Three Trinity students have been called up to the Ireland squad for the upcoming Under-20 Six Nations. Fullback, Outside Centre and Trinity Sport scholar Jack Kelly will captain the side, with Colm Hogan, fullback and wing, and Charlie Connolly, prop, also included in the squad of 32 players.
Speaking to The University Times, Hogan was full of pride at representing Ireland, and by extension Dublin University Rugby Club (DUFC): “It’s a great honour to be representing your country at any level for any sport”. He also readily acknowledged he “wouldn’t have been on [the panel] if it weren’t for the help of Trinity” and the coaches and trainers who have helped in his development.
Hogan spoke of the anxious days the players faced over the weekend before they knew who had made the final squad. Players who were unlucky enough not to make the panel received calls on Friday and Saturday so “if you didn’t get a phone call it was a good thing”. In advance of the selection decisions, many of the players were “joking about turning off their phone and not answering and that kind of thing”.
Hogan was optimistic about his personal ambitions and the team’s chances for the tournament, but wary of Ireland’s opponents in their first game, away to Scotland: “Going away anywhere is a challenge but that will be a particularly tough one.” The challenge posed by traditional heavyweights of the game France and England will also be tough as the “player pool is so much bigger than Ireland that you don’t really know what they’re going to be like”.
The Under-20’s tournament can be seen as a view into the future of the Irish team, with many seeing it as a stepping-stone to further success: “People describe 20s as if it’s like a shop window kind of thing because obviously all your games are on television, you’re representing your country and you’re against the best the other countries have to offer so if you go well you’re noticed and certainly the last few years there’s always been about half the squad going on to get professional contracts if they go well. So I suppose that would really be the aim for me.”
The side will begin their campaign on Friday February 3rd with an away trip to Scotland in Glasgow. This will be followed another Friday night away game in Prato, Italy on February 10th. Ireland will play their first home game of the tournament against France on February 24th in Donnybrook. On Saturday March 11th the team will Travel to Wales before finishing their championship on St. Patrick’s Day against England.
DUFC have their next game, against Clontarf, at home in College Park this Saturday afternoon.
