RUGBY
Ireland U20s miss out on semi-final spot
By Daire Walsh
IRELAND finished off their World Rugby U20 Championship Pool B campaign with a comfortable win over Italy at Santa Fe, Argentina last Wednesday, but it wasn’t enough to booked a spot in the semi-final of the tournament.
Instead, Ireland once again faced England in a 5th-8th place play-off at the Racecourse Stadium in Rosario yesterday – which took place before going to print. Following a defeat to Australia four days earlier, Noel McNamara’s charges were reliant on results elsewhere to keep their title aspirations alive.
They also had to do the business against Italy themselves, though they managed this with much aplomb. Having largely survived the successful Six Nations Championship without a raft of injuries, the depth of the underage talent pool has been tested throughout the course of Ireland’s time in the southern hemisphere.
Athy’s Martin Moloney played a pivotal role in the unforgettable Grand Slam triumph during the spring, but he was ruled out of contention for the World Cup. Joining him on the treatment table were Leinster quartet Harry Byrne, Brian Deeny, skipper David Hawkshaw and Scott Penny, as well as Munster winger Conor Phillips.
In the aftermath of their magnificent opener against England, Sean French (facial) and Iwan Hughes (finger) were also ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. There was further woe for McNamara and his coaching staff between the Australian and Italian tests, with John Hodnett (knee) and Stewart Moore (shoulder) returning home to complete rehab on their respective injuries.
Drafted into the squad in their place were Shannon’s Luke Clohessy and UCD’s David Ryan – younger brother of Leinster and Ireland senior star James. The Azzurri provided Ireland with a potential banana skin, given how close they ran England in their second game of the pool (24-23).
They lost narrowly to Italy in the 2017 World Championship in Georgia, but were determined to avoid a repeat performance on this occasion. Inside the opening quarter, Michael Milne and Cormac Foley bagged tries to get Ireland up and running.
Ben Healy also contributed seven points off the kicking tee in this period and he later added conversions to Azur Allison and Rob Russell touchdowns. While Alessandro Fusco crossed over for Italy in the closing minutes of the half, Ireland had already wrapped up a bonus point.
A penalty try two minutes after the resumption offered Italy further solace, before Ireland responded through Ryan Baird’s converted score on 55 minutes. At the end of an attritional affair, the Green Army deservedly triumphed on a final score of 38-14.
They still had an outside chance of topping the group, although this required England to record a heavy win at the expense of Australia. The Saxons threatened to do so when they led 49-12 early in the second period and they ultimately powered to a 56-33 victory.
However, a try bonus – as well as a slightly superior scoring average – ensured Australia finished a point in front of Ireland and progressed to a last-four encounter with Argentina.