Ireland U20 competed in the Six Nations Championship in February and March 2011 and in the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship in Italy in June.
We have taken advantage of our site cleanup to review our historical coverage of international and provincial sides over the last 10 years. This article was written on Wednesday, 20th January 2020 and has been entered retrospectively into the appropriate timeline.
2011 U20 Six Nations
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Ireland were unable to defend their Six Nations title from the previous season, finishing fourth after two wins and a draw from their five matches in 2011.
Results
- 4 February 2011. Italy 9 – 28 Ireland, Stadio XXV Aprile
- 11 February 2011. Ireland 13 – 38 France, Dubarry Park
- 25 February 2011. Scotland 0 – 15 Ireland, Tulloch
- 11 March 2011. Wales 26 – 26 Ireland, Parc-y-Scarlets
- 18 March 2011. Ireland 15 – 46 England, Dubarry Park
Standings
| TEAM | PL | W | D | PD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 5 | 5 | 0 | 167 | 10 |
| France | 5 | 4 | 0 | 87 | 8 |
| Wales | 5 | 2 | 1 | 48 | 5 |
| Ireland | 5 | 2 | 1 | (22) | 5 |
| Italy | 5 | 1 | 0 | (141) | 2 |
| Scotland | 5 | 0 | 0 | (139) | 0 |
Players Used
Head coach Mike Ruddock used 37 players during the Six Nations. This was a 42% increase on the 26 players used in 2010. The increase appeared to be partially due to clubs, and Ulster in particular, not releasing players during the Six Nations. In addition there was an overall expansion in selection to have a look at players outside of Ireland with “Exiles” Finlay Bealham, Nathaniel McDonald and Stephen Lecky included in the squad. Bealham was subsequently included in the Ulster Academy and assigned to Belfast Harlequins between the Six Nations and World Championship.
Ulster’s Niall Annett, was appointed captain and her was joined by fellow Ulster players Blane McIlroy, Patrick Jackson, Iain Henderson, Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, Conor Carey and James McKinney.
| PLAYER | CLUB | PROVINCE | START | BENCH | SQUADS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Conneely | Corinthians | Connacht | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Alex Kelly | UCD | Leinster | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Andrew Boyle | UCD | Leinster | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Blane McIlroy | Ballymena | Ulster | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Daniel Qualter | Buccaneers | Connacht | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| James Tracy | UCD | Leinster | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Jordi Murphy | Lansdowne | Leinster | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Shane Buckley | Garryowen | Munster | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Martin Moore | Lansdowne | Leinster | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Michael Kearney | Clontarf | Leinster | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Michael Sherlock | Clontarf | Leinster | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Niall Annett | Belfast Harlequins | Ulster | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Patrick Jackson | Dungannon | Ulster | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Tiernan O’Halloran | Galwegians | Connacht | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| JJ Hanrahan | UL Bohemian | Munster | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| David Doyle | UCD | Leinster | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Iain Henderson | Queen’s University | Ulster | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Cathal O’Flaherty | Cork Constitution | Munster | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Mark Dolan | Corinthians | Connacht | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Tadhg Furlong | Clontarf | Leinster | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Craig Gilroy | Dungannon | Ulster | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Luke Marshall | Ballymena | Ulster | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Cathal Marsh | Dublin University | Leinster | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Conor Carey | Ballymena | Ulster | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Colm O’Shea | Old Belvedere | Leinster | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Finlay Bealham | Exile | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Gareth Quinn McDonogh | Shannon | Munster | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Peter Du Toit | UCD | Leinster | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Andrew Conway | Blackrock | Leinster | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| David Heffernan | Lansdowne | Connacht | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| David O’Mahony | Cork Constitution | Munster | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Eoin McKeon | Galwegians | Connacht | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nathaniel McDonald | Exile | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Brendan Macken | Blackrock | Leinster | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| James McKinney | Queen’s University | Ulster | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| James Rael | Garryowen | Munster | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Stephen Lecky | Exiles | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Check Sum | 75 | 35 | 110 |
Points scored
Ireland finished the tournament with a 22 point deficit, scoring 97 points and conceding 119. The points scored came from 11 tries, 6 conversions (54% conversion rate) and 10 penalties. Ulster’s Paddy Jackson was the main kicker picking up 37 points from the boot over the 4 matches she was available and Craig Gilroy was the leading try scorer, with 3 tries, despite only being released for two games.
| SCORERS | T | C | P | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddy Jackson | 5 | 9 | 37 | |
| Craig Gilroy | 3 | 15 | ||
| David Doyle | 2 | 10 | ||
| Niall Annett | 2 | 10 | ||
| JJ Hanrahan | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| James Tracy | 1 | 5 | ||
| Martin Moore | 1 | 5 | ||
| Penalty Try | 1 | 5 | ||
| Shane Buckley | 1 | 5 | ||
| Check Sum | 11 | 6 | 10 | 97 |
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2011 IRB Junior World Championship
The 2011 JWC was played in Italy with Ireland based in Rosario in Pool C alongside England, South Africa and Scotland. With a host of Irish youngsters getting Magners League experience throughout the season there were high expectations for this campaign. Unfortunately they were not match prepared and were overpowered by the heavyweight England and South African sides in the pool stages before picking up their solitary win against Scotland.
However this was enough to put them in the 5th – 8th place playoffs but a second defeat to South Africa and then Wales saw Ireland finish 8th.
Results
- 10 June 2011. England 33 – 25 Ireland, Treviso
- 14 June 2011. Ireland 26 – 42 South Africa, Treviso
- 18 June 2011. Ireland 30 – 13 Scotland, Rovigo
- 22 June 2011. South Africa 57 – 15 Ireland, Padua
- 26 June 2011. Wales 38 – 24 Ireland, Treviso
Pool Standings
| TEAM | PL | W | PD | BP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 3 | 3 | 35 | 2 | 14 |
| South Africa | 3 | 2 | 43 | 3 | 11 |
| Ireland | 3 | 1 | (7) | 0 | 4 |
| Scotland | 3 | 0 | (71) | 0 | 0 |
Final Rankings
1. New Zealand, 2. England, 3. Australia, 4. France, 5. South Africa, 6. Fiji, 7. Wales, 8. Ireland, 9. Argentina, 10. Scotland, 11. Tonga, 12. Italy.
Players Used
There were 27 players used during the World Championships with 13 players dropping out of the Six Nations squad and three players, Dominic Gallagher, Jonathan Murphy, Kieran Marmion, brought in. Marmion, playing as an Exile was brought in at the expense of Blane McIlroy but Ulster’s representation increased from 8 to 10 with the inclusion of Trinity’s Gallagher and Banbridge’s Murphy together with the signing of Bealham.
| PLAYER | CLUB | PROVINCE | START | BENCH | SQUADS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Conway | Blackrock | Leinster | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Jordi Murphy | Lansdowne | Leinster | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Kieran Marmion | UWIC | Exile | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Tadhg Furlong | Clontarf | Leinster | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Brendan Macken | Blackrock | Leinster | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Eoin McKeon | Galwegians | Connacht | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Iain Henderson | Queen’s University | Ulster | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| James Tracy | UCD | Leinster | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Michael Kearney | Clontarf | Leinster | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Patrick Jackson | Dungannon | Ulster | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Daniel Qualter | Buccaneers | Connacht | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| David Doyle | UCD | Leinster | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| James McKinney | Queen’s University | Ulster | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Peter Du Toit | UCD | Leinster | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Andrew Boyle | UCD | Leinster | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Niall Annett (C) | Belfast Harlequins | Ulster | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Craig Gilroy | Dungannon | Ulster | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Luke Marshall | Ballymena | Ulster | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Shane Buckley | Garryowen | Munster | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Conor Carey | Ballymena | Ulster | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Tiernan O’Halloran | Galwegians | Connacht | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Dominic Gallagher | Dublin University | Ulster | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| JJ Hanrahan | UL Bohemian | Munster | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Aaron Conneely | Corinthians | Connacht | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Alex Kelly | UCD | Leinster | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Finlay Bealham | Belfast Harlequins | Ulster | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Jonathan Murphy | Banbridge | Ulster | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Check Sum | 75 | 35 | 110 |
Points Scored
Ireland ended the 2011 Junior World Championship with a deficit of 63 points, scoring 120 points but conceding 183. Ireland points came from 11 tries, 10 conversions (91% conversion rate) and 15 penalties.
| SCORERS | T | C | P | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddy Jackson | 1 | 5 | 7 | 36 |
| James McKinney | 5 | 8 | 34 | |
| Andrew Conway | 5 | 25 | ||
| Andrew Boyle | 1 | 5 | ||
| Eoin McKeon | 1 | 5 | ||
| Iain Henderson | 1 | 5 | ||
| Luke Marshall | 1 | 5 | ||
| Niall Annett | 1 | 5 | ||
| Check Sum | 11 | 10 | 15 | 120 |
Jackson remains the leading scorer, picking up another 36 points despite sharing the kicking duties with McKinney who clocked up 34 points from the boot. Andrew Conway picked up five tries for the second successive World Championship which leaves him joint top try scorer alongside New Zealand’s Zac Guildford.
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Season Review
2011 was a season that promised much but delivered little with Ruddock never really finding a settled side which led to a disappointing 33% points pick up. Their points pick up in the Six Nations was 50% with two wins and a draw from the five games and it was a measly 16% in the JWC with only one win from the five games and no bonus points. (Note. No bonus points were awarded during the Six Nations).
Players Used
There were 40 players used throughout the season with only Jordi Murphy in the starting line up for all 10 games. James Tracy and Daniel Qualter appeared in all 10 squads.
| PLAYER | CLUB | PROVINCE | START | BENCH | SQUADS | T | C | P | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordi Murphy | Lansdowne | Leinster | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |||
| James Tracy | UCD | Leinster | 9 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Daniel Qualter | Buccaneers | Connacht | 7 | 3 | 10 | 0 | |||
| Andrew Boyle | UCD | Leinster | 9 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Michael Kearney | Clontarf | Leinster | 8 | 1 | 9 | 0 | |||
| Patrick Jackson | Dungannon | Ulster | 7 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 16 | 73 |
| Iain Henderson | Queen’s University | Ulster | 4 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Shane Buckley | Garryowen | Munster | 4 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 5 | ||
| David Doyle | UCD | Leinster | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 10 | ||
| Niall Annett | Belfast Harlequins | Ulster | 8 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 15 | ||
| Tadhg Furlong | Clontarf | Leinster | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | |||
| Aaron Conneely | Corinthians | Connacht | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Alex Kelly | UCD | Leinster | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Tiernan O’Halloran | Galwegians | Connacht | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0 | |||
| JJ Hanrahan | UL Bohemian | Munster | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Peter Du Toit | UCD | Leinster | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Andrew Conway | Blackrock | Leinster | 6 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 25 | ||
| Craig Gilroy | Dungannon | Ulster | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 15 | ||
| Eoin McKeon | Galwegians | Connacht | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Luke Marshall | Ballymena | Ulster | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Brendan Macken | Blackrock | Leinster | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |||
| James McKinney | Queen’s University | Ulster | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 34 | |
| Conor Carey | Ballymena | Ulster | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | |||
| Blane McIlroy | Ballymena | Ulster | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Kieran Marmion | UWIC | Exile | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Martin Moore | Lansdowne | Leinster | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Michael Sherlock | Clontarf | Leinster | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Finlay Bealham | Exile | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Dominic Gallagher | Dublin University | Ulster | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Cathal O’Flaherty | Cork Constitution | Munster | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Mark Dolan | Corinthians | Connacht | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Cathal Marsh | Dublin University | Leinster | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Colm O’Shea | Old Belvedere | Leinster | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Gareth Quinn McDonogh | Shannon | Munster | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||
| David Heffernan | Lansdowne | Connacht | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| David O’Mahony | Cork Constitution | Munster | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Nathaniel McDonald | Exile | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| James Rael | Garryowen | Munster | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Jonathan Murphy | Banbridge | Ulster | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Stephen Lecky | Exiles | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Penalty Try | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| Check Sum | 150 | 70 | 220 | 22 | 16 | 25 | 217 |
Jackson ended the season as leading points scorer with 73 points and Conway was the leading try scorer with 5 tries.
Paddy Jackson
Andrew Conway
Provincial Contributions
Leinster made the biggest contribution supplying 14 players to the squads, Ulster were next with 10 followed by Munster and Connacht on 6 each and 4 Exiles. (Note: We have Finlay Bealham in the Exiles category throughout.)
The percentage contributions of each Province over the 10 games, in terms of squad appearances and points scored is shown below.
| PROVINCE | START | BENCH | SQUADS | T | C | P | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leinster | 46% | 34% | 42% | 48% | 0% | 0% | 24% |
| Ulster | 26% | 29% | 27% | 43% | 94% | 96% | 69% |
| Connacht | 17% | 11% | 15% | 5% | 0% | 0% | 2% |
| Munster | 6% | 20% | 10% | 5% | 6% | 4% | 5% |
| Exile | 5% | 6% | 5% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Check Sum | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
