YOUNG GUNS
LEINSTER & IRELAND U20s HOOKER
AFTER securing back-to-back Grand Slams in the U20s Six Nations, the future of Irish rugby is looking extremely bright, and Tyro Leinster hooker Jack Boyle is eager to be a part of it.
The 20-year-old starred for Ireland in their 2022 Grand Slam triumph before enjoying a breakthrough season with Leinster this year, coming off the bench against Dragons and Edinburgh to earn senior appearances.
Boyle is a product of famous rugby school Saint Michael’s that has produced an abundance of Ireland internationals including current stars James Ryan, Ronan Kelleher and Ross Byrne.
Despite starting out in the back-row, Boyle made the transition to hooker after joining Leinster at 15 and says he hasn’t looked back since.
He said: “Leinster directly told me to move to hooker as they had a shortage at the time, and that was the end of my playing days in the back-row.
“I’ve loved it here. I first joined the academy during Covid, so that was a bit of a weird one as we were pretty isolated within our small groups, but since then I’ve loved it and got to know the lads really well. I’ve been surrounded by world class players and coaches so I’m loving it so far.
“The front-row players have taught me their chinks in the armour and how to get one-up on your opposition, so those little conversations with the more experienced players really help you.”
Boyle played in nine games for the
Ireland
U20s from 2020-22, scoring one try, and shares that it was an invaluable experience playing for Richie Murphy’s side.
“I loved last season,” said Boyle.
“The first season I was playing in Cardiff during Covid, so we were pretty much locked down during the three weeks, which was a pretty miserable experience, but then last year was brilliant as places opened up and we started to see full stadiums. The atmosphere at Musgrave Park in Cork was unbelievable, and winning the Grand Slam was amazing with a brilliant group of lads and coaches.”
Ireland U20s secured a second successive Grand Slam last weekend with a 36-24 victory over England, just a day after the senior side secured a Six Nations clean sweep of their own, and Boyle is revelling in the increasing popularity of the sport.
He said: “I actually played a lot of Leinster A games with the current set of lads, and they were brilliant. Even watching some of them in school they’ve always been a really special group. Richie Murphy has done a great job bringing everyone together, it’s predominantly a Leinster contingent but everyone’s mixing together and the coaches find a way to get everyone on the same track.
“When I first started playing in school, you’d watch some of the Leinster matches at the RDS and you would see a good few empty seats, but this season has been incredible with the crowds coming out to watch.
“Everyone’s proud to be Irish and all rugby fans in Ireland are really excited to go watch a game because of how well teams are doing. It’s gaining popularity and hopefully in the next few seasons it can really take off because it still isn’t the most popular sport (Gaelic football) but I feel it can get there.”