There are a number of changes to the side that defeated Portugal 34- 24 in the quarter finals last Friday.

Squad captain Dan Leavy starts this game in a much changed pack. He is joined in the back-row by Rory Maloney and Peader Timmins who both featured in the first game.

There is a new front row with Charlie Slowey, Max Abbott and Eoghan McKeever while Ross Moloney and Sean O’Brien make up the second row.

In the back line Bobby Holland and Conor McKeon are unchanged in the half backs while Harrison Brewer is joined in the centre by Rory O’Loughlin.

David Johnston switches to the right wing with Greg O’Shea coming in on the left. William Dardis completes the back three.

IRELAND UNDER-18 SCHOOLS Team & Replacements (v France Under-18s, FIRA/AER U-18 European Championship Elite Group, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid, Tuesday, April 3rd, kick-off 17:30 local time/16:30 Irish time):

15 – William Dardis (Terenure College/ Leinster)
14 – David Johnston (Rockwell College/ Munster)
13 – Rory O’Loughlin (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)
12 – Harrison Brewer (Terenure College/ Leinster
11 – Gregory O’Shea (Crescent College/ Munster)
10 – Conor McKeon (Gonzaga/ Leinster)
9 – Bobby Holland (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)
1 – Charlie Slowey (CBC Cork/ Munster)
2 – Max Abbott (PBC Cork/ Munster)
3 – Eoghan McKeever (CBC Monkstown/ Leinster)
4 – Ross Molony (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)
5 – Sean O’Brien (CC Roscrea/ Connacht)
6 – Rory Maloney (CC Roscrea/ Leinster)
7 – Daniel Leavy (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)captain
8 – Peadar Timmins (Clongowes Wood College/ Leinster)
Replacements:
16 – Dylan Donnellan (Clongowes Wood College/ Leinster
17 – Adain Slattery (PBC Cork/ Munster)
18 – Shane Delahunt (Kilkenny College/ Leinster)
19 – Shane Boyle (Sligo GS/ Connacht)
20 – Darragh Moloney (CBC Cork/ Munster)
21 – Josh Fullerton (CCB/ Ulster)
22 – Gearoid Lyons (Crescent College/ Munster)
23 – Stephen O’Neill (Terenure College/ Leinster)
24 – Cian Kelleher (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)
25 – Cormac O’Donnell (St Munchins/ Munster)
26 – Jack O’Neill (Castleknock College/ Leinster)

Ireland Fixtures:

Friday 30th March 2012 
Ireland 34 Portugal 24

Tuesday 3rd April 2012
M5: KO: 17.30hrs Ireland v France
aturday 7th April 2012
M9: KO: 16.45hrs Winner M5 v Winner M6
M10: KO: 15.00hrs Loser M5 v Loser M6
M11: KO: 12.45hrs Winner M7 v Winner M8
M12: KO: 11.00hrs Loser M7 v Loser M8

All matches will be played at Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid.

The Ireland U-18 Schools will warm up for their defence of the FIRA/AER European title with a pre tournament friendly against Scotland in Coolmine RFC on Sunday, March 25th, k.o. 12 noon.

This year’s Justin Bridou U-18 European Championship takes place in Spain with Ireland drawn in the Elite group alongside England, Wales, France, Scotland, Italy, Georgia and Portugal.

Ireland won the tournament in France last year for the first time having previously reached two finals with the U-18 Club team.

The U-18 Schools, who beat a fancied England team by 17 – 8 to take the title in 2011, will play Portugal in Ciudad Universitaria in Madrid in their opening game on March 30th. The winner will progress to a semi final where they will face either France or Scotland.

Terry McMaster will coach the 26 man squad with the assistance of Paul Barr and Kenny Hooks.

Ireland U-18 Schools Squad (FIRA/AER U-18 European Championship, Madrid, March 29- April 8th)

Max  Abbott (PBC Cork/ Munster)

Benjamin Alexander (RBAI/ Ulster)

Shane  Boyle (Sligo GS/ Connacht)

Harrison Brewer (Terenure College/ Leinster)

William Dardis (Terenure College/ Leinster)

Shane Delahunt (Kilkenny College/ Leinster)

Dylan  Donnellan (Clongowes Wood College/ Leinster)

Josh Fullerton (CCB/ Ulster)

Bobby Holland (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)

David  Johnston (Rockwell College/ Munster)

Cian Kellerher (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)

Daniel Leavy (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)

Gearoid  Lyons (Crescent College/ Munster)

Rory Maloney (CC Roscrea/ Connacht)

Eoghan McKeever (CBC Monkstown/ Leinster)

Conor  McKeon (Gonzaga/ Leinster)

Saba  Meunargia (Marist College/ Connacht)

Ross Molony (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)

Sean  O’Brien (CC Roscrea/ Connacht)

Cormac  O’Donnell (St Munchins/ Munster)

Ruairi O’Farrell (Blackrock College/ Leinster)

Jack  O’Neill (Castleknock College/ Leinster)

Gregory O’Shea (Crescent College/ Munster)

Rory O’Loughlin (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)

Charlie  Slowey (CBC Cork/ Munster)

Peadar Timmins (Clongowes Wood College/ Leinster)

Ireland U-18 Schools Management

Terry McMaster – Head Coach

Paul Barr – Assistant Coach

Kenny Hooks – Assistant Coach

John McKinney – Team Manager

Chris Shield – Fitness Coach

Ozzie Fogarty – Team Doctor

David Lyons – Team Physio

Vinny Hammond – Team Analyst

Nicola Lyons – Team Co-ordinator

John Moran – Team Assistant

On the back of their 31-28 defeat against Portugal in Lisbon last month, Colwell feels that the squad is moving in the right direction with Wales next on the agenda.

He said: "We are looking to move forward from our defeat against Portugal – we are very proud of the way the team played and it gives us confidence moving into the fixture against Wales. We’ve worked extremely hard all week and can’t wait until Friday evening.”

Full back Tom O’Toole, who started the game against Portugal, but will be looking to make an impact from the bench against Wales, added: “We played a good brand of rugby against Portugal, we scored four tries to two, but in the end the penalty count against us cost us.

“The good thing is that the coaches say ‘if you see a hole, go for it’. There is a structure, but when you think it’s on, it’s on. There’s a lot of pace and skill in this side, Tom Shiel and Daniel Bibby have both played Sevens, and they love to throw the ball around. So we’ll try and go around the Welsh when we can, but I’m sure they’ll be up for it too and I can’t wait to get onto the pitch.”

England Students side to face Wales

1) Richard Barrington (UWE Hartpury)
2) Richard Townsend (UWE Hartpury)
3) Jordan Saunder (UWIC)
4) Phil Hoy (UWE Hartpury)
5) Jamie Collins (Bath)
6) Josh Beaumont (Durham)
7) Tom Sargeant (C) (Exeter)
8) Graeme Lawler (UWE Hartpury)

9) Andrew McCulla (Durham)
10) Mike Ward (VC) (Durham)
11) Sam Miller (Bath)
12) Louis Messer (UWIC)
13) Tom Shiel (Durham)
14) Ryan Edwards (UWE)
15) Daniel Bibby (UWIC)

Replacements:

16) Tom Meatyard (Bath)
17) Mungo Strachan (Newcastle)
18) Anthony Maka (Bishop Burton)
19) Liam Wilkinson (UWE)
20) Donald Blake (Cambridge)
21) Zak Winnicombe (Bath)
22) Tom O’Toole (Cambridge)

Head coach Ben Ryan took a 14-man squad to Spain for a useful work-out that saw them beat Scotland 24-14, France 29-14, Wales 26-19 and Spain 46-5. The only reverse came in the day’s penultimate game when they went down 24-21 against Portugal.

After mixing up his side throughout the day to maximise the amount of game time for the players, Ryan was in a positive mood ahead of the start of the series in the Gold Coast on November 25-26.

"We mixed things up, tried a few things out so I’m not too worried about the final score in that game against Portugal and we finished off the day playing against Spain in the last game and really put them to the sword.

"We’ve got one or two things to tighten up and a few more players in the end stage of rehabilitation to come back so overall I’m pleased with where we are. We’ll have 20 to choose a 12 from for Australia and that’s going to be a tough job."

Last season’s leading scorer Dan Norton underlined his form with eight tries, including a hat-trick against Portugal and braces against France and Spain.

The draw for the first leg of the series in Australia takes place later this week and Ryan is due to name his squad on November 10.

England Sevens squad in Elche: Greg Barden, Dan Bibby (UWIC), John Brake, Chris Brightwell, Chris Cracknell, Sam Edgerley (Esher), Simon Hunt, Dan Norton, Tom Powell, James Rodwell, Nick Royle, Mat Turner, Rob Vickerman, Marcus Watson (Saracens).

Scores and scorers:
England 24 Scotland 14. Tries: Bibby, Royle, Hunt, Brake
England 29 France 14. Tries: Norton 2, Edgerley, Turner, Watson
England 26 Wales 19. Tries: Royle 2, Rodwell, Norton, Brake
England 21 Portugal 24. Tries: Norton 3
England 46 Spain 5. Tries: Norton 2, Turner 2, Royle, Edgerley

Comfortable Pool B wins over Portugal (24-5) and Spain (22-12) set up the group decider against Wales at the final event of this season’s HSBC Sevens World Series.

But despite Dan Norton’s 31^st try of the campaign and Ben Gollings’s converted effort, England made too many errors in defence and attack – missing key tackles and losing the ball in contact – with Adam Thomas scoring twice and Alex Cuthbert once to earn Wales a date with France in the knockout stages.

England had gone into the final event of the series looking to bounce back from a disappointing London leg and hang on to second place in the overall table where the hold a five-point lead on their nearest rivals.

They were forced to make two changes to the squad with England flanker Steffon Armitage unavailable and Tom Powell needing surgery to a skull fracture.

Saracens flanker Don Barrell appeared from the start against Portugal and England Students number eight Richard de Carpentier made his debut off the bench in the second half.

They started the day with a 24-5 win against Portugal with Norton, John Brake, James Rodwell and Oliver Lindsay-Hague all touching down.

Spain pushed hard with tries from Juan Cano and Matias Tudela but Norton’s second of the day, two tries from Dan Caprice and one for Gollings completed the 22-12 win.

The Bristol Rugby wing got England off to a solid start with the first score in a 24-5 win against Portugal, then scored a long-range stunner as Spain were beat 22-12.

Two out of two wins in Pool B set England up for a place in the quarter finals and the result of their final game against Wales will determine who they face on Day 2.

Norton, two Dan Caprice efforts and a late try for captain Ben Gollings helped see off Spain, who scored two breakaway efforts through Juan Cano and Matias Tudela.

Earlier Norton, John Brake, James Rodwell and Oliver Lindsay-Hague had touched down against Portugal.

It represented a positive start for England, who needed to lift themselves after a disappointing weekend at Twickenham as they try to hang on to second place in the overall series. England (121pts) are being chased hard by South Africa (116), Samoa (112) and Fiji (110).

They made two changes to the squad on duty at Murrayfield with England flanker Steffon Armitage unavailable and Tom Powell recovering from a small depressed skull fracture.

Saracens flanker Don Barrell appeared from the start against Portugal and England Students number eight Richard de Carpentier came off the bench in the second half.

Bristol Rugby wing Dan Norton, John Brake, James Rodwell and Harlequins half back Oliver Lindsay-Hague supplied the tries with captain Ben Gollings added two conversions.

England started slowly with Norton’s 29^th try of the HSBC Sevens World Series opening the scoring only for Portugal to strike from long range with Sebastiao da Cunha touching down.

But they were more patient and increasingly fluent in the second half in the wind at Murrayfield when Brake and Lindsay-Hague struck from long range and Dan Caprice’s quick thinking down the right opened the door for Rodwell.

Despite the disappointments of the London Sevens – where they failed to pick up any points – England needed to lift themselves and defend their second place in the overall series. England (121pts) are being chased hard by South Africa (116), Samoa (112) and Fiji (110).

They made two changes to the squad with England flanker Steffon Armitage unavailable and Tom Powell recovering from a small depressed skull fracture.

The newcomers were Saracens flanker Don Barrell, who started against Portugal and England Students number eight Richard de Carpentier, who came off the bench in the second half.

England face Pool B opponents Spain and Wales in their other opening day games

They did so after losing on the opening day to Portugal and only rescuing a place in the last eight by beating Fiji with a try from the last play of the game.

England Sevens head coach Ben Ryan:

“We dug ourselves out of a great hole against Fiji and we played really well in the last three games. We all sat down last night and said it wasn’t the case of giving ourselves a pat on the back for beating Fiji. It was a reminder that we had to make the most of our chances and learn from what happened which we did. We can fight with the best of them and the boys proved that. We were relaxed and we were ruthless and it’s a good combination and they managed to hang on to that.

“Ollie Lindsay-Hague was brilliant, wasn’t he? He made a big difference as did Chris Cracknell. He was a rock and made some really good decisions. We’ve got some talented youngsters back home and Ollie played with the real exuberance of youth

“We’ve got to remain pretty humble. We’ve won one tournament at the beginning of the year but everyone will regroup and try and have a crack at us next weekend. The proof will be in how we run out in George next weekend.”

Harlequins’ Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 20, was England’s top try-scorer with five:

“It’s probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced in rugby. Winning that was just incredible. Amazing.

“It’s my first tournament win. The closest I’ve been to that was in Hong Kong last year when we got to the semis and lost to Samoa. Starting all the last four games and playing every minute on the final day is what I’d dreamt of all my life.”

Captain Ben Gollings took his world record sevens points tally to 2,418 in Dubai:

“The boys have been sensational this weekend and you can’t ask for any more from them. It was always going to take one win to help us realise our true potential and hopefully we can really roll on from here.

“I’ve experienced plenty of highs and lows but we really had to look hard at ourselves pretty seriously after the performance against Portugal but at the end of the day the boys did what you have to do in this game and that’s to bounce back positively and make amends.

“We’ve got to stay level headed and we’ve set a platform and set a standard and it’s now not right if we don’t meet that standard. There’s still a lot of work to do but the guys were sensational. The young guys really stepped up: Ollie Lindsay-Hague was brilliant, Dan Caprice brilliant, Dan Norton brilliant, Mat Turner brilliant when he came on, everyone played massive parts.”

Chris Cracknell started all four must-win games against Fiji, Australia, New Zealand and Samoa

“We’ve had a very tough couple of days and after [finishing fourth in the Commonwealth Games at] Delhi to come back from the ups and downs that we’ve had is a fantastic experience

“A lot of people doubted us after the Portugal game and we did make things tough for ourselves but we never gave up and we had that fight within us to keep going and got what we deserved.

“We’ve got a great group of guys who have worked very hard to get where we are now and we can keep building and building. Who knows where this year’s going to take us now? It could be the start of an amazing journey.”

James Rodwell was named Player of the Tournament:

“The whole team has put in a fantastic effort coming back from the loss against Portugal. I can’t put my finger on why that happened. We didn’t start as we wanted to against France and Portugal but we kept our patience today.

“We need to cut out the poor performances and keep our standards high. You can’t look beyond the next tournament or you’ll falter but the boys are full of confidence now and for a lot it’s a first tournament win.

“After the Portugal game we were gutted. We have great support here in the crowd and it’s incredible running out to that reception but we just didn’t do them justice in the France game and the Portugal game.”

Bristol Rugby wing Dan Norton’s long-range finish put England in front in the final’s dying seconds:

“We gradually got better and better throughout the day that was pretty pleasing. We just tried to make ourselves as relaxed as we could. We had been trying to score off first phase and we were hectic and not relaxed, trying to throw the ball around too much.

“We want to be series winners and get from fifth to first in the world and with a bit of luck and when performances go well and we do well as a team we showed what we can do. It’s a good start.

“We now know what it’s like to get to a final and how to play when we get there and we have the winning feeling and that should help us. We knew we had fate in our hands and we hold the key to winning the games.

“It was really hard going but the whole atmosphere that’s involved in Dubai pushes us on further. The support we get here is amazing, it’s one of the best tournaments England can play in and it’s a great feeling to have to have won.”

Simon Hunt (Birmingham Solihull) scored the winning try against Fiji and came off the bench to strike again in the final

“This is my first tournament win and I’ve been in a few. It’s been a really up and down couple of days from the loss we had against Portugal and we picked ourselves up again and again and again.

“All 12 of us have worked really hard. It’s definitely been a 12 man thing and I’m very proud of all the boys. We know how well we can play but it’s brilliant that we have won.

“It makes it worth it. All the fitness tests, the rolling around in the dirt, in all the wind and the rain, and putting the hard yards in is all worthwhile when you win. Life didn’t seem so pretty five minutes after Portugal but if we are going to win the series we’ll have ups and downs and it’s about how we deal with which we’ve done superbly here.”

Harlequins’ Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 20, helped England to victory at the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens this week in the first event of the HSBC Sevens World Series. Lindsay-Hague finished as England’s top try scorer with five tries as they beat Australia (24-21), New Zealand (19-14) and Samoa (29-21) in the knock-out stages to clinch the title.

Yesterday’s win over Samoa in the final of the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens is probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced in rugby. Winning that tournament was just incredible.

It’s my first tournament win. The closest I’d been to that was in Hong Kong last year when we got to the semis and lost to Samoa. Starting all the last three knock-out games and playing every minute is what I’d dreamt of all my life.

All our wins were tight ones and when you’re playing teams like Australia and Samoa you’re never going to smash them unless they’re having a bad day or you’re on fire. At the moment the competition’s so tight in sevens but we showed how good we are. We learned from our mistakes, did everything we were told to do and that’s why we won.

I don’t know how I ended up as England’s top try scorer with five because I missed the first two games on Day One but I’m really happy with what I did although there’s stuff I need to work on. I did some wrong things too.

When I got up in the morning I was so confident from minute one that we could win the tournament after we had beaten Fiji the previous night. I knew we were ready and had a feeling all day we were going to win it.

We just clicked as a team, I suppose. When we don’t make mistakes we can be unstoppable sometimes and we’ve just got to keep that going through the year. There’s definitely more to come. We got our heads on straight away ready to fly to George for next weekend’s second tournament, and we’ll make sure we get our recovery done right and go on from there.

All in all I’ve had a great week and an even greater weekend.

Craig Hill raced over in the first half and Lee Rees scored in the second period to lead Wales’s charge to a 14-5 victory over Russia in a hard fought final. Gareth Rees banged over two conversions to complete the scoring for Wales.

Russia rallied late on to score through Lev Sleptsov but it proved too little too late as Wales picked up their second title in two weeks.

En route to the final Wales swept aside the challenge of Tunisia 33-0 in the quarter-final before brushing aside the rapidly improving Portugal 24-7 in the semis.

After being knocked out of the main draw after finishing their pool in third place behind New Zealand and Samoa, Wales were looking to assert their authority in the Bowl competition.

In the quarter-final bowl against Tunisia there was only one side in it. Wales led 19-0 at the break thanks to tries by Justin Tiperic, Ashley Beck and Ifan Evans.

Wales suffered a setback when Chris Davies was sin binned in first minute of second half but tries by Alex Cuthbert and Gareth Davies ensured passage through to the semis.

Portugal put up a tougher fight in the semi-final and held Wales to a 5-0 lead after a Cuthbert try. But Wales stepped up a gear in the second spell and got the perfect start when Davies scampered over. Goncalo Foro hit back with Diogo Miranda adding the extras but Justin Tiperic put the issue beyond doubt with two smartly taken tries.

Wales coach Paul John was a delighted man after guiding his young side to their second success within seven days.

“Let’s be realistic, we’ve got eight brand new players in the squad. Eight players who have not played sevens tournament rugby before. But this bunch of youngsters have grown and grown tremendously on and off the field.

“They have pushed all the sides really close over the first two tournaments. We’ve played all the big teams over the past couple of weeks except for Kenya and England and to be fair, they have done themselves proud.

“We’ve got a lot more points than we did this time last year, so we’ve exceeded expectations from the first two tournaments so they can take confidence from what they have achieved.

“They have won both Bowls comfortably and two win two Bowls is difficult. They’ve shown they have the potential to get into the semi-finals of the main draw.”

Alex Gray

One of England’s brightest back row talents has been working alongside Richie McCaw to develop his game during a three-month spell in New Zealand.

Athletic number eight Alex Gray has returned to Newcastle Falcons after three months with Canterbury and heads for a warm weather training camp in Portugal tomorrow with Mark Mapletoft’s England Under 20 squad.

Gray made his debut in England’s Under 18 side as a 16-year-old before leading them through two unbeaten campaigns that culminated in a thumping 45-13 victory over South Africa in Kimberley in August.

Instead of returning to the North East and straight into full-time rugby with the Falcons, the Newcastle-born teenager opted for a spell in Christchurch, playing for Canterbury’s unbeaten Under 20 side – prompting comparisons with the way current England boss Martin Johnson did so with King Country before launching his own international career.

Gray also worked alongside New Zealand captain McCaw in the gym and on his breakdown skills with McCaw’s mentor Angus Gardiner, a flanker who played for Bath and Beziers after winning back-to-back Super 12 titles with the Crusaders.

Equally important for Gray was the chance to expand his horizons after leaving Barnard Castle School and living away from home for the first time, without sacrificing the chance to learn more about the game.

“Leaving school I knew I wanted to see a bit of the world but I couldn’t just disappear off the radar and do nothing,” said Gray.

“I talked to (England U18 coach) John Fletcher and Newcastle to let them know what I wanted to do and they’ve helped me to go. I wanted to grow as a person and know what it’s like to be out on your own.

“Canterbury’s probably the best rugby area there is. I’ve lived at home and never had to do too much like cooking for myself and looking after myself and I thought it would be a good challenge. I’ve had the time of my life, made some friends for life and seen some things I’d never see elsewhere.

“In Christchurch I was an hour from the mountains and half-an-hour from the coast and the beach. It’s a very different place and a different way of life to back home. Much less complicated.

“The big thing is that everyone lives and breathes their rugby and it was interesting to see just how seriously it’s taken. It’s pretty cut-throat. If the All Blacks lose a game it’s a disaster and everyone’s getting into them. Everyone’s an expert and wants to talk to you about it.

“I was welcomed wherever I went – more than I ever thought I would be to be honest. I’ve shared a flat with a few of the Canterbury boys and everyone’s been happy to help out.”

Newcastle boss Steve Bates is already on record as describing Gray as potentially the best forward ever produced by the club’s academy and ready to challenge for a first team place in the remainder of this season.

The teenager returned to England last month having topped up his fitness in Christchurch as well as adding to his technical skills on the pitch.

“There’s been a big focus on my conditioning as a young forward while I’ve been away and working hard on lots of detail – handling, scrum, lineout, breakdown, everything,” he said.

“Everything’s been catered for. For example, at the breakdown I’ve been with Angus Gardiner, who works with Richie McCaw.

“It’s such a crucial part of the game and they definitely spend a lot of time working at it. Every training session includes a lot of breakdown and contact work.”

The next step on the international ladder beckons, too. After the Portugal camp, Gray should be part of the Under 19 England Academies side taking on Australian Schools at Cinderford on December 19.

“Without doubt he’s a very talented player who’s achieved a great deal in his junior career so far,” said Mapletoft, whose Under 20 set-up has brought through likes of forwards of the calibre of Courtney Lawes, Alex Corbisiero, Andy Saull, Carl Fearns and Calum Clark in the past two seasons.

“It’s great for him to have been able to go from the South Africa trip to New Zealand to experience life and rugby in the southern hemisphere and that move was supported both at national level and by his club. All the feedback we’ve had from those working with him in New Zealand has been very positive.

“As a first year Under 20 he now has to force his way into the squad for the Six Nations, establish himself at this level and then see where we go from there.”

By that he means the IRB Junior World Championships in Argentina next summer, where England will want to take possession of some silverware after defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the last two finals.

“If I get there I could end up playing against some of the boys I’ve been on the same side with for Canterbury,” said Gray. “That’s a big goal.”