Wycherley ready for Cork dream
Prop Josh Wycherley will fulfil a dream when he lines out at Musgrave Park for the Ireland U20s’ Six Nations opener against England this evening (kick-off 7.15pm).
The Bantry native will make his debut in the Irish front row as Noel McNamara’s side look to stamp their authority on the Cork venue.
“It’s unbelievable. You always look forward to these moments when you’re a young fella coming up. It’s nice for the home county, having it down in Cork,” said Wycherley.
“It’s a new 4G and it’s a brilliant park. Hopefully there’ll be a good crowd out for it. It’s exciting.”
It has been a season of progression for Wycherley in his first year out of school (Cistercian College Roscrea). As well as making the cut for the U20 Six Nations, he featured alongside older brother Fineen in Munster A’s inaugural Celtic Cup campaign.
“It was nice to get an opportunity in the Celtic Cup. I got a few starts. It was actually the first time myself and Fineen had actually played alongside each other, so it was a cool enough experience as well,” he said.
“It was just good to get a few runs out in that. The experience of playing against bigger men and that exposure will lead you for opportunities here as well, moving into this kind of squad.”
Since current senior star James Ryan inspired a comeback victory in the 2016 Six Nations, Ireland have suffered three consecutive defeats to England at this age grade. If they are to be successful on his home patch tonight, Wycherley believes their opponents’ forward pack will need to be neutralised.
“They’re big fellas. They’re going to try and bully you up front all the time. As a pack, we just try and nail down our detail at scrum time and we just try and win the height battle really. Just keep our connections together and go as eight.
“We just try to stay together and keep our feet on the ground, and get go forward. Against a bigger pack, you’re not always going to make those yards. But as long as you can get good ball for the backs to play, it’s a good turnout,” said Wycherley.