Johnny Wattersonon the players who won their first caps for Ireland as teenagers

The circumstances surrounding the run in to two Irish teenagers' international debuts could not have been further apart than the 80 years or so that separates their lives. When schoolboy Frank Hewitt earned his first Irish cap in 1924 it arrived out of desperation. In Sunday's game, when Leinster wing Luke Fitzgerald pulls on his first Irish jersey it is because Ireland have earned the latitude to experiment.

Fitzgerald, who turned 19 on September 9th, gets his break on an Ireland team who have not played better or been ranked higher in the world rankings since ratings were introduced by the IRB. In the 1923-'24 season, when Hewitt's star was rising, Ireland had lost their opening matches of the Five Nations Championship to England and Scotland and had a fearful journey across the water to face Wales in Cardiff.

In those bleak circumstances, the Irish selectors chose to gamble on youth rather than experience and opted for a schoolboy to play in the pivotal position of outhalf. You'd have to ask what on earth were they thinking but Frank Seymour Hewitt will go down as the younger of the two players and as far as can be established the youngest player to line out for Ireland.

Teenagers playing international rugby either here or abroad is not an unusual phenomenon. Johnny Quirke, the Blackrock College scrumhalf, took his first steps in an Irish jersey at the debacle at Twickenham in February 1962. At that point of his fledgling career the young Quirke was 17 years, seven months and 15 days old. Close, but no cigar. Born on October 3rd, 1906, Hewitt's response to Ireland's call came on March 18th, 1924, when he was 17 years, five months and 15 days old.

Frank's older brother Tom was also chosen for his first cap in the same match. Almost exactly a year older than Frank, Tom was slotted in on the left wing. Fitzgerald should take comfort from the fact the older of the Hewitts raced in to score Ireland's first try after 15 minutes and they went on to win 13-10.

Some years before Quirke and after Hewitt, it was the time for teenage winger named Tony O'Reilly to impress the selectors. O'Reilly was slotted in at inside centre for his debut at 18 years, eight months and 15 days old in 1955. He stayed there for four international matches before being moved to the right wing.

More recently, centre Alistair McKibbin was picked to play for Ireland against Wales in January 1977, aged 19 years and two months. He would go on to win 14 caps. As an aside, McKibbin, his brother Harry jnr and late father Harry snr, who played for the Lions, are related to Ulster number eight Roger Wilson. Harry and Alistair are uncles of Wilson.

In the last 10 years there have been only a couple of teenage international players. Brian O'Driscoll, probably the most feared outside centre of his generation, played his first match against Australia when he was 20 years old, while Jeremy Staunton was an unused bench player against Australia in 1999 as a 19-year-old but did not earn his first cap until the 2001 season.

Of the current crop of Irish players, only Gordon D'Arcy crossed the whitewash while still in his teens. Born on February 10th, 1980, the Irish and Leinster inside centre made his debut on October 1999 as a permanent replacement against Romania. At that stage he was 19 years, eight months and five days old.

Through the years it has always seemed to be backline players who mature more quickly into positions but it's not always the case as Federico Mendez, the Argentinian prop, proved in the 1990s. Mendez made his international debut less than two months after he turned 18. The frontrow lined out against Ireland for his first cap (as did Ireland's Alain Rolland) before famously going on to lay out England's Paul Ackford in his second match, a loss of control that earned him a red card.

Fitzgerald, then, will become the youngest Irish player to take to the field since McKibbin almost 30 years ago.