Back row forward Matthew Agnew will be one of five Ulster men in the Ireland U20 squad for tonight's U20 World Championship opener versus France in Perpignan.
For Agnew, he could be forgiven for looking forward to the game more than most, as he explains that international recognition was a long time coming.
“I didn’t make Irish teams at U18 or U19 level, so it was fantastic to finally get the call for the U20 Six Nations a few months ago. That was an incredible experience, a really proud moment for me and my family, and I can't wait to pull on the green jersey again.”
Agnew obviously made a lasting impression on the national U20 management, called in to start against Italy in Round 2 of the U20 Six Nations, he held on to the number 7 jersey for the remainder of the campaign and will start at openside flanker once again against France tonight.
“It’s going to be a seriously tough test against France”, said Agnew. “They’re the hosts, playing in the opening game of the competition, so we expect a huge home support and a pretty hostile atmosphere but these are the big occasions that you want to be involved in. We’ve prepared well so we’re quietly confident in ourselves, we just have to bring that work into the tournament.”
Following an impressive schools’ career with Bangor Grammar, Agnew enrolled in the Ulster sub-Academy last summer before joining Ballymena RFC for experience playing in Division 1B of the Ulster Bank League. In terms of his development, Agnew feels the year spent in the sub-Academy allowed him to focus on certain aspects of his game and this evidently proved very beneficial as his tenacious tackling and breakdown work saw him awarded the coveted Club Player of the Year award at Ulster Rugby’s end of season awards ceremony.
“It (the award) wasn’t something that I was expecting but I was really chuffed to get it and it gives me a good bit of confidence going into next year. I’ve really enjoyed this year. I enjoyed my time in schools’ rugby then to get a year playing club rugby has been a great opportunity to experience a more physical style of game against bigger, stronger players and has been really beneficial for me.
“The year in the sub-Academy was something that I really needed to develop physically. For someone like me, not the biggest back row player, that extra year gave me the time to mature physically and focus on that side of my development and I feel I’m a much better player for that now.”
While he is set to join the full Abbey Insurance Ulster Academy programme in July, for now Agnew is fully focused on the immediate challenge of the U20 World Championships, and he is certainly one to watch for the men in green.
France U20 v Ireland U20 will be broadcast live by Eir Sport in the Republic of Ireland and online in non-geoblocked locations via World Rugby's Facebook page and website. The match kicks off at 9.00pm local time / 8.00pm Irish time.
For Agnew, he could be forgiven for looking forward to the game more than most, as he explains that international recognition was a long time coming.
“I didn’t make Irish teams at U18 or U19 level, so it was fantastic to finally get the call for the U20 Six Nations a few months ago. That was an incredible experience, a really proud moment for me and my family, and I can't wait to pull on the green jersey again.”
Agnew obviously made a lasting impression on the national U20 management, called in to start against Italy in Round 2 of the U20 Six Nations, he held on to the number 7 jersey for the remainder of the campaign and will start at openside flanker once again against France tonight.
“It’s going to be a seriously tough test against France”, said Agnew. “They’re the hosts, playing in the opening game of the competition, so we expect a huge home support and a pretty hostile atmosphere but these are the big occasions that you want to be involved in. We’ve prepared well so we’re quietly confident in ourselves, we just have to bring that work into the tournament.”
Following an impressive schools’ career with Bangor Grammar, Agnew enrolled in the Ulster sub-Academy last summer before joining Ballymena RFC for experience playing in Division 1B of the Ulster Bank League. In terms of his development, Agnew feels the year spent in the sub-Academy allowed him to focus on certain aspects of his game and this evidently proved very beneficial as his tenacious tackling and breakdown work saw him awarded the coveted Club Player of the Year award at Ulster Rugby’s end of season awards ceremony.
“It (the award) wasn’t something that I was expecting but I was really chuffed to get it and it gives me a good bit of confidence going into next year. I’ve really enjoyed this year. I enjoyed my time in schools’ rugby then to get a year playing club rugby has been a great opportunity to experience a more physical style of game against bigger, stronger players and has been really beneficial for me.
“The year in the sub-Academy was something that I really needed to develop physically. For someone like me, not the biggest back row player, that extra year gave me the time to mature physically and focus on that side of my development and I feel I’m a much better player for that now.”
While he is set to join the full Abbey Insurance Ulster Academy programme in July, for now Agnew is fully focused on the immediate challenge of the U20 World Championships, and he is certainly one to watch for the men in green.
France U20 v Ireland U20 will be broadcast live by Eir Sport in the Republic of Ireland and online in non-geoblocked locations via World Rugby's Facebook page and website. The match kicks off at 9.00pm local time / 8.00pm Irish time.