Ben O’Connor, Danny Sheahan, and Sean Edogbo called up to Ireland U20s squad for World Cup
Ben O'Connor during Munster rugby squad training at University of Limerick in Limerick. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
CORK rugby players Ben O’Connor, Danny Sheahan, and Sean Edogbo have been called up to the Ireland U20 squad for the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.
Ireland will go into the tournament looking to go one better than last year, when a final appearance ended in a defeat to France.
The campaign will get underway against Italy on Saturday, 29 June (3.30pm Irish time) at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, and that will be followed by a game with Georgia on Match Day 2 on Thursday, 4 July (1pm Irish time) at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch.
Ireland will close out their campaign with a fixture with Australia on Tuesday, 9 July (1pm Irish time) at Athlone Sports Stadium in Cape Town.
Ireland U20s will go into the World Cup after an unbeaten Six Nations Championship, but they did not win the trophy as England finished top over a bonus point win against France on the final day.
O’Connor will be the name which attracts most attention locally, as he travels to South Africa just twelve months after helping Cork win their second successive All-Ireland 20 hurling title.
The winger also featured for Presentation Brothers College in their 2022-23 Munster Senior Cup campaign, which ended in a victory over arch-rivals Christian Brothers College at Musgrave Park.
The winger joined Munster last summer and made his senior debut for Munster as a replacement during their 45-14 victory over Dragons in November 2023.
That was followed by an appearance against Bayonne in the pool-stages of the Champions Cup in December at Thomond Park.
Sheahan is the nephew of Munster legend Frankie Sheahan and was a key member of the Ireland squad that won the Grand Slam in the 2023 U20 Six Nations Championship.
Sheahan first broke onto the scene by helping Pres reach the 2022 Munster Senior Cup final with a dramatic comeback win over CBC.
There was no crowning glory after the 12-point turnaround as they were beaten 26-5 by Crescent College Comprehensive in the final.
Sean Edogbo lines out for UCC in the AIL, and his brother is Munster player Edwin Edogbo. Sean was a standout player for Ireland in this year’s edition of the U20 Six Nations Championship, he even scored a match winning try at Musgrave Park.
The Cork trio of Sean Edogbo, Ben O’Connor, and Frankie Sheahan all scored tries during a 43-8 victory over Wales at Musgrave Park last February.
Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster) Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster) Patreece Bell (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby) Alan Spicer (UCD RFC/Leinster) Evan O’Connell (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster) (captain) James McKillop (Queen’s University RFC/Ulster) Max Flynn (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)* Brian Gleeson (Garryowen FC/Munster) Emmet Calvey (Shannon RFC/Munster) Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster) Jacob Boyd (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster) Billy Corrigan (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster) Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster) Bryn Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster) Luke Murphy (Shannon RFC/Munster) Mikey Yarr (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)* Andrew Sparrow (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Oliver Coffey (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Ulster) Hugo McLaughlin (Lansdowne FC/Leinster) Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht) Wilhelm de Klerk (UCD RFC/Ulster) Finn Treacy (Galwegians RFC/Connacht) Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster) Tadhg Brophy (Naas RFC/Leinster) Sean Naughton (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht) Sam Berman (Terenure RFC/Ulster) Davy Colbert (Dublin University FC/Leinster) Ruben Moloney (UCD RFC/Leinster)* Jake O’Riordan (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)*
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