Young Gun: George McGuigan – Ireland U20 hooker

This year’s Six Nations has been a frustrating one for Ireland U20s but for Newcastle hooker George McGuigan the most important part was securing the bragging rights over Falcons teammate Scott Wilson.
The Irish went down to narrowly to both Wales and Scotland, but sandwiched in between came a thrilling 16-15 win over England with McGuigan getting the better of his Newcastle academy front row colleague Wilson.
And McGuigan, 19,  also part of the Irish team that beat France last Friday, admits it was a relief to get one over on his teammate.
He said: “It’s been a bit of a frustrating Six Nations for us because we really could have won both those games against Wales and Scotland. But it was great to beat England, and I was able to have a little bit of a joke with Scott about it.
“And I was able to go back to Newcastle without having to worry about getting teased by the lads.
“My parents are Irish, although I was brought up in the North-east, but I’ve always played for Ireland and had it pushed on me quite a lot. It’s been great to be part of the U20s this year, and there is a lot of potential in the squad.
“My next target will be to make the Junior World Championship squad. I’m desperate to be involved in France, and hopefully I’ve done enough during the Six Nations to get a call.
“I’ll have to wait but I’ll keep working as hard as I can to get a spot.”
While the Six Nations has been a welcome change for McGuigan, he has also been edging closer to the Falcons first team, having been an unused replacement last time against Rotherham.
With Rob Vickers, Matt Thompson and Michael Mayhew all fighting for the hooker’s jersey at Kingston Park, McGuigan has his work cut out to break through, but he believes he is getting nearer.
And a dual-registration deal which has seen him turning out regularly for Tynedale in National One has also played a major role in his development.
He added: “It was great to be in the squad against Rotherham and I was a little unlucky not to get a chance to come on. It was quite tight, though, which is why I think they didn’t bring me on.
“My aim is definitely to make my first-team debut before the end of the season. It’s tough, because there is a lot of pressure on us every game, but hopefully I’m getting closer.
“With guys like Rob Vickers and Matt Thompson I’ve got some great mentors in training, and they’re always happy to help me out.
“And playing at Tynedale has helped as well. It’s good to get regular adult rugby, and it’s a great test in the set-piece. The scrum seems to be going pretty well, I have some good props alongside me.
“It’s the lineout that is a bit trickier. We only have a couple of training sessions a week, so we can’t try anything too complicated.
“Now we seem to have one week where we will win every lineout and the next we might only win one out of eight.
“That’s something I’ll have to work on, and with the training at Newcastle I think it’s improving. I’m kept pretty busy, training full-time with the Falcons and also twice a week with Tynedale and it’s something I really enjoy.”