RUGBY
Duggan features but it’s a disappointing week for Irish U20s
By Daire Walsh
IT proved to be a disappointing week for the Ireland U20s, as two narrow pool stage defeats placed a massive dent in their World Rugby U20 Championship prospects in Georgia.
A late Massimo Cioffi try helped Italy to overcome the Irish in their tournament opener at the Kutaisi Stadium on Wednesday, before Scotland subsequently recorded a 32-28 victory over Peter Malone’s outfit in the same venue four days later.
It had been a difficult build-up to the competition for Ireland, who had to replace their head coach following the completion of the Six Nations. Because he is now taking up a position as backs coach with Connacht, Nigel Carolan vacated the role ahead of this Junior Championship – with Malone stepping forward on an interim basis.
The squad has also had to contend with injuries to Cillian Gallagher, Johnny McPhillips and Bill Johnston – all members of the squad that reached last year’s U20 decider.
There was also a late change to Ireland’s squad in the days leading up to the Italian game,as first-choice hooker Tadgh McElroy was dropped from the 28-man selection after reportedly turning down a contract offer with Connacht.
He has since signed terms with Aviva Premiership outfit Saracens, and his replacement – Diarmuid Barron – was thrown straight into the mix for the May 31 encounter with Italy. It was a difficult first-half for Ireland in the AIA Arena, and thanks largely to Italian tries by Danilo Fischetti and Jacopo Bianchi, they were trailing 15-3 at the break.
However, a brace of Calvin Nash tries moved the Irish back to level terms after the restart, before penalties from Conor Dean and Ciaran Frawley edged the 2016 finalists into a six-point lead. However, Cioffi’s converted score was another hammer blow in the closing stages, and after Frawley was off-target from a final-minute penalty, Ireland were on the receiving end of a 21-22 reversal.
With a relatively short turnaround for their second game against Scotland, Malone opted to make a total of six changes to his starting line-up. Joey Conway was missing from the front-row with a back injury, and his place was taken by Naas’ Jordan Duggan, who was making his competitive debut for the Ireland U20s.
In an entertaining outing, Jack Stafford and Jack Kelly (two) crossed over for Ireland, but despite building up an early 10-0 advantage, they ultimately couldn’t curtail the attacking threat of the Scots.
Ireland will now move forward to a final group game against the Baby Blacks (New Zealand) on Thursday, and although they have two points to their name, the best they can probably hope for is a spot in the 5th-8th place play-offs.
Meanwhile, it was a successful weekend for Naas natives Fionn Carr and Billy Dardis, who were part of the Ireland squad that recorded a Cup Final triumph over Spain (12-0) in their first-ever Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series Tournament in Moscow.