Ireland look to finish on a high against New Zealand in Cape Town

Willie Faloon’s side take on the Baby Blacks in Friday’s third-place playoff

Daire Walsh

World Rugby Under-20 Championship 3rd place playoff: Ireland v New Zealand, DHL Stadium, Cape Town, Friday, 3.30 Irish time

Ireland will be looking to finish their World Rugby Under-20 Championship campaign on a high when they take on New Zealand in the third place playoff in Cape Town on Friday afternoon.

Having reached the final of this tournament in South Africa 12 months ago – eventually losing out to France in comprehensive fashion – Ireland were hoping for yet another showpiece appearance this time around. A 31-20 semi-final reversal at the hands of England last Sunday ultimately put paid to those plans, but there is an opportunity for Willie Faloon’s side to sign off on a positive note in the southern hemisphere.

After previously working alongside Richie Murphy during his successful reign at the helm, former Ulster and Connacht flanker Faloon is still in the early stages of his spell as head coach of the under-20s. Getting the better of New Zealand won’t be an easy task, albeit they will be coming into this game on the back of a heavy 55-31 defeat against defending champions France in the penultimate round of the tournament.

Still with the highly-experienced Jono Gibbes – who enjoyed coaching stints at both Leinster and Ulster – in charge of the team, the Baby Blacks will also believe that a bronze finish is well within their grasp.

Of those who will take to the field for Ireland in Cape Town, only Hugh Gavin and stand-in skipper Brian Gleeson featured in last year’s decider against France. Regular captain Evan O’Connell was among the replacements for that game, but missed out on both the semi-final last weekend and Friday’s third-place playoff due to injury.

Gleeson was absent for four of the five games that Ireland played during the Under-20 Six Nations championship with an ankle issue, but has since regained full fitness and a big performance from the Munster backrow would go a long way towards ensuring that his country claims third spot in the tournament’s final standings.

Due to the five-day turnaround from the England game, it is unsurprising that Faloon has opted for a fresh look to his starting line-up on this occasion. A completely new frontrow combination of Emmet Calvey, Stephen Smyth and Alex Mullan are joined in the side by winger Davy Colbert and lock Luke Murphy, all of whom will be hoping to take the game to their New Zealand counterparts.

IRELAND: B O’Connor; D Colbert, F Treacy, H Gavin, H McLaughlin; J Murphy, O Coffey; E Calvey, S Smyth, A Mullan; A Spicer, L Murphy; J McKillop, B Ward, B Gleeson (capt).

Replacements: M Yarr, B Howard, A Sparrow, B Corrigan, M Flynn, J O’Riordan, S Naughton, E Graham.

NEW ZEALAND: S Coles; K Maxwell, A Tuivailala, X Taele, F Vaenuku; C Grant, D Pledger; S Sanele, V Bason, J Smith; T Allen, C Christie; A Smith, M Lowe, J Lee.

Replacements: A-O Lolofie, S Uamaki, W Martin, T Cribb, J Collins, B O’Donovan, R Simpson, X Tito-Harris.