U20 Championship: The History Boys.

Win, lose or draw tomorrow, this group of Ireland U20’s players have already made history, being the first Irish side to make the final of this Championship and to be honest they have done it in fine style scoring fourteen tries along the way. 

You can read the full match reports and view stacks of pictures by clicking the links below but please read on to see which of the youngsters have been shaking it up on the world stage. 


Stalwards

Hugo Keenan minutes played

Twelve players have played in all four games to date with , , and all averaging over 65 minutes per game.

This is particularly impressive for front rower Porter who has literally been the cornerstone of the Irish scrum throughout the tournament and has laid down the foundations of Ireland’s success. 

However, it’s Keenan that tops the table with the silky smooth runner playing 316 minutes, averaging 79 minutes per game. A huge testament to his effortless technique in this particularly abrasive competition. 

Finishers

Jacob Stockdale 4 tries

There have been nine different try scorers with the forwards bagging six to the backs eight.

Special mention to back row Max Deegan and hooker who have grabbed a brace each but the top performer in this category is Ulster’s who has crossed for four tries so far, scoring two against Wales and two against Argentina. 

The constant threat of Stockdale’s attacking prowess from full back has had more than one team worrying about their kicking game.

Kickers

Johnny McPhillips 41 points

The real bonus for this Irish team is that the kickers have kept the scoreboard ticking over with the Ireland having the best kicking stats in the competition averaging an 85% success rate. 

set the standard of 78%, before having to retire from the competition due to injury, but Ulster’s has pushed it on some and personally averages 88%, only missing two kicks from his sixteen attempts. With a try as well to add to the pot, McPhillips is Ireland’s leading scorer with 41 points. 

Special mention to , who came in for the injured Johnston and has a 100% record from his two attempts at goal! 

Overall Statistics

Ireland have used thirty players throughout the tournament, having suffered two injuries to their twenty-eight man squad. Out half Johnston was injured against New Zealand and was replaced by Connon but most unfortunate was who got injured five minutes into the first match against Wales. Kenny was replaced by .

There have been two yellow cards issued against Ireland, hookers McBurney (New Zealand) and (Argentina) the guilty parties. 

Full stats per player below:  

Ireland U20 Player Stats

PLAYERWALNZGEOARGTOTTRYCONPENDGPTS
Hugo Keenan7680808031615
Max Deegan80806380303210
Greg Jones8080657229715
Andrew Porter8080317226315
Jacob Stockdale80801580255420
Shane Daly8080158025515
Matthew Byrne8080802400
Stephen Kerins80807712380
James Ryan8080722320
Ben Betts7562712080
David Aspil6955802040
Adam McBurney7653764200210
Conor O’Brien8056601960
Johnny McPhillips043657117916841
Cillian Gallagher8076151710
Sean O’Connor0480801640
Vincent O’Brien42680141240
Bill Johnston8037XX11734121
Jimmy O’Brien42465201130
Brett Connon8098924
Evan Mintern808880
Niall Saunders00739820
Terry Kennedy808015
Paul Kiernan80800
Connal Boomer73730
Vakh Abdaladze01849670
James Bollard498570
Kelvin Brown1116178520
Adam Coyle319400
Conor Kenny5XXX50
Totals120011901200119847881411121131
Ireland U20 minutes played and points scored during the 2016 U20 World Rugby Championship.

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