Wing sensation Andrew Conway, who has feature for the Leinster senior side, makes a return to the squad from last season along with Jordi Murphy and Niall Annett who will captain the side from hooker. David Doyle and Brendan Macken have been named in the replacements.

Interestingly, there is not a single representative from Munster in the entire match day 22.

Speaking ahead of the opening game, Coach Ruddock said “After winning the Championship last seasons the stakes are set high for us this year. But this is a new season, a new squad and a clean slate.”

“Our focus for now is on kicking off the championship with a strong performance and while it is great to have a core of experienced players we will be looking for the entire squad to show what they can do.”

“We have prepared well and have gelled as a team. The skill level, attitude and performances of the players and of the team as a whole have been very impressive. We hope to reproduce this for the tournament”

Ireland U20 (v Italy U20): Craig Gilroy (Dungannon - Ulster); Andrew Conway (Blackrock - Leinster), Alex Kelly (UCD -Leinster), Luke Marshall (Ballymena - Ulster), Andrew Boyle (UCD - Leinster); Patrick Jackson (Dungannon - Ulster), Blane McIlroy (Ballymena - Ulster); James Tracy (UCD -Leinster), Niall Annett (Belfast Harlequins - Ulster) (Captain), Martin Moore (Lansdowne - Leinster); Michael Kearney (Clontarf - Leinster), Daniel Qualter (Buccaneers - Connacht); Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne - Leinster), Aaron Conneely (Corinthians - Connacht), Eoin McKeon (Galwegians - Connacht)

Replacements: David Doyle (UCD - Leinster), Conor Carey (Ballymena - Ulster), Finlay Bealham (Exile), William Iain Henderson (Queens - Ulster), Peter Du Toit (UCD - Leinster), Cathal Marsh (Dublin University - Leinster), Brendan Macken (Blackrock - Leinster)