Ireland national schoolboy rugby union team

The Irish Schoolboys rugby union team is the national team for secondary school students and under-18 school players in Ireland.[1][2][3][4][5] There is an equivalent Ireland under 18 clubs side that play international rugby.

Ireland Schoolboys
UnionIrish Rugby Football Union
Emblem(s)the Shamrock
Coach(es)Terry McMaster
1st kit
2nd kit

Role

The Irish Schoolboys side represents the nation against youths of other nations.

They provide a starting point for Ireland qualified players that has led to players representing the National Team, Ireland A, Development, Provincial, Students, Irish U-20 and AIL teams.[6]

Currently in both the Republic and Northern Ireland there are 246 Schools playing rugby; Ulster (107), Leinster (75), Munster (41) and Connacht (23).[7][8][9]

School competitions

Each of the four Provinces holds a Schools Cup competition every season, usually culminating in a Provincial Cup Final held on or around St Patricks Day (17 March each year). Despite the age group the qualifying games and finals are usually very well attended with crowds often better than those attending most adult club games, for Leinster Schools Cup Finals crowds of 15–20,000 are not unusual. This has brought onboard sponsors of the various competitions such as the Northern Bank Schools' Cup (Ulster),[10] Supermacs Schools Cup (Connacht) and the Powerade Schools' Cup (Leinster).[11]

Opposition

They also play against other 6 Nations countries' schoolboys sides during the year, and also other test playing nations schools teams on a more infrequent basis.[1][2][12][13][14]

Recent matches include a narrow loss to France in a schoolboy Under-18 match on 20 December 2007.[15]

Since 2011, the team has taken part in the annual European Under-18 Rugby Union Championship, winning the title in this competition in 2011. It was Ireland's fourth appearance in the final, having previously lost to France in 2007, 2008 and 2010. 2011 marked the first time that Ireland was represented by a schools team rather than a Clubs XV.[16]

Notable former Schoolboy representatives

The following players have been called by the Ireland senior national team. Please note that, despite the list below, players from other provinces are also routinely selected. Contrary to media portrayal, Leinster does not dominate all areas of rugby life. Here are a snapshot of some notable former Leinster players, with one token Connacht player:

Honours

European championship

Positions

The team's final positions in the European championship:

Year Division Tier Place
2004 A Division I
2005 A Division I 5th
2006 A Division I 2nd – Runners-up
2007 A Division I 2nd – Runners-up
2008 A Division I 2nd – Runners-up
2009 A Division I 3rd
2010 A Division I 2nd – Runners-up
2011 Elite Division I 1st – Champions
2012 Elite Division I 2nd – Runners-up
2013 Elite Division I 3rd
2014 Elite Division I 2nd – Runners-up
2015 Elite Division I 7th

References
  1. Hands, David (15 April 1998). "Ireland youngsters in pursuit of clean sweep". The Times. p. 40.
  2. Ace, George (20 April 1987). "K AND School of Justice". The Times.
  3. "McHugh Hails Emerging Irish Referees". 27 March 2008. Archived from the original on 3 April 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  4. "Ireland Under-18 Schools Squad Chosen For French Clash". 27 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  5. "The Visit of U-19 Japanese National Rugby Team to Dublin". 28 March 2007. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  6. "about". Irish Colleges Rugby Union. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  7. "Irish Rugby.net - links, fixtures and clubs of Irish Rugby". IrishRugby.net. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  8. "Irish Rugby Union team news". Irish Rugby. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  9. "Rugby chiefs muscle in on body building risk to pupils". The Independent. 10 January 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  10. "Methody secure Schools' Cup win". BBC Sport. 17 March 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  11. "Double injury woe for 'thrown together' Irish". Irish Independent. 26 March 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  12. "Draws & Results". Australian Schools Rugby. 6 April 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  13. "Ireland 18 Schools team to Play Wales in U18 Schools Six Nations Rugby festival". Heavensgame.com. 26 March 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  14. "Australian Schoolboys start their tour with a win". 27 November 2005. Archived from the original on 3 September 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  15. "Irish stunned as dubious try steals win for France". The Irish Examiner. 21 December 2007. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012.
  16. European Glory For Ireland Schools Team Archived 25 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine IRU website, published: 23 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011
  17. "Gordon D'Arcy". Leinster Rugby. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  18. "Luke Fitzgerald". Leinster Rugby. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  19. "Cian Healy". Leinster Rugby. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  20. "Jamie Heaslip". Leinster Rugby. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  21. "Shane Jennings". Leinster Rugby. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  22. "Rob Kearney". Leinster Rugby. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  23. "Brian O'Driscoll". Leinster Rugby. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  24. "Jonathan Sexton". Leinster Rugby. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  25. "Gavin Duffy". Connacht Rugby. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  26. "Andrew Dunne". Connacht Rugby. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 29 April 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
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