IT ALL LOOKED to be going so well for the Ireland U20s in Cape Town yesterday. At half-time in their third place playoff with New Zealand at the U20 World Championships, Willie Faloon’s side were leading 12-5 after an impressive opening 40 minutes.
Despite enjoying just 39% of the territory, Ireland were putting on a strong defensive display while striking for two well-taken tries from scrum-half Oliver Coffey and out-half Jack Murphy.
As New Zealand applied huge pressure, a determined, well-organised Ireland side were answering every question asked of them.
After having troubles at the scrum in their semi-final defeat to England, here Ireland were looking strong at the setpiece. With five minutes played an early scrum win was met with roars of satisfaction, and Ireland would win two more scrum penalties before the half was out.
After Coffey put them ahead, Ireland were pegged in their own half but showing admirable resilience. At one point New Zealand went through 15 frustrating phases on the edge of the Ireland 22 before Ireland came away with the ball. With less than 30 minutes played, tighthead Alex Mullan had already made 11 tackles, while captain Brian Gleeson and lock Luke Murphy weren’t too far behind.
Murphy’s excellent try minutes later, sparked by a superb break from fullback Ben O’Connor, ensured Ireland were in the driving seat come half-time, but as the rain began to pour in Cape Town Ireland disintegrated.
A brilliant run and pass from Academy man Ben O’Connor to set Jack Murphy up for a try 🔥#IrishRugby #SUAF ☘️
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) July 19, 2024
pic.twitter.com/I2ilAzrgIL
From minutes 40 to 72 New Zealand scored 33 unanswered points as Faloon’s young team learned a tough lesson. If your levels drop against a team with the quality of New Zealand, things can get ugly very quickly.
Ireland will be disappointed with their defending as the All Blacks ran in five tries after the break, and while the driving rain made conditions difficult, some of the issues were down to poor positioning and execution, with Ireland looking totally sapped of energy as they began to slip off tackles.
To their credit, they rallied back with two late tries to make the scoreboard somewhat more palatable, but overall it was a disappointing end to what had been a promising campaign.
At the same tournament last year Ireland were comprehensively beaten in the final by a brilliant France side – with the likes of Gleeson, Hugh Gavin and Evan O’Connell also involved 12 months ago – and again Ireland just looked to run out of steam at the end of business end of the competition.
Of course, a fourth-place finish is not to be sniffed at and there was much to admire about Ireland’s showing in South Africa. It’s also worth remembering their rained-off final pool game against Australia robbed them of the opportunity to carry some momentum into the semi-finals.
Munster’s Gleeson once again led by example, taking on the captaincy after O’Connell saw his tournament ended by injury.
O’Connor was a bright spark at fullback, with his sharp footwork and electric pace creating Murphy’s try yesterday. Having made five appearances off the bench for Munster last season, he looks ready to kick on with the province across the 2024/25 campaign.
In midfield, Hugh Gavin had plenty of classy moments which again underlines just why Connacht supporters are so excited about his potential. The 20-year-old signed his first pro contract with the province at the end of the season just gone and will be aiming for URC minutes when the new season gets underway.
It was a shame O’Connell was only fit for two games but the second row made his mark with some punchy performances.
The manner in which the players fought their way back to beat Georgia with a late Finn Treacy try, and their resilience in the heat of yesterday’s first half onslaught also bodes well.
It wasn’t the championship these players were hoping for, but for many their futures in rugby certainly looks bright.
