The World Rugby Under-20 Championship of 2023 has been a challenging one both on and off the pitch for this Irish team.
On top of the gruelling schedule which will see them play five games in 24 days, the deaths of Greig Oliver, as well as Andrew O'Donnell and Max Wall in recent weeks have at times put the significance of their championship into perspective.
On Friday night, Richie Murphy's side have the chance to do what no Irish team - whether it be the senior men, women, U19 or U20 - has ever done, and become world champions when they take on France in the final at Athlone Sports Stadium in Cape Town (6pm Irish time).
They've already matched their previous best record in the competition in reaching the decider, equalling the 2016 side which made it to the final in England.
So many of that U20 team from seven years ago have gone on to be household names; James Ryan, Andrew Porter, Jacob Stockdale and Hugo Keenan are now among the biggest names in Irish rugby, while Jimmy O'Brien, Max Deegan, Shane Daly have all won Test caps and are established players with the provinces.
The success those players have gone on to achieve adds another layer of intrigue to this current team. Who from the Class of 2023 will go on and become the stars of the URC and Six Nations down the line?
This current U20 side have already gone one better than the 2016 vintage though by winning a Six Nations title.
Down the years, Ireland have generally struggled in the summer tournaments, with 2023 being just the third time they've even reached a semi-final, but even if they lose Friday's decider, Murphy's side have proven they can compete with the best of both hemispheres.
TV
Ireland U20 v France U20 is live on Virgin Media 2, with kick-off at 6pm. The game will be streamed live on World Rugby's YouTube site in counties with no host broadcaster.
ONLINE
Follow a live match tracker on the RTÉ News app and RTÉ.ie/sport, while we'll also have a report and reaction from the Irish squad.
WEATHER
While many of the games in this tournament have been played in poor weather, conditions for the final look ideal. A very warm day in Cape Town is expected to cool down to around 16C by kick-off, with no rain expected and moderate winds.
While Ireland have won the last two Six Nations meetings of these sides, it's important to note just how much change this France side have seen since they visited Musgrave Park in February.
Of their staring XV for Friday's final in Cape Town, just seven of them started in the 33-31 defeat to Ireland in Cork, while 10 of them have been given first-team experience in Top14 or Challenge Cup games at club level.
The obvious danger man is Posolo Tuilagi. At 6ft 5in and just short of 150kg, the Perpignan second row is hard to miss, and as part of one of rugby's most iconic families, he naturally comes with a big reputation, which by now looks to be thoroughly justified.
Tuilagi (below), who will turn 19 years old later this month, has been a wrecking-ball in a destructive French side, for whom Marko Gazzotti has also impressed at No8. And that platform has allowed half-backs Hugo Reus and Baptiste Jauneau to flourish.
While Ireland have coped well against power in this championship, and have been largely dominant at scrum time, the level of physicality in this French side will be hard to contain.
In their opening game, Ireland found themselves coming off second best when the English were able to isolate their big, powerful ball-carriers in space, and the manner in which France demolished that English side in the second half of last week's semi-final makes them favourites in the decider.
If Ireland are to win, they'll be banking on being the more cohesive, organised team.
With James McNabney's return being the only change from last Sunday's semi-final against South Africa, Richie Murphy's starting XV contains 13 players who started the win against the French in February, Andrew Osborne and Ronan Foxe being the only new faces.
TEAMS
Ireland U20: Henry McErlean; Andrew Osborne, Hugh Gavin, John Devine, James Nicholson; Sam Prendergast, Fintan Gunne; Paddy McCarthy, Gus McCarthy, Ronan Foxe; Diarmuid Mangan, Conor O'Tighearnaigh; James McNabney, Ruadhan Quinn, Brian Gleeson.
Replacements: Max Clein, George Hadden, Fiachna Barrett, Charlie Irvine, Evan O'Connell, Oscar Cawley, Matthew Lynch, Sam Berman.
France U20: Mathis Ferte; Leo Drouet, Nicolas Depoortere, Paul Costes, Theo Attissogbe; Hugo Reus, Baptiste Jauneau; Louis Penverne, Pierre Jouvin, Zaccharie Affane; Hugo Auradou, Posolo Tuilagi; Lenni Nouchi (capt), Oscar Jegou, Marko Gazzotti.
Replacements: Thomas Lacombre, Lino Julien, Thomas Duchene, Brent Liufau, Mathis Castro Ferreira, Leo Carbonneau, Arthur Mathiron, Clement Mondinat.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Ireland U20 33-31 France U20 (Six Nations), Musgrave Park, 10 February 2023
France U20 42-21 Ireland U20 (Summer Series), Payanini Rugby Center, 24 June 2022
France U20 16-17 Ireland U20 (Six Nations), Stade Maurice David, 11 February 2022
ROAD TO THE FINAL
Ireland
Pool B: Ireland 34-34 England
Pool B: Ireland 30-10 Australia
Pool B: Ireland 47-27 Fiji
Semi-final: Ireland 31-12 South Africa
France
Pool A: France 75-12 Japan
Pool A: France 35-14 New Zealand
Pool A: France 43-19 Wales
Semi-final: France 52-31 England
Richie Murphy (Ireland head coach)
"It's obviously been a difficult couple of weeks. We’ve had plenty of stuff going on, but obviously Greig’s passing was particularly difficult and Jack was obviously in the group with us until Wednesday evening, when he left.
"So, it was a difficult time for the boys but Jack sent his support and so did Fiona, Greig’s wife. So I know they’re at home and we’re really delighted to be able to bring him back something because no matter what happens in the final now, we’ll be going back with something for Jack."
Ireland v France is the final game of the tournament on Friday evening, with five other matches set to confirm the final standings.
Among the notable games, Italy take on Japan at Danie Craven Stadium at 11am (Irish time), with the loser set to be relegated to the U20 Trophy in 2024.
Also at Danie Craven Stadium, New Zealand face Georgia in the 7th/8th place playoff (4pm Irish time), knowing a surprise defeat would see them heading home with their worst ever finish at this tournament.
The curtain raiser to Ireland v France at Athlone Sports Stadium sees South Africa host England in the 3rd/4th place play-off, with kick-off at 3.30pm (Irish time).
