“It boosted my confidence massively” – this trio of talented rugby players reflect on their time as part of Ireland’s U20s team
Harry Byrne, Fintan Gunne, and Jack Crowley reveal how those early career matches prepared them for the senior international team.
By Rory Cashin
Ireland is home to a very impressive and consistent conveyor belt of talented rugby players, and looking back over their shared history, you will discover that for many of them, they have parallel starting points.
Before they all became household names, before we would uniformly roar their names from the stands (and at our TVs at home!) in support, many of today’s senior players first honed their skills in the green of the Ireland U20s jersey.
For many young athletes, that call-up will mark the turning point in their careers and in their lives.
No longer is the sport something that they are attempting to squeeze in between school and weekend plans, but it becomes something that feels big, feels real, and feels potentially life-changing.
As part of that U20s team, the young players learn and grow, and that feeds directly into Ireland’s continued strength on the world stage.
Kicking off in 2006, when PwC announced its support for the inaugural U20s squad, it has since grown into something far more expansive.
Over 20 years later, this partnership now stretches across nine squads, spanning men’s and women’s programmes in Rugby 7s, Rugby 15s, and the Interprovincial pathways.
PwC’s involvement stretches beyond logos on kits or investments in equipment, as their support helps to build environments where young players learn to lead, how to build their self-confidence, and how to recognise their own potential.
It also engenders a culture that champions equality, as well as championing high performance and long-term development.
In order to fully understand the real impact of that environment and culture, we sat down with three standout alumni, whose real-life successes tell the story better than any statistic ever could…
We had a great conversation with Harry Byrne, Fintan Gunne, and Jack Crowley about their careers, from the U20s Ireland team and how it prepared them all for the games they play today.
Having the self-belief to be a part of the senior team can be a huge personal undertaking, which as Jack tells us, all stems from his days on the U20s team:
“It boosted my confidence massively, and my belief in going about being a professional rugby player. I hadn’t had an academy or sub academy offer, so everything was on the line for that.
"Having the ability to go out and play at the top of your game, that is where you want to be, you want to be testing yourself against the best. I was fortunate to be a part of good teams that allowed us to play great games and perform, and put ourselves in the shop window.
“And then, off the back of that, getting academy spots gives you the confidence so you can go and become a professional player. Then when you start out training with the seniors, you have that confidence to look back and see that you have played at the highest level for where you are then and there, so you can build your belief off the back of that.”
One of the biggest lessons that all three of the players learned was facing tough times and leaning on each other to get through them. Fintan tells us about a time of personal difficulty, and focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel:
“Leaving school, joining the sub academy, you’re getting ready to play Men’s Rugby AIL, and then you’re preparing for the U20’s, ultimately.
"I injured my shoulder during that period, so I was out for that window of developing, getting ready for the U20’s, and I was out right up until January before the Six Nations, watching the lads playing the U20’s friendlies.
“They’re performing well together, looking cohesive, and you know that they’re in camp together, building relationships. So you’re kind of going through a phase of self-doubt, not really sure where you’re going to stand, or if you’ll get back [into the team] in time.
"So I just stuck with it, filled myself with confidence, and I’d chat to my Dad a lot about what’s going on, if I’m going through a tough patch, and he’s always great for filling me with confidence.
“And then I managed to put my hand up and take my opportunity once I was back fit, and got to play in the Six Nations, so it was great to get over that setback.
"It was kind of my only injury that I’ve had, and I know a lot of the lads go through spells of constantly being injured, and it feels like you’re never going to be back, but just keeping your confidence going is great.”
If there is one takeaway that the three lads would like to impart to any new up-and-coming players, it is to go into the game with a mentality that there is just as much to learn from a loss as there is from a win. As Harry tells us:
“I played two years of U20s, and my first year of U20s, we probably had a very good team on paper, and we thought we would have done really well, but it was a pretty disappointing season. In terms of the first Six Nations, we did pretty poorly. And in the World Cup, we were involved in a relegation battle, but then we came out on top, thank God.
“But then, the following year, no team had won a Grand Slam in the U20s for a good few years, I think. So to do that was unbelievably special.”
“Probably something I regret a little bit is just to be as open-minded as possible, and almost take it as you are still developing. Obviously, you want to perform, and you want to win all of those games, but I think the importance of taking every opportunity as a learning opportunity is massive.
“Everyone wants to win, and win now, but it is also the importance of taking those things on board as you go. You can only do that by being open-minded, and asking as many questions as possible, as using all of the resources that the Irish U20s give you.”
Success doesn’t just happen. It requires talent, resilience, and ambition.
Find out how PwC transforms potential into success here.
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