Coached by Michael Hodge, the Ireland Under-18s will play the South Africa U-18 ‘A’ and U-18 sides, and their Georgian counterparts, across three match days between Friday, August 8 and Saturday, August 16.
Hodge’s youngsters have already faced Georgia this year, winning 26-21 when they met at the U-18 Men’s Six Nations Festival in Vichy in April. They had previously bounced back from a 32-24 defeat to Wales with a 38-21 victory over Scotland.
James Browne, a Leinster Schools Senior Cup winner with Blackrock College in March, led the try-scoring for Ireland with a fine hat-trick against Scotland.
Full-back Fionn Rowsome, and hookers Lee Fitzpatrick and Nathan Noble, scored two tries each in France, while the captaincy duties were shared between forwards Harry Goslin, Fitzpatrick, and Jonathon Ginnety.
Prior to the Six Nations Festival, the Ireland U-18s overturned a 17-point half-time deficit to beat England 22-17 in a memorable 50th Anniversary Schools international. The bulk of the squad from earlier in the year will travel to South Africa.
Hodge has included four players in his 26-strong touring group who were not involved in the Six Nations Festival – Alex Lautsou, Joe Christle, Daniel O’Connell, and Harry Waters.
Before the Ireland U-18 Schools players and management team’s departure for South Africa, there will be a final training camp held at the IRFU High Performance Centre on July 19-20.
Head coach Hodge commented: “Congratulations to all the boys who have been selected, especially those who are joining the squad for the first time. We built some important connections across the Six Nations Festival, and we’re looking forward to the next challenge.
“The U-18 International Series offers a unique opportunity within the age-grade pathway. The chance to tour South Africa and compete against some of the best players at this level is an invaluable experience.
“The boys will be working hard across all four provinces during the summer, focusing on individual and collective improvement. There is a sense of excitement with the group, as we come back together for our final camp next month.”
This is the second year that Ireland have taken part in the South African tournament, with the class of 2024 earning wins over England (42-28) and Georgia (17-15), while losing out to the host nation on a 38-26 scoreline.
Last year’s U-18 Schools squad was captained by Charlie Molony, who was a try scorer for the Ireland U-20s in their opening World Rugby U-20 Championship victory over Georgia yesterday.
Tom Wood and Luke McLaughlin are also part of Ireland’s 2025 World U-20 Championship squad, while Connor Magee, another U-18 graduate from last year, played during the recent U-20 Six Nations.
Wayne Mitchell, the IRFU’s National Talent Squad & Talent ID Manager, said: “We are very excited to return to South Africa with our Ireland U-18 Schools squad.
We have grown the U-18 national programme over the past few seasons to seven international matches, which has given us the opportunity to see and work with more players across the whole season.
“It also exposes our players, coaches, and support staff to different environments and styles of play, and builds connections and gets them up to speed with the demands of playing in a green jersey.
“Touring this summer provides us with another opportunity to work more closely with these players on a daily basis and in a different environment. Getting to know them better as individuals is really valuable for us to make better decisions for the future.”
IRELAND UNDER-18 SCHOOLS SQUAD (2025 Under-18 Men’s International Series, Western Cape, South Africa, August 2025):
Adam Boyd (RBAI/Ulster Rugby)
Alex Lautsou (Castletroy College/Munster Rugby)
Andrew Henson (Buccaneers RFC/Marist College/Connacht Rugby)
Ben Guerin (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
Bernard White (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
Charlie O’Connor (RBAI/Ulster Rugby)
Connor McVicker (Belfast Royal Academy/Ulster Rugby)
Daniel O’Connell (Ardscoil Rís/Munster Rugby)
Fionn Rowsome (Crescent College Comprehensive College SJ/Munster Rugby)
Frank Maher (Terenure College/Leinster Rugby)
Geoff O’Sullivan (Terenure College/Leinster Rugby)
Geoff Wall (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
Harry Goslin (Belvedere College SJ/Leinster Rugby)
Harry Waters (Ratoath College/Navan RFC/Leinster Rugby)
James Browne (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
James Gould (Wallace HS/Ulster Rugby)
Jamie Walsh (Cistercian College Roscrea/Munster Rugby)
Joe Christle (St. Mary’s College/Leinster Rugby)
Jon Rodgers (Wallace HS/Ulster Rugby)
Jonathon Ginnety (Castleknock College/Leinster Rugby)
Lee Fitzpatrick (Newbridge College/Leinster Rugby)
Leo Anic (Creggs RFC/CBS Roscommon/Connacht Rugby)
Luke Coffey (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby)
Oliver Fitzsimmons (Wallace HS/Ulster Rugby)
Paul Neary (St. Mary’s College/Leinster Rugby)
Tom Bell (Ards RFC/Regent House School/Ulster Rugby)
IRELAND U-18 SCHOOLS MANAGEMENT TEAM –
Michael Hodge – Head Coach
Brendan O’Connor – Assistant Coach
Morgan Codyre – Assistant Coach
Jamie Kirk – Assistant Coach
Stephen O’Hara – Team Manager
Prof. John Ryan – Team Doctor
David Lyons – Team Physio
James O’Leary – Athletic Development Coach
Alan Doonan – Team Analyst
Tom Nyham – Team Logistics
