2011 marks the sixth successive season that Buccaneers and ESB have staged these prestigious matches at Dubarry Park, Athlone.

Speaking at the announcement, ESB Electric Ireland, Commercial Manager, Ken McKervey stated "ESB has enjoyed an excellent partnership with Buccaneers RFC and the IRFU for the past five years in supporting them in showcasing the best of Ireland Under 20’s Rugby at Dubarry Park Athlone. The decision to renew this sponsorship for a further three years was easy considering the success we have enjoyed to date through the growing interest in Under 20’s rugby as evidenced with the impressive audience figures RTE’s live broadcasts of the games have generated over the past few years. This, combined with the experience of working with Buccaneers and the growing attendance figures at the home games makes this sponsorship an obvious choice for us, particularly in the competitive energy market of today. This sponsorship will be promoted under our new brand name, ESB Electric Ireland".

Welcoming the renewal of the sponsorship, Buccaneers RFC President Pat Hynes gratefully acknowledged "ESB’s on-going unstinting support of these prestigious international fixtures that enabled topclass rugby come to the heartland of the country. Without ESB’s tangible patronage, Buccaneers simply could not host these hugely popular matches."

Ireland will play two home matches against the two traditional big rugby powers at the home of Buccaneers RFC., kicking off their campaign against France on Friday, February 11th followed by a meeting with England on Friday, March 18th with both games being shown live on RTE2 TV.

Ireland will be coached this year by Mike Ruddock, who guided Wales to a senior Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005, whilst Michael Kearney is again team Manager. Ruddock’s son Rhys last year captained the Irish U20s to winning the Six Nations Championship and has since gone on to play for Leinster and the Ireland Senior team alongside former U-20 stars Jonathan Sexton, Sean O’Brien and Cian Healy; evidence of young talent emerging from the U-20s set up.

The sponsorship will be branded ESB Electric Ireland when the new logo and identity for the recently announced name change for ESB’s Customer Supply and Independent Energy businesses will be rolled out next month.

Ireland Under 20’s Rugby Six Nations Home Series fixtures:
Fri 11th Feb   19:45   Ireland U20s v France U20s     Dubarry Park
Fri 18th Mar   19:45   Ireland U20s v England U20s   Dubarry Park

Both matches will be shown live on RTE2 TV

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