Players

Ulster Age-Grade representation on the international stage

8th July 2022

The Ireland Men U20s enjoyed phenomenal success in the 2022 U20s Six Nations, as Reuben Crothers led them to a Grand-Slam, beating all of their opposition in this year’s campaign. The squad re-assembled this summer for the U20 Summer Series, to take on France, South Africa and England in the pool stages. They will face Scotland on Finals Day on Tuesday 12 July at 11am (UK / IRE time).

Ireland Men U19s made it a 1-1 draw in their double-header series versus France two months ago in Belfast and Dublin. These games provided a great opportunity for young players to play competitive rugby against their international peers.

In April, the Ireland Men U18 Schools’ team participated in the Six Nations Festival in Marcoussis, where they claimed resounding victories over both Wales and Italy and fell to a narrow defeat by France.

The Ireland Men U18 Club and Schools’ squad first assembled in December for a training camp at the IRFU High Performance Centre, before taking on a Leinster Development side on 22nd April. They scored seven tries in a 41-5 win over the Leinster side, with two of the tries coming from James McKillop, and Lukas Kenny also getting on the score sheet.

The Ireland U18 Men's Sevens squad will play in the Rugby Europe U18 Championship in Poland this weekend.

Michael Black, Ulster Rugby’s Provincial Talent Coach said, “It’s really pleasing to see such a high Ulster representation across the Age-grade levels on the international stage. The Ireland Under-20s players were a ‘lockdown’ group who faced a unique set of circumstances in their development. It’s credit to them and the staff who worked in such a challenging time to help them on their way to the Six Nations Grand-Slam.

“The encouraging number of players represented at U18 and U19 level reflects the work being done at clubs and schools across the province, as well as the player pathway we have in place.

“As a staff team, we used our time to review our areas of work during lockdown and made some significant changes to our performance pathway and Talent ID systems as well as establishing our high-performance centre at Newforge. Employing two Pathway Coaches, fully aligning staff who work across all aspects of the pathway from our U16 regional squads to U20s, as well as the introduction of a Talent ID ‘flaggers’ network in conjunction with the IRFU, will see us continue to strive for greater success. Already, we have seen 16 different clubs and schools with players getting capped at U18 or U19 level, and we will continue to identify and support those players with the most potential.”

The Ireland U20s Grand Slam winners from Ulster

2021-22 Roll of Honour

Ireland Men U20s

Ben Carson (Banbridge RFC)

Reuben Crothers – Captain (Ballynahinch RFC)

Josh Hanlon (Ballynahinch RFC)

Charlie Irvine (Queen’s University Belfast RFC)

Reece Malone (Loughborough University / Ballynahinch RFC)

Joseph Mawhinney (Ballymena RFC)

James McCormick (Ballymena RFC)

Lorcan McLoughlin (Queen’s University Belfast RFC)

James McNabney (Ballymena RFC)

Adam McNamee (Malone RFC)

Jude Postlethwaite (Banbridge RFC)

Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC)

Ireland Men U19s

Jack Boal (Belfast Harlequins RFC)

Patrick Browne (Ballymena RFC)

Charlie Irvine (Queen’s University Belfast RFC)

James McNabney (Ballymena RFC)

Ross Taylor (City of Armagh RFC)

Rory Telfer (Coleraine Grammar School)

James Wright (Ballymena RFC)

Ireland Men U18 Clubs

Michael Burnett (City of Armagh RFC)

Ethan Graham (Monaghan RFC / Belfast Met)

Sam Green (Malone RFC)

Ireland Men U18 Club & Schools

Ben Gibson (Bangor Grammar)

Ethan Graham (Monaghan RFC / Belfast Met)

Lukas Kenny (Campbell College Belfast)

Mark Lee (Rainey Old Boys RFC)

James McKillop (Foyle College)

Kyle Stirling (Dromore High)

Ireland Men U18 Schools

Jacob Boyd (Royal Belfast Academical Institution)

Joe Hopes (Campbell College Belfast)

Zac Solomon (Campbell College)

Josh Stevens (Methodist College Belfast)

Ireland Men U18 7s

Lukas Kenny (Campbell College Belfast)

Mark Lee (Rainey Old Boys RFC)

Ben McFarlane (Methodist College Belfast)

In the women’s game, this year saw the launch of a new National Women’s Talent Squad as well as a Six Nations Festival in Edinburgh. The Under-18 Six Nations Festival promoted a learning environment for these young players and the coaches to develop and experience international competition.

The Ulster Rugby Women & Girl’s Performance Pathway programme has introduced two high-performance hubs at the Mid Ulster Sports Arena and the Dub at Queen’s Sport. These provide an opportunity for the extended Deloitte Ulster Women’s and Deloitte Ulster U18 Girls’ squads to receive bi-weekly coaching and athletic development support. This provision is aimed at players deemed to have the best chance of progressing to play for Ireland at Age-grade and senior level at both 15s and 7s levels.

Ulster Rugby Women and Girls’ Rugby Development Manager, Eliza Downey commented, “We are extremely proud of our players capped at U18 15s and 7s this season. Their commitment, focus, sacrifice and talent have duly been rewarded with pulling on their first green jersey.

“It is also heartening that these players represent 9 different clubs from across the province. Their selection at an international level reflects positively on the work that is being done in clubs and throughout the pathway by Ulster Rugby staff. This opportunity aids their further development and experience that they are bringing back to their clubs and Ulster.

“Ulster Rugby’s increased investment in the Women & Girl’s game has seen the development of a clearer pathway for girls, with access to regular playing opportunities through U12 ‘Let’s Play’ events, an U14 League, as well as the U16 and U18 Super Series and cup competitions. The Super Series has not only had great success in targeting player development but has provided regular Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for club coaches.

“One of the most exciting additions was the implementation of a focused Talent ID system throughout youth and school competitions, enabling staff to identify talented players at an earlier stage and support them through the Women & Girl’s Performance Pathway programme. This enhanced pathway directly supports the players involved from Ulster and provides a boost for the entire women & girls’ game in terms of inspiring the next generation and producing more, local female role models.”

Today concludes the #SixNationsFestival for the @IrishRugby U18 Women’s team.

Huge congratulations to Maebh, Sophie, Jorja and Sadhbh on being part of the first Ireland U18 Women’s team to play a full international match 🆚 Wales 🤩#NothingLikeIt pic.twitter.com/a6mM3cBzkL
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) April 13, 2022