Colm Tucker hoping Ireland U20s carry on upward trajectory into England encounter
If Ireland are to earn themselves a third consecutive Triple Crown in the U20 Six Nations Championship, then they will have to negotiate their way past a resilient English outfit at Cardiff Arms Park on Thursday evening (kick-off 8pm).
That is the view of forwards coach Colm Tucker, who first joined the U20s set-up during the successful reign of Clare man Noel McNamara. Following the magnificent Grand Slam triumph of 2019, Ireland had already accounted for Crown rivals Scotland, Wales, and England when their 2020 campaign was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I think one of the most impressive things for me about their team so far has been their character. France played unbelievable rugby in the first 40 minutes against them and they were able to come back very strongly in the second half, and get a bonus point. Against Scotland they went down to 13 men for a period of time, including a red card,” acknowledged Tucker, who will be a part of Connacht’s senior coaching staff for next season.
“They weathered the storm and they were able to come back and score two tries at the finish. There’s massive threats within them and for us to perform against them, we just have to focus on ourselves really. Play to our own strengths. It’s a huge challenge and one we’re massively looking forward to.”
Ahead of what promises to be an intense battle between the Championship top-two sides – the Irish currently lead the table on score difference – Tucker revealed head coach Richie Murphy will have a fully fit squad to choose from for Ireland’s showdown with England.
This will be their third game out of five in the Welsh capital and with each passing test, Tucker is seeing improvements in how the players are going about their business.
“The more time you work together, the more time you get coaching the lads, and the more times the lads get working with each other, you’d hope the better we’re going to get. When you pare things back, this is our fifth game together. Including the games we played before we came over,” the Limerick native added.
“We’re on a fairly decent upward curve and we’d hope to continue that. Training over the last few days again has been really good. I think it’s putting us in a decent place for a performance again.”