Kings Hospital.
Coming off the back of the PwC Under-18 and Under-19 Inter-Provincial Championships, 96 players from the four Provinces and the IQ Rugby pathway have been called up to train with the National Age Grade squads at the Sport Ireland Campus and King’s Hospital.
The Ireland Under-18 Clubs squad, coached by Brendan O’Connor, former Ireland international Kevin Maggs and Daryl Maxwell, assembled in Dublin yesterday to begin preparations for tomorrow’s game against Italy at Stadio Comunale Monigo (Kick-off 3pm Irish time).
The Ireland Under-19s and Ireland Under-18 Schools will put the building blocks in place for the season ahead when they come together for three-day camps at the Sport Ireland Campus from Wednesday.
Aiden McNulty has been named as Head Coach of Ireland Under-19s for the season ahead, with Andrew Browne and Mark Butler also part of the coaching team. Head Coach Paul Barr, meanwhile, will lead the Ireland Under-18 Schools alongside Assistant Coach Andi Kyriacou.
The Connacht Players are:
Ireland Under-18 Clubs Squad
Sean Fox (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
Sean Hopkins (Ballina RFC/Connacht)
Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
Charlie Byrne (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
Ireland Under-18 Schools Squad
Max Flynn (CC Roscrea/Corinthians/Connacht)
Blayze Molloy (Clongowes/Ballina/Connacht)
Ireland Under-19 Squad
Gareth Kilkelly (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
Kelvin Langan (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
Jonathan Flynn (CC Roscrea/Corinthians/Connacht)
John Devine (Ballinasloe RFC/Connacht)
Harry West (Kings Hospital/Connacht)
Commenting ahead of this week’s camps, Peter Smyth, the IRFU Head of Elite Player Development, said: “The return of the National Age Grade squads is a real boost to everyone involved with the player pathway. Getting the opportunity to develop and assess players over the mid-term period is the first point of our National Age Grade season plan. The excellent work that the schools and clubs undertake are the bedrock of these National programmes.”
Ireland Under-18 Clubs Squad
Oisin Lynch (Boyne RFC/Leinster)
Sam Green (Malone RFC/Ulster)
Adam Deay (Tullow RFC/Leinster)
Jarlath Gleeson (London Irish/IQ Rugby)
James O’Loughlin (Naas RFC/Leinster)
Nikke Moelders (Wicklow RFC/Leinster)
Donagh McCarrick (Coolmine RFC/Leinster)
Grant Palmer (Wexford Wanderers RFC/Leinster)
Kyle Read (Midleton RFC/Munster)
Tom Larke (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
David Donohue (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Michael Burnett (City of Armagh RFC/Ulster)
Charlie Sheridan (Naas RFC/Leinster)
Sean Fox (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
Ethan Graham (Monaghan RFC/Ulster)
Sean Hopkins (Ballina RFC/Connacht)
Niall O’Hanlon (Athy RFC/Leinster)
Charlie Byrne (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
Paddy Jones (Sale/IQ Rugby)
Sean Edogbo (Cobh Pirates RFC/Munster)
Andrew Doyle (Athy RFC/Leinster)
Senan Phelan (St Mary’s RFC/Leinster)
Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
Kieran Kennedy (Waterford City RFC/Munster).
Ireland Under-18 Schools Squad
Tom Stewart (St Michael’s College/Leinster)
Danny Sheehan (PBC/Munster)
Andrew Sparrow (St Mary’s College/Leinster)
Joe Hopes (Campbell College/Ulster)
Evan O’Connell (Castletroy College/Munster)
Dawid Novak (Christian Brothers College/Munster)
Inigo Cruise O’Brien (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Brian Gleeson (Rockwell College/Munster)
Oliver Coffey (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Jack Murphy (Presentation College Bray/Leinster)
Hugo McLaughlin (Gonzaga College/Leinster)
Luke Kritzinger (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Sam Berman (St Michael’s College/Leinster)
David Colbert (Gonzaga College/Leinster)
Stephen Kiely (Castletroy College/Munster)
Oran Murphy (London Irish/IQ Rugby)
Flyn Pyper (Presentation College Bray/Leinster)
Flynn Longstaff (Campbell College/Ulster)
Joseph Coffey (CC Roscrea/Munster)
Michael Colreavy (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Stephen Smyth (Kilkenny College/Leinster)
Kamil Novak (Christian Brothers College/Munster)
Max Flynn (CC Roscrea/Connacht)
Jake O’Riordan (St Munchin’s College/Munster)
Sean Naughton (Kilkenny College/Leinster)
Sean Condon (PBC/Munster)
Wilhelm de Klerk (St Michael’s College/Leinster)
Harry Long (Ardscoil Rís/Munster)
Lucas Kenny (CCB/Ulster)
Ruben Moloney (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Jake Bowden (Methodist College/Ulster)
Ben Howard (St Michael’s College/Leinster)
Blayze Molloy (Clongowes/Connacht)
Richard Whelan (CC Roscrea/Leinster)
Ben McFarlane (Methodist College/Ulster)
Finn Tracy (Presentation College Bray/Leinster).
Ireland Under-19 Squad
George Hadden (Clontarf RFC/Leinster)
Gus McCarthy (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Paddy McCarthy (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Patrick Browne (Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
Jim Peters (Clontarf RFC/Leinster)
Ruadhan Quinn (Cresent College Comprehensive/Munster)
Peter Hyland (PBC Cork/Munster)
Josh O’Hare (Lansdowne FC/Dundalk RFC/Leinster)
Fintan Gunne (St Michael’s College/Leinster)
Harry West (Kings Hospital/Connacht)
Rory Telfer (Colraine GS/Ulster)
John Devine (Ballinasloe RFC/Connacht)
Hugh Cooney (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Connor Oresanya (Harlequins/Leeds Beckett/IQ Rugby)
Noah Sheridan (Wicklow RFC/Leinster)
Jack Boal (Belfast Harlequins RFC/Ulster)
Tom Barry (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Jonathan Flynn (CC Roscrea/Corinthians/Connacht)
Jack Norton (BHS/Ulster)
Max Dunne (DUFC/Leinster)
Daniel Leane (St Mary’s College RFC/Leinster)
Dan Carroll (St Michael’s College/Leinster)
George Shaw (Cardiff University/IQ Rugby)
Andrew O’Mahony (UCC/Munster)
Ross McKay (Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
Finn McNulty (Frome RFC/IQ Rugby)
David Dooley (MU Barnhall RFC/Leinster)
Jed Tormey (Belvedere College/Leinster)
Luke Doyle (Shannon RFC/Munster)
Henry Buttimer (Rockwell College/Munster)
Adam Duffy (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Conall Henchy (Cresent College Comp/Munster)
Gareth Kilkelly (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
Kelvin Langan (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
Jeff Williams (Bandon Grammar School/Munster)
Liam McCarthy (Bandon Grammar School/Munster)
