YOUNG GUNS
IRELAND U20S SCRUM-HALF
The Junior World Championship only ended two weeks ago but Niall Saunders has already set his sights on the 2017 edition where he hopes Ireland can make history once more.
Being drawn in the ‘pool of death’ with Grand Slam winners Wales and reigning champions New Zealand, Ireland’s odds to make it out of the group were very slim but a one-point success over their Celtic rivals Wales set them on their way to become the first Irish men’s side to beat New Zealand.
Not content with that piece of history, Saunders and his team went on to become the first Irish side to reach a World Cup final before their run was ended by England.
Falling so close from their goal was hard to take for Saunders but he is adamant the future of Irish rugby is green and people will have to get used to seeing them challenge for honours from now on.
He said: “The Junior World Cup couldn’t have gone any better to be honest. To make history by reaching the final was just brilliant. No other Irish team had ever achieved that at any level.
“It was tough to lose to England in the final but they were a very good side. We managed to beat the Baby Blacks and Wales in the pool which was just amazing.
“We did so much homework on both Wales and New Zealand and we knew exactly how they were going to play and how to beat them. But to actually do it was very special.
“Personally to represent my country after my dad Rob captained them in 1991 was a great achievement.
“I’ve got another year at this level and I’ll do my best to make sure the future of Irish rugby is green and everyone has to buy into that.
“Ireland has to be competitive at any level and I hope we can take our results from this year into the next.”
After a well-deserved rest the 18-year-old will return to Harlequins for pre-season where he will be a full-time member of the academy and he can’t wait to try to break into the first team.
He added: “I’ll start training again with Quins on July 21 and I’m very much looking forward to it. I’m a Quins boy at heart and I’ve been supporting the club growing up.
“I played at the London Floodlit Sevens at the end of the season which was great and I hope to kick on next season with someone like Mark Mapletoft as one of my coaches. “Quins play the high-tempo game I love and I’m just so excited about getting stuck in. I’m not sure what the coaches’ plans are but I should find out more about it when I report back for training.”