WILLIE FALOON HAS lamented a couple of questionable calls following Ireland’s loss to New Zealand in the World Rugby U20 Championship third-place playoff.
New Zealand beat Ireland 38-24 at Cape Town Stadium on Friday to finish third in the World Rugby U20 Championship.
In the immediate aftermath, Ireland were left to wonder whether the match – and indeed the overall campaign – may have panned out differently had a few decisions gone their way.
Ireland led 12-5 at half-time. At that stage, they appeared well placed to secure a morale-boosting victory.
But New Zealand lifted their intensity after the break, and proceeded to score 33 unanswered points.
Afterwards, Faloon questioned the decision to award New Zealand’s first try in the 38th minute.
Initially, referee Saba Abulashvili ruled that New Zealand hooker Vernon Bason was held up. The decision was reversed, though, after being referred to TMO Marius Jonker.
“I thought we did really well in the first half,” Faloon said.
“Their try looked like it was held up, and the decision was held up [on the field], but it was overturned. That was a big momentum shift.”
The first half was played in relatively dry conditions. Ireland controlled the contest through their accurate set-piece and kicking performance during that period.
When the rain came down at the start of the second half, the complexion of the game changed.
“Those 20 minutes after half time, we just weren’t making our tackles,” admitted Faloon.
“New Zealand were getting easy momentum and going forward. The big positive is that the lads rallied and finished well. For a minute, it seemed like it might get ugly.”
The incident involving Ireland hooker Stephen Smyth and winger Frank Vaenuku in the 44th minute was another big moment.
Vaenuku tackled Smyth at a ruck after the hooker attempted to jackal for possession. The referee brandished a yellow card, and then asked for the reckless tackle to be reviewed.
Ultimately, the officials determined that the offence warranted no further sanction. Vaenuku returned after the 10-minute sin bin, and proceeded to score two tries.
“Potentially,” Faloon responded, when asked if that was a game-changing decision.
“Stephen was seriously injured, so that will [change the momentum]. Losing a hooker… it cost us a lot. He’s gone for a scan. It does look like he’s done a bit of damage.”
Ireland began their World Rugby U20 Championship campaign in impressive fashion, scoring eight tries in a 55-15 victory over Italy on 29 June.
They proceeded to beat Georgia 22-16 in the second pool fixture, but didn’t get the chance to play Australia on 9 July, as the game was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Faloon felt that Ireland lost a bit of momentum as a result. They weren’t at their best in the semi-finals, and went down 31-20 to England.
“If we look back, we’ll be disappointed we didn’t get to play Australia.
“There were a few guys getting their first starts in that game, and they were really looking forward to it. That probably took away a little bit of our momentum.
“The guys rallied well, and they started this game well today. Unfortunately they just didn’t put in that 80-minute performance.”