Ireland U20 aim for third place against New Zealand at Junior World Championships

IRELAND U20, featuring several Munster players, will take on New Zealand U20 in the battle for third place at the Rugby Under-20 World Cup in South Africa next Friday.

Ireland suffered a disappointing 31-20 defeat to England in the semi-final of the Rugby Under-20 World Cup in Cape Town on Sunday afternoon.

England’s dominant attacking force laid the foundations for a hard-fought victory in this clash between rivals in the Six Nations tournament.

The third place play-off between Ireland U20 and New Zealand in Cape Town kicks off at 3.30pm Irish time and can be watched live on RugbyPass.

Ireland were hoping to reach the final for the second year in a row but were without injured captain Evan O’Connell, Limerick’s second row, for the semi-final on Sunday. His Munster colleague Brian Gleeson came on as a substitute and delivered a fantastic performance in eighth place.

Ireland were the first to see blood, scrumhalf Oliver Coffey going over after centre Wilhelm de Clerk had split the England defence wide open following a line-out in the opening minute of the game.

The two teams played out a dramatic 32-32 draw in the Six Nations earlier this year, with Ireland drawing with a try three minutes after the final whistle. They drew in the group stage in South Africa last year.

A draw was not an option in Cape Town on Sunday. But another nip-tuck match was almost inevitable. After the early setback, the English pack quickly took the lead, repeatedly pressing a rapidly back-pedaling Irish scrum.

It took another 20 minutes and a number of super phases before England could break through Ireland’s stubborn defence. Hooker Craig Wright took advantage, staying wide to take the final pass after several phases.

Ollie Allen was there a few minutes later, scoring after Ioan Jones had cut through the Irish defence to give England the lead for the first time. But their lead didn’t last long, Bryn Ward using the marking of the posts to score after the Irish attackers had repeatedly rammed the line.

The first half was chaotic and England took the lead again, Sean Kerr finishing off a couple of phases in the corner after a long pass from scrum half Allen.

The second period saw few scoring chances, but the pace and intensity did not slow down. Three penalties from Kerr, the last just before the end of the game, punished the Irish, while their scrum was still struggling.

IRELAND U-20: Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster); Finn Treacy (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Wilhelm de Klerk (UCD RFC/Leinster), Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Hugo McLaughlin (Lansdowne FC/Leinster); Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Oliver Coffey (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster); Ben Howard (Terenure College RFC/Leinster), Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster), Patreece Bell (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby), Alan Spicer (UCD RFC/Leinster), James McKillop (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster), Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster), Bryn Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster), Brian Gleeson (Garryowen FC/Munster) (capt.). Used replacements:Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster) for Sheahan, Andrew Sparrow (UCD RFC/Leinster) for Bell (both 49 mins), Luke Murphy (Shannon RFC/Munster) for Spicer (54), Emmet Calvey (Shannon RFC/Munster) for Howard (58), Billy Corrigan (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster) for Edogbo, Tadhg Brophy (Naas RFC/Leinster) for Coffey, Sean Naughton (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht) for J Murphy, Sam Berman (Terenure College RFC/Leinster) for Gavin (all 69).

Referee: Morné Ferreira (South Africa)

England: Ioan Jones; Ben Redshaw; Ben Waghorn, Sean Kerr; Alex Wills; Ben Coen, Ollie Allan; Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Craig Wright, Afolabi Fasogbon; Joe Bailey, Junior Kpoku; Finn Carnduff (captain), Henry Pollock, Nathan Michelow. Replacements: Starring James Isaacs, Cameron Miell, James Halliwell, Olamide Sodeke, Kane James, Lucas Friday, Josh Bellamy and Toby Cousins.