The Ireland squad left Heathrow late on Wednesday night bound for Australia to participate in the Ricoh Southern Hemisphere under-21 Championship. The title of the tournament - which gathers the best eight teams in the world with only the Welsh absent - is something of a misnomer due to the presence of Ireland, England and France.
It will be the second time that Ireland has taken part in what was formerly known as the SANZAR tournament. On their last appearance in 1999, the squad travelled to Argentina without a dozen first-choice players because of injury and differing age criteria between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and finished last of the eight participants.
There are three survivors from the Buenos Aires tournament: Garryowen's Jeremy Staunton, Des Dillon of UCD and Blackrock College tighthead prop Niall Treston.
The team will be coached by former Ireland senior coach and captain Ciaran Fitzgerald, who will be assisted by Munster under-21 coach Pat Cross. Davy Haslett is the team manager.
Staunton and Lansdowne's Gordon D'Arcy will be key figures behind the scrum in what should be a very talented young back line.
Up front, Ireland may be a little light. However, Matt McCullough is an outstanding prospect in the second row, Niall Treston is equally promising at tighthead, while Dillon, Johnny O'Connor and Shane Jennings are all exceptional footballers. Given the lack of girth up front, Ireland are expected to play a mobile, open game, keeping the ball in hand.
Ireland's first game is against England next Wednesday, June 20th, before taking on Argentina (Saturday). Their final match will take place against New Zealand the following Wednesday. On Saturday, June 30th, the two pool winners will play in the final, with the two second-placed teams competing for third and fourth place and so on.
The IRFU's Director of Rugby, Eddie Wigglesworth, has stressed that the priority for the Ireland squad is not in the number of matches won but the manner in which the team plays. The union is looking to see how the top underage talent adopts in a highly competitive environment.
IRELAND SQUAD
G D'Arcy (Lansdowne), A Maxwell (Ballymena), J Norton (UCD), S Young (Vallymena), C McNaughton (Greystones), G Duffy (Galwegians), M Lawlor (Shannon), K Lewis (Dublin University), G Brown (Blackrock College), J Staunton (Garryowen), B O'Riordan (UCD), P McCarthy (Dolphin), R Flanagan (Bruff), S Phillips (Saracens), H Bourke (Old Belvedere), G Hickie (St Mary's College), S Brophy (Dublin University), N Treston (Blackrock College), T Hayes (Shannon), D Browne (Galwegians), M McCullough (Dublin University), P Malone (Bruff), N Breslin (UCD), S Jennings (St Mary's College), N McMillan (Leicester Tigers), J O'Connor (Galwegians), D Dillon (UCD), A Hickey (Dolphin).
