Disappointment and delight for Leitrim's Diarmaid O’Connell at U20 World Cup
Carrick Rugby Club’s Diarmuid O’Connell saw Ireland’s hopes at the World Cup U20 championships as the Connacht backrow saw his place confirmed in the Connacht Rugby Academy squad for next season
Ireland’s interest in the U20 World Cup came to an end last Thursday when Argentina created their own piece of history in 62-40 victory in Georgia, their highest ever total against a Tier 1 opponent in U20 World Cup history.
Incredibly, Ireland scored six tries over the course of the match but trailed 31-7 at the break as Argentina’s four tries in the opening half came from spending just 30 seconds in the Irish 22. In contrast, Ireland spent just over two minutes inside the Argentinian 22 and only scored one try.
Trailing 42-14 after 43 minutes, Ireland almost staged a miraculous comeback as they trimmed the lead to just ten points thanks to tries from Jack Deegan, Blake McClean and Charlie O’Shea but the south American team finished strongly to run out comfortable winners on the day.
O’Connell received a positive rating from website RugbyPass.com with their writer commenting of the Leitrim player “Carried with purpose and consistently looked for work. One of the more effective members of the back row during a difficult afternoon.”
The defeat followed a hard fought and somewhat unlucky 34-27 defeat at the hands of England in the first round game while the final game on Tuesday morning saw O’Connell come off the bench in a comprehensive 73-22 victory over the United States to send Ireland into a two game playoff to decide 9th to 12th place.
On a positive note, Connacht Rugby announced that O’Connell and fellow Carrick RFC graduate Liam McNamee have been named in their 18-man Academy squad for the 2026/27 season. O’Connell is in year two of the Academy while McNamee, who represented Spain in last year’s U20 World Cup, is included in the year one intake.
Meanwhile, Carrick on Shannon RFC’s Summer Tag season got underway last Thursday and continues every Thursday, Teen Tag at 7pm with the adult Tag at 8pm.
CONNACHT RUGBY ACADEMY SQUAD 2026-2027
YEAR 1: Cian Brady – Back Three; Adam Cooper – Loosehead Prop; Charlie Keane – Back Row; Rory Lyons – Loosehead Prop; Duinn Maguire - Hooker; Liam McNamee - Lock; Luke Murtagh – Tighthead Prop; Rourke O’Sullivan – Centre
YEAR 2: Albert Lindner – Scrum-Half; Aaron O’Brien – Back Row; Diarmaid O’Connell – Back Row; Bobby Power – Back Row; Daniel Ryan – Back Three; David Walsh – Lock; Seán Walsh – Centre; Mikey Yarr – Hooker
YEAR 3: Max Flynn – Back Row; James Nicholson – Back Three