John mccusker irl u18s 16 proof #1

5 Nations Championship 2016

Ireland U18’s 2016

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The most talented U18 players in Ireland selected for Easter tournaments Two Ireland U18 squads will take part in the 5 Nations and Tri Nations Festivals.

Mar 22nd 2016,

TWO SEPARATE IRELAND U18 squads have been announced for the upcoming Five Nations and Tri Nations Festivals.

Whereas previously Ireland operated Schools and Clubs sides at U18 level, this programme features two groups combining players drawn from both the club and school games.

What is essentially an Ireland U18 ‘A’ squad will compete in the Five Nations Festival, while the ‘B’ group will be part of the Tri Nations Festival over Easter.

Belvo’s Hugh O’Sullivan is part of the squad for the 5 Nations A 26-player squad featuring Leinster Schools Senior Cup winners Hugh O’Sullivan and David Hawkshaw of Belvedere College will travel to the Five Nations Festival in Bristol and Caerphilly from Thursday 24 March to Saturday 2 April.

Six players from Blackrock College have been picked, with Conor Dean – son of former Ireland and Lions international Paul – among them.

Roscrea’s promising prop Michael Milne is part of a four-strong Munster contingent in a group that will be head coached by Noel McNamara, while club players like Tadgh McCarthy of Bantry and Sean Masterson of Portlaoise RFC are named.

Also included in the Irish selection for the Five Nations tournament is centre James Hume, who helped RBAI to the Ulster Schools Senior Cup, and highly-rated prop Tom O’Toole, whose Campbell College side lost out in the final.

There is a single Connacht representative in the shape of Galwegians lock David Robb, while Exiles products James Newey, Ollie Brown and Conor Wharton also help make up the 26-man squad.

Meanwhile, Mark Butler will head coach a separate Ireland U18 squad that competes in the Tri Nations Festival against France and England in Ashbourne RFC on Saturday 26 March and Saturday 2 April.

Sam Dardis is part of the Ireland U18 B squad.

Roscrea lock Aaron Browne, a losing LSSC finalist, is part of the squad, while fourth year Terenure College fullback Sam Dardis – brother of Leinster academy man Billy – is another promising player.

Scrum-half Rhys O’Donnell was integral to RBAI’s USSC success against Campbell College, while PBC out-half Peter Sylvester featured for the Munster U18 Schools side earlier this year.

Armagh RFC prop Paul Mullan, Castleisland back row Jack Daly and Navan lock J.J. O’Dea are among the club representatives in the squad.

Corey Reid, the Marist College and Buccaneers centre, is the lone Connacht representative.

Plenty Of Positives For Ireland U-18s Following Five Nations Opener 24 March 2016, 04:15 pm ::

Match Report By Editor The Ireland Under-18s’ first outing of the season saw them go close to defeating a highly-rated England side in the opening game of the U-18 Five Nations Festival in Bristol.

The Ireland U-18s matched their hosts on try count with the excellent Ronan Kelleher and Daniel Hurley cancelling out efforts from Gabriel Ibitoye and Tom Parton, but a second half penalty from James Grayson proved to be the winning score (15-12).

Playing together for the first time, Ireland grew into what was an absorbing contest and had some dominant spells against an English team that had already lined out against France, Scotland and Wales recently.

In drizzly conditions at SGS College, the visitors - coached by Noel McNamara and Alex Codling - fielded a mixture of club and schools players with a number of talented Exiles also donning the green jersey.

Ireland fell behind to a third minute try from England centre Ibitoye, who profited from numbers on the left as he surged clear to score under the posts. Out-half Grayson converted for 7-0.

Irish half-backs Jonathon Stewart and Conor Dean both showed well early on, the former breaking up the left wing to launch a kick chase and number 10 Dean making a half-break from a scrum.

The greasy ball proved problematic for both sides, but Ireland’s defence got to grips with the English runners as the likes of Tom O’Toole and captain Caelan Doris landed big tackles.

A second scrum penalty gave James Hume a sight of goal on the quarter hour mark, but the RBAI representative missed the monster kick just to the right. His centre partner James Newey broke up a dangerous English attack soon after, forcing a turnover after bringing Jacob Umaga down in the 22.

Ireland soaked up further pressure in defence before ending the first half on a real high, with influential hooker Kelleher getting them on the scoreboard.

Newey got over a ruck ball to win another long range penalty which Hume was unfortunately short with, however a weaving run and pass from number 8 Doris kept Ireland on the front foot.

They held onto that momentum with Newey’s superb flick pass releasing Hume for a dart up the left wing, while winger Hurley also caught the eye on an incisive run through midfield.

Doris then threatened out wide from a Dean cross-field kick before a neatly-worked lineout move at the front saw Kelleher get over in the left corner. Hume’s cracking conversion brought Ireland level with the last kick of the half.

Although a fine touchfinder from Dean saw Ireland begin the second period in promising fashion, a couple of penalties invited England forward and Grayson punished a maul infringement for 10-7, five minutes in.

Grayson, the son of former England senior out-half Paul Grayson, pushed a place-kick from halfway to the right and wide shortly afterwards.

It was then Ireland’s chance to lift the tempo, a tremendous carry from Kelleher off a wayward English lineout seeing the St. Michael’s College student make a full 25 metres, deep into the hosts’ half.

England were fortunate to avoid leaking a second try when lock Charlie Ryan was held up from a powerful Irish maul, however McNamara’s charges maintained the momentum and got their just reward.

After the ball squirted out of a five-metre scrum, Stewart’s outstanding pass out the back door set up Hurley for a smart finish by the corner flag. The difficult conversion from the left touchline fell wide at 12-10.

Ireland’s lead was shortlived, though, as a quick turnover launched England forward and a favourable bounce from an Ibitoye kick saw full-back Parton score an unconverted effort in the right corner.

Entering the final quarter of an hour, there were turnovers aplenty at both ends of the pitch but territory was largely with the more experienced England team.

Hurley almost hit back with his second try of the afternoon, Hume kicking to touch to set up a close-in lineout, but the Crescent College winger was tackled just short following a typically pacey run.

England were pinged for hands in the ruck near their whitewash and number 8 Ben Earl was promptly sin-binned. His team-mates knuckled down to thwart Ireland’s advances late on, with a kick downfield lifting the pressure at the end of a very tight encounter.

Despite this opening defeat, Ireland will draw confidence from what was a strong first outing as a collective. The set piece provided a solid platform, the defence offered up very little space and the green shirts gradually found their attacking groove, with some crisp handling and well-timed runs.

The Ireland U-18s’ second Five Nations Festival clash will see them take on Scotland in Caerphilly next Tuesday (kick-off 2pm), before wrapping up the tournament against Italy at the same Welsh venue the CCB Centre of Sporting Excellence - on Saturday week (11am).

Ireland Under-18s Run In Seven Tries Against Scotland

29 March 2016, 07:07 pm :: Match Report By Editor Captain Caelan Doris helped himself to a hat-trick of tries in Caerphilly this evening as the Ireland Under-18s secured their opening victory of the U-18 Five Nations Festival - a 43-0 success against Scotland U-18s.

Noel McNamara’s charges had run England close (15-12) at Filton College, Bristol last Thursday, but with Caelan Doris and Crescent CC winger Daniel Hurley in sparkling form, they overcame their Scottish counterparts with considerable aplomb.

For this clash in the CCB Centre of Sporting Excellence, Blackrock College duo Liam Turner and Tommy O’Brien and Belvedere out-half David Hawkshaw came into the back-line, with Eoghan Clarke of CBC Monkstown and Ballymena Academy’s Alexander Clarke added to the front row.

Rainey Old Boys lock John McCusker made his first start in the second row, and Portlaoise’s Sean Masterson - younger brother of Connacht ace Eoghan Masterson - lined out at openside flanker in the seventh and final change.

During the early exchanges, Scotland went through 15 phases inside the Irish half but the visitors weathered this considerable storm. Indeed, with just four minutes on the clock, Hurley claimed an excellent cross-field kick by Hawkshaw to secure the opening try of the game.

RBAI centre James Hume added the extras and he was presented with another conversion opportunity before the end of the first quarter, after an outstanding lineout move by Ireland was finished off by the dynamic Doris.

Having held firm initially under pressure, Ireland were now controlling the tempo of the play. A lengthy period of play inside the Scottish 22 led to 17 attacking phases from Ireland, whose persistence eventually paid off with a well-worked five-pointer by Wallace High School scrum half Jonathon Stewart.

Smart link-up play from Ireland kept Scotland on the back foot, and courtesy of superb support work from Turner, Stewart and O’Brien, speedster Hurley completed his brace in the latter stages of the half.

second period, but just three minutes after the restart, Doris claimed his second try of the evening at the end of an incisive lineout drive.

It was a damage limitation exercise for Scotland at this point, but thanks to the introduction of a host of replacements (including Michael Milne, fresh from his appearance in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup decider with Cistercian College Roscrea), Ireland largely maintained their momentum.

A sixth try seemed inevitable from McNamara’s youngsters, and just six minutes on from their previous score, Doris finished off his hat-trick via another clinical set piece move. Given the increasing gap between the teams, it was perhaps unsurprising that the tempo dipped at different stages in the the half.

However, Ireland capped a memorable performance on the stroke of 70 minutes when replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher of St. Michael’s College dotted down near the posts. The runaway triumph puts the Ireland U-18s in good stead ahead of their final match against Italy at the same venue on Saturday morning (kick-off 11am).

Second Half Fightback Not Enough For Ireland Under-18s

2 April 2016, 05:53 pm :: Match Report By Editor The Ireland Under-18s produced a strong second half display in Caerphilly earlier today as Noel McNamara’s side ended their U-18 Five Nations Festival with a narrow 22-17 defeat to Italy.

The Ireland U-18s were hoping to build on their comprehensive 43-0 victory over Scotland at the same venue last Tuesday, but even though Blackrock College’s Caelan Doris was in fine form once again, the Italians ultimately claimed the spoils courtesy of a solid first half platform.

It has been a productive tournament for Ireland, and with players from all four provinces represented in the starting line-up (as well as Exile Ollie Brown), they were aiming to finish their week on a high.

Indeed, an early break from out-half David Hawkshaw (a recent Leinster Schools Senior Cup winner with Belvedere College) brought Ireland into the opposition half, and strong defence was required from Italy to prevent winger Daniel Hurley from crossing the whitewash.

Hume’s conversion attempt was wide of the mark on this occasion, but with a 26-0 half-time cushion at their disposal, Ireland were in a commanding position.

The Munster underage starlet was ultimately held up five metres from the line, and after some patient build-up play in the fifth minute, centre Ludovico Francesco Vaccari broke through for the opening try via an excellent offload by out-half Antonio Rizzi. The influential Rizzi also converted.

A downpour of torrential rain made life difficult for both sides in the

Ulster centre James Hume has been a key figure for Ireland in their

success against Scotland, but he was unfortunately wide of the mark with his first penalty kick against Italy. Tommy O’Brien then looked set to breach the Italian defence in the 20th minute, before referee Ross Mabon called play back for crossing.

Ireland then suffered a setback when flanker Charlie Ryan was forced out of the action with a dislocated shoulder. His place in the back row was taken by John McCusker of Rainey Old Boys, and with just two minutes remaining in the half, a sharp lineout move from the Italians produced a try for lock Edoardo Iachizzi.

Rizzi’s successful conversion meant that Italy brought a 14-0 lead into the interval, but when the match resumed, Ireland were determined to work their way back into the reckoning. They were doing their best to keep the Azzurri youngsters on the back foot, and their persistence paid off seven minutes in when an attacking lineout move led to a try from Irish skipper Doris.

The towering number 8 had registered a hat-trick against Scotland, and even though Ireland failed to tag on the conversion, they had significantly reduced the Italian advantage.

Yet, Italy maintained their composure, and from a neat chip into space, winger Yannick Abanga from Perpignan dotted down on the left flank. This helped them to reopen their 14-point lead, before a tremendous try by replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher - 20 minutes from time - ensured that Ireland were once again within touching distance.

This set up an intriguing final quarter, but despite coming up short from an earlier three-point opportunity, Italian replacement Michelangelo Biondelli created further daylight between the teams with a successful place-kick.

In spite of a second try from the outstanding Doris in the latter stages - his fifth in just two games - the Ireland U-18s came up just short in the end.

Referee: Ross Mabon (Scotland)

Ireland U18’s

Ollie Brown (Harpenden RFC / Exiles) Alexander Clarke (Ballymena Academy / Ulster) Eoghan Clarke (CBC Monkstown / Leinster) Ronan Coffey (Ard Scoil Ris / Munster) Matthew Dalton (Belfast Royal Academy / Ulster) Conor Dean (Blackrock College / Leinster) Caelan Doris (Blackrock College / Leinster) Richard Dunne (Blackrock College / Leinster) David Hawkshaw (Belvedere College / Leinster) James Hume (RBAI / Ulster) Daniel Hurley (Cresent CC / Munster) Ronan Kelleher (St. Michael’s College / Leinster) Sean Masterson (Portlaoise RFC) Tadgh McCarthy (Bantry RFC / Munster) John McCusker (Rainey Old Boys / Ulster) Michael Milne (Roscrea / Munster) James Newey (Christ College Brecon / Exiles) Tommy O’Brien (Blackrock College / Leinster) Hugh O’Sullivan (Belvedere College / Leinster) Tom O’Toole (Campbell College / Ulster) Callum Reid (RBAI / Ulster) David Robb (Galwegians / Connacht) Charlie Ryan (Blackrock College / Leinster) Jonathon Stewart (Wallace High School / Ulster) Liam Turner (Blackrock College / Leinster) Conor Wharton (Oaklands College / Exiles

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