6 Nations
‘We’re Good To Go’ – McNabney On Ireland U-20s’ Showdown With Australia
James McNabney is one of the most experienced players in Richie Murphy’s Ireland Under-20 squad. He was part of both the 2022 and 2023 Grand Slam-winning sides, alongside fellow forwards Conor O’Tighearnaigh and Diarmuid Mangan.
There have been a few quality Ulster backrows come up through the Irish U20s system in recent years, McNabney is the latest to join that list behind the likes of 2022 Grand Slam winning captain Reuben Crothers and current Ulster players, Harry Sheridan, and David McCann.
McNabney said Crothers has been a great help to him, saying: “Reuben has been a big inspiration to me, he was the captain of the U20s last year. He’s a fellow friend at Ulster, me and him are in the academy together, we train hard together. He has helped me along the way.
“I would say I’m probably more mature and better than I was last year, or I liked to hope so. He’s definitely helped me along the way, as well as Willie Faloon as a coach”, said the Ulster academy player.
He is a past pupil of Cambridge House in Ballymena. The 20-year-old said the school has helped shape him into the man he is today, and he takes a lot of pride in representing his hometown of Ballymena.
“It’s a great honour to represent the school, the school has done everything for me and got me probably to where I’m at today, shaped me into the person that I am.
“I had the same coach at school as I did at the club, he has been great for me. Ballymena is my home club and it was always an honour to play for them. They’ve done a lot for me and I’m very grateful for that”, told the proud Ballymena native
McNabney switches back to the number six jersey for tomorrow morning’s game vs Australia. The versatile backrow player scored a try in the 34-34 draw with England. He admits it was a tough game and they need to win tomorrow if they are going to make that semi-final.
“It was a tough game. The forwards had to work hard throughout the game, we could’ve won, we could’ve lost, but we were just happy to come away with the three points.
“Originally, we started out saying we had to win all games and that slightly changed, there is slightly more pressure added to this week against Australia, I think we can definitely do it and we need to get the win if we’re planning to get top four,” explained the back-to-back U20s Grand Slam winner.
Tomorrow’s game has huge implications for their future in the rest of the tournament, it’s arguably the biggest game yet for this particular group. The young player is aware of the magnitude of the challenge ahead, but he believes every game they’ve played so far at this level has carried a level of importance.
“This is probably one of the biggest games of the year for us because it’s do or die, as Mark said, if we lose this one, we probably won’t get top four, but also on the other hand, every game is a big game for us, and if you don’t win every game, you’re as good as your last game, so we try and win them all”, said McNabney.
The U20s World Cup provides the perfect platform for young players to test themselves against some of the brightest young talents on the other side of the world. McNabney got a taste for southern hemisphere opposition before when he played against South Africa in the Summer series last year, but for many in the squad, it’ll be their first time squaring up to a team like the Junior Wallabies.
“We know they have threats all over the park. They are a southern hemisphere team, a lot of the lads haven’t really played against, I only played against South Africa last summer, that was the first exposure I had to it.
They are very physical, they like to run with the ball, they’re good in open space, we got to take that away from them at the start.
The condition of the pitch at Paarl Gimnasium remains a big talking point heading into tomorrow morning’s game. The hard surface makes it difficult to play an expansive brand of rugby, being a true forward, he admited the conditions have actually suited him personally.
“The pitch is heavy. There is not much we can do about it, both teams are in the same circumstances and we just have to get on with it. At the end of the game, we were definitely very tired as a pack, the legs were drained.
“But I kind of suit that pitch, I’m use to that sort of environment. The legs were sore after the game, but we’ve recovered well and we’re good to go”, admitted the old school forward.
A short format competition like this demands a lot of the players both physically and mentally. It asks questions of your fitness and the resources and strength of your overall squad
McNabney said they are ready to go again.
“It doesn’t seem long since we played, but we have a great team of physios, and we are just working hard to try and get back, doing as much as possible, getting as much sleep and recovery as possible, and the team is good to go for tomorrow”
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is delighted to announce the return of the ‘A’ Interprovincial Men’s Championship which will kick off next month.
The times and dates of the opening three rounds of the Championship before Christmas have been confirmed, with a similar points-scoring system as used in the URC. A Championship winner will be declared after the final round of matches in May and the IRFU will be commissioning a legacy trophy to mark the 150th anniversary celebrations.
Welcoming the news, IRFU Performance Director David Humphreys commented:
“We’re delighted to kick-start the Men’s ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship which will provide a host of players with a further means of developing in a meaningful competition. With the success of the Emerging Ireland Tours, coupled with the return of an ‘A’ international against England next year, it is vital that we continue to provide players at provincial and Club levels with opportunities to impress outside of the traditional URC and EPCR fixture windows.
“Discussions have been ongoing for some time to provide players with meaningful games and all four provinces are unanimously supportive of this competition. It is also great to see provinces taking matches around their local Clubs.
“It is anticipated that as the competition progresses over the coming seasons these fixtures won’t clash with Energia All-Ireland League fixtures for the most part, thus potentially also offering players from the Club game with an opportunity to impress.
“This competition will form another important part of the representative pathway from Energia AIL to URC levels for Academy players upwards over the coming seasons.”
The dates for the post-Christmas fixtures will be confirmed in due course. Ticket details will be confirmed via the respective provinces.
IRFU 150 Interprovincial ‘A’ Championship Fixtures:
Saturday, 16th November:
Connacht Eagles v Leinster ‘A’ (Creggs RFC, 1pm)
Friday, 22nd November:
Ulster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (Ballymacaran Park, 3pm), Leinster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’ (Lakelands, 5pm)
Friday, 29th November:
Munster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’ (New Ormond Park, 3pm)
Friday, 20th December:
Ulster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’ (tbc, 3pm)
Saturday, 21st December:
Leinster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (Ollie Campbell Park, 2pm)
Weekend of 28/29 December:
Connacht Eagles v Ulster ‘A’ (tbc), Munster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’ (tbc)
Weekend of 9/10 May:
Connacht Eagles v Munster ‘A’ (tbc), Leinster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’ (tbc)
Weekend of 16/17 May:
Munster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (tbc), Ulster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’ (tbc)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
The Emerging Ireland team to face the Cheetahs in the final game of the three-match series in Bloemfontein on Wednesday evening (kick off 6pm Irish time, 7pm local time) has been named.
Leinster’s James Culhane will lead the team and he forms a new back-row alongside Harry Sheridan and Sean Edogbo, who makes his first start of the tour having come on as a replacement in the 29-24 win over Western Force on Sunday afternoon. Former Ireland Under-20 captain Evan O’Connell locks down with Darragh Murray, who featured in the opening 36-24 victory over the Pumas, with Alex Usanov named in the front row alongside hooker Stephen Smyth and Jack Aungier.
Darragh Murray of Emerging Ireland scores his sides second try – Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart
In the backline, Sam Prendergast starts his third game of the tour at out-half and he will be partnered by Cormac Foley, who featured as a second half replacements against the Australian Super Rugby side last time out. Connacht’s Hugh Gavin forms a midfield partnership with Hugh Cooney, with Ulster’s Zac Ward named in an exciting back tree alongside the returning Ben O’Connor at full-back and Andrew Osborne who moves to the right wing.
Munster loosehead prop George Hadden, who was called up to the squad last weekend, is set to make his first appearance after being named on the bench alongside Conor O’Tighearnaigh and Alex Soroka who started Sunday’s win. Hadden’s provincial team-mate Danny Sheahan provides cover once more at hooker, while Scott Wilson and Charlie Tector are also named on the bench for the Toyota Stadium clash alongside out-half Jack Murphy.
Looking ahead to the game, Emerging Ireland Head Coach Simon Easterby said: “When we set out at the beginning of our pre-camp in Dublin, we knew about the challenge of facing three sides in a week and we knew that every player in the group would have the opportunity to play his part. To a man each player has given his all so far and we are aiming to finish off the series with another positive performance on Wednesday.
The Cheetahs are a fiercely proud and strong side and it should be a lively game with a vocal home support behind them. It has been a fruitful past few weeks to date and we have learned a lot. While our performances haven’t been perfect, the players have embraced the challenge and played some brilliant rugby at times. The action has come thick and fast and we know that we have to be clinical in our execution. We will need to go up another level on Wednesday to get the performance we want and hopefully finish the tour on a high.”
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast once more on IrishRugby+ – click here.
Emerging Ireland (v The Cheetahs, Wednesday, October 9, 7pm local time, 6pm Irish time)
15: Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster)
14: Andrew Osborne (Naas RFC/Leinster)
13: Hugh Cooney (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
12: Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
11: Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster/Ireland Sevens)
10: Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
9: Cormac Foley (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
1: Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
2: Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
3: Jack Aungier (Clontarf FC/Connacht)
4: Evan O’Connell (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
5: Darragh Murray (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
6: Harry Sheridan (Dublin University FC/Ulster)
7: Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster)
8: James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster) (captain)
Replacements:
16: Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)
17: George Hadden (Garryowen FC/Munster)
18: Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
19: Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
20: Alex Soroka (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
21: Matthew Devine (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
22: Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Ulster)
23: Charlie Tector (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Following Emerging Ireland’s 29-24 victory over Western Force in Bloemfontein on Sunday three players, Gus McCarthy (Leinster), Sean O’Brien (Munster) and Jude Postlethwaite (Ulster) will return to their provinces.
The trio will leave South Africa on Monday afternoon and will be available for selection for their respective URC fixtures this weekend.
The squad will visit Heidedal Township this afternoon and will conclude the three-match series on Wednesday evening against The Cheetahs (kick off 7pm local, 6pm Irish time). That match will be live on irishrugby+
Watch the full match back here on irishrugby+
Check out the highlights from the win against Western Force below.
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Jordan signs for Bristol Bears
IRFU Announces Return Of ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship
