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NTU Sport Scholar Liam Bishop to play in the Under 20’s Six Nations Rugby Tournament

Liam is our first player to be selected for the Six Nations under 20's competition, whilst still studying at NTU

Liam Bishop

We caught up with NTU Sport Scholar Liam Bishop, following his international call up to the under 20’s Ireland squad. Liam has been selected to take part in the Six Nations Competition.  

On selection to the squad Liam commented:

“It feels amazing to be part of the squad and I feel really privileged to be where I am now, especially since there has been a lot of competition within the camps. It has taken a lot to get to where I am now, I am really looking forward to getting out there with boys!”

We asked Liam who he shared the good news with first after getting the all-important call confirming that he was due to represent Ireland in the Six Nations

“I was sat in my uni house with my mates Nathan and Ryan at the time and shared the news with them first. The next person I had to tell was my mum, she’s been there for me all the way through my journey, taking me all around the country for games and helping me get spotted. The amount of work she puts into me is phenomenal.

I also contacted my coaches at IQ (Irish qualified) as they have also had a big influence on me, giving me the opportunity to showcase myself for selection.”

Liam remarked how challenging lockdown has been for him on a personal level and his journey in returning to a good level of fitness. This lead to Liam taken up running in the first instance.

“Lockdown was a challenge for me, when we first went into lockdown I wasn’t physically fit and I was at my heaviest. I decided that I needed to sort it out if I wanted to become a Professional Rugby player. I started going on runs and remember the first ever run I went on, I couldn’t even run a km without stopping, however I soon improved through perseverance. Everyone at Munster, especially Ross Callaghan and Richard Kelly had a massive influence on helping me get to where I am now.

Training has already started for Liam and Ireland have already had a fantastic start to the competition, taking the lead against Scotland in their opening Game.

We asked Liam what his predictions were for the rest of the tournament:

“It’s quite difficult to select a winner, as I have seen all the squads that have been announced and they are looking strong. I feel it’s going to be a tough tournament and hopefully we can get off to a good start and carry the momentum through the whole tournament.”

Good luck to Liam and Ireland in the competition, they come head to head with Wales in their next fixture on the 25 June. You can follow all the results and see footage from the games on the Six Nations Rugby Website.