| Union | Irish Rugby Football Union | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem(s) | the Shamrock | ||
| Ground(s) | Donnybrook Stadium, Dublin | ||
| Coach(es) | Terry McMaster | ||
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The Irish Schoolboys rugby union team is the national team for secondary school students and under-18 players in Ireland.[1][2][3][4][5]
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The Irish Schoolboys side represents the nation against youths of other nations.
They provide a starting point for Ireland qualified players that has led to players representing the National Team, Ireland A, Development, Provincial, Students, Irish U-20 and AIL teams.[6]
Currently in both the Republic and Northern Ireland there are 246 Schools playing rugby; Ulster (107), Leinster (75), Munster (41) and Connacht (23).[7][8][9]
There are a number of notable schoolboy competitions that representative players play in, such as the Northern Bank Schools' Cup (Ulster) and the Powerade Schools' Cup (Leinster).[10][11]
They also play against other 6 Nations countries' schoolboys sides during the year, and also other test playing nations schools teams on a more infrequent basis.[1][2][12][13][14]
Recent matches include a narrow loss to France in a schoolboy Under-18 match on 20 December 2007.[15]
Since 2004, the team also takes part in the annual European Under-18 Rugby Union Championship, wining the title in this competition in 2011. It was Ireland's fourth appearance in the final, having previously lost to France i 2007, 2008 and 2010. 2011 marked the first time that Ireland was represented by a schools team rather than a Clubs XV.[16]
The teams final positions in the European championship:
| Year | Division | Tier | Place |
| 2004 | A Division | I | |
| 2005 | A Division | I | 5th |
| 2006 | A Division | I | 2nd — Runners-up |
| 2007 | A Division | I | 2nd — Runners-up |
| 2008 | A Division | I | 2nd — Runners-up |
| 2009 | A Division | I | 5th |
| 2010 | A Division | I | 2nd — Runners-up |
| 2011 | Elite Division | I | 1st — Champions |
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