Report & Highlights | Ireland U20s Finish Eighth
24th June 2019 By The Editor
Ireland face the haka.
The Ireland Under-20s paid the price for a lacklustre first quarter during which they conceded 26 unanswered points, a sturdy platform on which New Zealand secured a 40-17 victory in Saturday’s 7th-8th place play-off at the World Rugby U20 Championship.
Ireland were actually the better team for much of the final hour in Rosario, stringing together three tries either side of half-time including an outstanding 50th-minute team score which was finished off in the left corner by flanker Ryan Baird, who had another terrific game.
Baird’s effort built on tries from burrowing front rowers Josh Wycherley and Dylan Tierney-Martin, but 26-17 is as close as Noel McNamara’s side could get. The beefy New Zealand pack forced clinching tries through Tamaiti Williams and Shilo Klein, adding to that clutch of early scores from Etene Nanai-Seturo (two), Oliver Norris and Leicester Fainga’anuku.
Still, eighth place represents Ireland’s best World Rugby U20 Championship finish in three years, and McNamara’s talented squad coped admirably with an injury list which stretched into double figures by the final week. They end the season as U20 Six Nations Grand Slam champions and with big hopes that many of this team’s exciting prospects will make it in the professional ranks.
Video | Ireland U20 Highlights
Ireland U20s: Max O’Reilly (Dublin University/Leinster); Angus Kernohan (Queen’s University/Ulster), Liam Turner (Dublin University/Leinster), Cormac Foley (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Rob Russell (Dublin University/Leinster); Jake Flannery (Shannon/Munster), Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster); Josh Wycherley (Young Munster/Munster), Dylan Tierney-Martin (Corinthians/Connacht), Thomas Clarkson (Dublin University/Leinster), Charlie Ryan (UCD/Leinster) (capt), Thomas Ahern (Shannon/Munster), Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster), Ronan Watters (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Brian Deeny (Clontarf/Leinster).
Replacements used: Azur Allison (Ballymena/Ulster) for Deeny (59 mins), Michael Milne (UCD/Leinster) for Wycherley, Jonathan Wren (Cork Constitution/Munster) for Russell (both 66), Niall Murray (Buccaneers/Connacht) for Ahern, Luke Clohessy (Shannon/Munster) for Baird, Ben Healy (Garryowen/Munster) for O’Reilly (all 68), John McKee (Old Belvedere/Leinster) for Tierney-Martin (72).