Tries: Darragh Leader, Tom Farrell; Con: Thomas Daly; Pen: Thomas Daly
Tries: Raphael Carbou, Clement Ancely, Clement Otazo, Etienne Quiniou; Cons: Clement Otazo 2
Darragh Leader (Galwegians RFC/Connacht); Max McFarland (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster), Tom Farrell (Castleknock College/Leinster), Thomas Daly (Carlow RFC/Leinster), Rory Scholes (Belfast Harlequins RFC/Ulster); Steve Crosbie (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Barry Digby (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht); Edward Byrne (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster), Bryan Byrne (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster), Jamie Dever (Westport RFC/Connacht), Ultan Dillane (Tralee RFC/Munster), Gavin Thornbury (Blackrock College/Leinster), Conor Joyce (Malone RFC/Ulster) (capt), Josh van der Flier (UCD RFC/Leinster), Ryan Murphy (Dolphin RFC/Munster).Replacements used: Christopher Taylor (Malone RFC/Ulster) for Dever (51 mins), Dever for Taylor (56-60, blood sub), Sean McCarthy (Rockwell College/Munster) for Thornbury, Donagh Lawler (St Michael’s College/Leinster) for Murphy (both 65), John Creighton (Campbell College/Ulster) for Digby (68).
Julien Farnoux; Freddy Cabantous, Thibaut Regard, Florian Vialelle, Baptiste Douillard; Anderson Neisen, Yohan Domenech; Cyril Baille, Romain Hollet, Khatchik Vartanov, Leo Bastien, Victor Moreaux, Luc Barba, Steevy Cerquiera, Clement Ancely.Replacement used: Raphael Carbou for Hollet (13-17 mins, blood sub), Vincent Martin for Farnoux (13-17, blood sub), Carbou for Hollet, Richard Fourcade for Moreaux, Etienne Quiniou for Domenech, Martin for Douillard, Clement Otazo for Neisen (all half-time), Hollet for Carbou (53), Gabriel Lacroix for Cabantous (57).
The half-time introduction of Clement Otazo proved crucial for a French Under-20 Development side at Templeville Road on Thursday, as they staged a spirited second half comeback to get the better of the Ireland Under-19s.
The Ireland Under-19s, coached by Colin McEntee and captained by flanker Conor Joyce, had been extremely impressive in the opening period, but the pace and power of the French paid dividends in the end.In the second of two underage international matches played back-to-back at St. Mary’s College RFC, the Irish enjoyed a dream start to the contest.
Lively full-back Darragh Leader went on a daring run through the heart of the French defence before touching down to the right of the posts for a terrific try.
Centre Thomas Daly was on hand to split the posts with a tricky conversion from the right, giving Ireland a seven-point advantage inside the opening five minutes of play.
France looked somewhat flat-footed in the opening stages, but they did manage to manufacture a penalty eight minutes in, which gave them a chance to cut into the Irish lead.
Out-half Anderson Neisen was off target with his kick though, much to the relief of hosts. France did have some good possession after Leader’s opener, but they struggled to get their passing game together.
McEntee’s side soon force their way back into the French half to increase their cushion to 10-0 thanks to a 22-metre penalty from the accurate Daly.
Ireland were really taking the game to the French in the opening period, and though the visitors did start to gain some good possession and territory as the half wore on, the Irish defence was watertight and well able to cope with whatever was thrown at them.
Indeed, by the end of the first half Ireland had managed to move the play further up the field once again, and they deservedly got through for a second try.
Castleknock College centre Tom Farrell was the scorer of the injury-time try following some excellent approach play by out-half Steve Crosbie.
Daly was narrowly wide of the mark with his conversion attempt, but a missed French penalty by scrum half Yohan Domenech meant that Ireland were 15-0 to the good at the break.
This was a healthy lead for Ireland to take into the second period, and it was one that was badly needed as they were facing into a stiff breeze when the game restarted.
They were also facing a much-changed French side for the second half, as the visitors opted to make a total of five changes during the break.
This offered them a fresh impetus in the opening stages of the second period, and though Ireland coped admirably with the huge pressure that France were exerting on them, they were powerless to stop them from scoring a breakthrough try.
Replacement hooker Raphael Carbou, who lined out against Ireland in the Under-20 Six Nations this year, got through for his side’s first try of the afternoon after 53 minutes.
Clement Otazo, who kicked four penalties in that Under-20 encounter, came up short with the subsequent conversion attempt, but the try gave France a huge confidence boost heading into the final quarter.
They closed the gap even further six minutes later when number 8 Clement Ancely drove over at the end of a long push towards the Irish line, followed by a successful conversion by Otazo.
Les Bleus were in the ascendancy at this stage, and Bayonne’s Otazo got in for a try of his own with seven minutes remaining via a neat offload by centre Thibaut Regard.
He was then on hand to convert his own try, which meant that Ireland were now trailing 19-15 as the closing moments of the game beckoned.
Ireland dug deep to apply some pressure on the French rearguard as the game moved into stoppage time, but they were caught on the break as another replacement Etienne Quiniou sealed a hard-earned 24-15 victory for his side with a try in the left corner.
Referee: Rhys Thomas (Wales)