TRUE TO FORM, the 2021 Ireland U20s fought until the fat lady sang but when she did, it was to a distinctly French tune as Les Bleus’ young guns proved a touch too powerful for their green counterparts in Cardiff.
England had already tied up the Grand Slam prior to kick-off meaning this afternoon’s fixture was little more than a straight shootout for second, and Philippe Boher’s men held off a late fightback to emerge deserved 34-28 winners and beat Ireland back to third.
Ireland captain Alex Kendellen again scored a couple of tries, with Jamie Osborne’s dynamic close-range finish giving Ireland an early lead, but four French scores and a significant second-half bump from their bench were ultimately unassailable — if only just, at the end: Ireland may not have been quite as free-flowing in attack as previous equivalents, or even as talented across the board, but this iteration’s collective heart will go down in legend at this age grade and it brought them closer to their opponents than they probably should have been at the final whistle.
France breathe a sigh of relief at the final whistle. Andy Watts / INPHO
Andy Watts / INPHO / INPHO
It was France who launched the first attack in anger but even if it had resulted in a score, it would have been chalked off: instead, they were reduced to 14 for 10 minutes.
A powerful burst on transition ball by hooker Victor Montgaillard and consequent cross-field kick by out-half Thibault Debaes came to nothing in any case, but Welsh TMO Dan Jones spotted a tucked-shoulder tackle by Kylian Tixeront on Conor McKee moments prior which resulted in the Bleus eight being sent to the bin by Scottish referee Sam Grove-White.
It was a cast-iron yellow but Tixeront was possibly circumstantially unfortunate, seemingly attempting to reduce the force of his own challenge as McKee was simultaneously chopped down by Montgaillard, but undoubtedly connecting with the Ireland scrum-half’s head as he was lowered to ground.
France were still able to exert some early pressure, with Ireland’s lineout misfiring in the opening stanza and a couple of penalty concessions offering the French a greater foothold. They took a 3-0 lead from the boot of captain Nolann Le Garrec before Ireland had much of a chance to get set.
Richie Murphy’s men weren’t long finding their feet, however, and they bashed over for the game’s first try before the quarter-hour mark.
Having worked their way deep into the French 22′ through a clever combination involving Nathan Doak, Cathal Forde and Ben Moxham, Doak arrowed a pass to Jamie Osborne who somehow ploughed his way through French 12 Leo Barre from six yards to score from a position in which he really had no right to.
Doak added the afters to a well crafted try — albeit a soft finish from Barre and France’s point of view — and Ireland led 7-3.
It was then the young men in green who briefly applied some pressure of their own, the early lineout hiccups long gone and a pep visible in most steps as Ireland sustained territory in the French half.
However, a wayward pass on France’s 22′ by scrum-half McKee was pounced upon by Louis Bielle-Biarrey and in a split second, France were away. It looked for all the world as though the flying Grenbole right wing would take it to the house himself only for the chasing Doak to make a miraculous tackle from behind. However, Bielle-Biarrey was just about able to prod the ball into space before he was hauled down, the loose ball was collected by the previously sin-binned Tixeront on the floor and, from the resulting phase, Le Garrec rolled out the red carpet for Debaes to scoot over with Ireland still scrambling back. The scrum-half’s conversion, too, was good, and France were up 10-7.
Les jeunes Bleus struck again just a couple of minutes later. Alex Soroka was pinged for jumping across the line in a lineout and with no advantage occurring, Debaes poked one into the corner. It took only seconds for France to crash over from a well executed dummy maul, Pierre Bochaton emerging from beneath the pile of bodies with the honours. Le Garrec converted majestically from the left-hand touchline to give the French a 10-point lead.
Andy Watts / INPHO
Andy Watts / INPHO / INPHO
Doak reduced the deficit to seven from the tee on 25 minutes and, just before the half-hour mark, Alex Kendellen had ostensibly dragged his side level once more.
The Munster back row has been Ireland’s undoubted standout of this year’s tournament but this try was mostly about a rabbit pulled from the hat by full-back Osborne and his assistant Shane Jennings, the former producing a deft chip onto which the former Galway minor hurler ran, weaving his way through the French defence to tee up an Irish assault from the 22′.
Powerful carries by Sam Illo and Soroka brought Ireland to within inches of the line before talismanic skipper Kendellen somehow identified a blade of grass amid the carnage to produce the finish, which was well spotted by Grove-White. Doak levelled from in front of the sticks.
Sam Illo brings Ireland close. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
An even encounter continued to ebb if refusing to flow. Doak was penalised for obstruction during a kick chase on 34 minutes, Debaes opting for the corner from the edge of the Irish 22′. France’s maul on this occasion went to ground before it could properly motor, but from the resulting phases they continued to explode into contact from close range until tighthead Paul Mallez strolled over unchallenged for their third try. Le Garrec went four for four from the tee and France reestablished a seven-point gap.
Ireland were able to launch one last attack in the first half, which was only possible due to a brilliant jackal turnover by replacement George Saunderson — on for the injured Temi Lasisi — in his own 22′ which both drained some French pressure and allowed Ireland to move up the field. A subsequent French infringement afforded Doak to reduce the gap to four at the stroke of half-time and the Ulster half-back made no mistake from 35-odd yards, 24-20.
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Doak was flawless from the tee. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
A messy first eight minutes of the second 40 culminated in another opportunity from the floor for the impressive Doak, who stroked over his fifth successive kick from midfield to reduce the gap to a solitary point. This should have been reversed almost instantly when Ireland were penalised for not rolling away but Le Garrec pulled his own strike left and wide from a similar area of the pitch.
Philippe Boher had made a host of changes for this final fixture, including an all-new front five to the one that lined out against Scotland, and his handful of replacements for the second half began to make themselves known — particularly the huge Daniel Bibi Biziwu who bounced Ronan Loughnane with a carry that will, for diametrically opposite reasons, surely be converted to a GIF by each player’s respective group of friends.
With a bit more ballast in front of him, out-half Debaes was afforded the extra split second to drill two torturous drives into the left-hand Irish corner, both of which ramped up the pressure on the hosts at what was beginning to feel like a key juncture in the game.
On 58 minutes, excellent lock Harry Sheridan alleviated some of that duress with a lineout steal and, seconds later, the gathering of a loose ball from a French chip — as well as a rare burst in possession. But Ireland were struggling to make headway into the French half, with only one visit to opposition’s red zone in the opening 20 minutes of the second half.
With the same explosive front row that destroyed Scotland last week — Bibi Biziwu, Benjamin Boudou and Henzo Kiteau — on the field by the hour mark, it felt inevitable that France would turn the screw against their tiring opponents. However, it was Les Bleus’ smaller men whose quick thinking told first.
Shane Jennings attempts a tackle on Bielle-Biarrey. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
It began when Debaes cleared a ball some 80 yards and the otherwise excellent Jennings, tracking all the way across the field from the left flank and seemingly reluctant to clear off his left foot, kept the ball alive but got caught by France’s quieter left wing Nelson Epee. Grove-White pinged the Connacht man for holding on and, with Ireland half-asleep, Le Garrec went quickly with the penalty, delivering a cross-field kick to the bread basket of right wing Bielle-Biarrey who pirouetted past lock Sheridan for France’s bonus-point score. The French skipper was back on the mark with the conversion, too, and Ireland were two scores behind at 31-23.
A newfound dominance at scrum-time resulted in another France penalty on 68 minutes from which Le Garrec again poked France further ahead.
With some 10 minutes remaining, Ireland finally made inroads into the French half and, indeed, right up as far as the line only for Les Bleus defenders to get in underneath Illo before he could touch down. However, after a reset, Ireland’s scrum was again obliterated and France escaped. So too did any realistic chance of Ireland clawing their way back into the contest — a feeling accentuated when, from that same French clearance kick, the scrambling Doak was penalised for holding on to wild blue celebrations.
As is their wont, Richie Murphy’s men fought on to the final whistle. A last-minute assault on the French line wielded a second try for Kendellen, who was again borderline superhuman, and Doak got off an unsuccessful conversion off before the clock ticked red.
Andy Watts / INPHO
Andy Watts / INPHO / INPHO
So, Ireland trailed by six, 34-28, but with a French restart and a Hail Mary effort to come.
They won a penalty from that restart which brought them back to halfway but from the resulting lineout, their maul went to ground and France exhaled as Grove-White brought to an end both a pulsating encounter and an entertaining journey.
Scorers for France: Tries: Thibault Dibaes, Pierre Bochaton, Thomas Mallez, Louis Bielle-Biarray
Pens: Nolann Le Garrec (2/3)
Cons: Nolann Le Garrec (4/4)
Scorers for Ireland: Tries: Jamie Osborne, Alex Kendellan (2)
Pens: Nathan Doak (3/3)
Cons: Nathan Doak (2/3)
Ireland U20s
15. Jamie Osborne (Naas CBS/Naas RFC/Leinster)
14. Ben Moxham (Larne High School/Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
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France's power in reserve tells as they pip never-say-die Ireland to second in U20s Six Nations
France U20s 34
Ireland U20s 28
TRUE TO FORM, the 2021 Ireland U20s fought until the fat lady sang but when she did, it was to a distinctly French tune as Les Bleus’ young guns proved a touch too powerful for their green counterparts in Cardiff.
England had already tied up the Grand Slam prior to kick-off meaning this afternoon’s fixture was little more than a straight shootout for second, and Philippe Boher’s men held off a late fightback to emerge deserved 34-28 winners and beat Ireland back to third.
Ireland captain Alex Kendellen again scored a couple of tries, with Jamie Osborne’s dynamic close-range finish giving Ireland an early lead, but four French scores and a significant second-half bump from their bench were ultimately unassailable — if only just, at the end: Ireland may not have been quite as free-flowing in attack as previous equivalents, or even as talented across the board, but this iteration’s collective heart will go down in legend at this age grade and it brought them closer to their opponents than they probably should have been at the final whistle.
It was France who launched the first attack in anger but even if it had resulted in a score, it would have been chalked off: instead, they were reduced to 14 for 10 minutes.
A powerful burst on transition ball by hooker Victor Montgaillard and consequent cross-field kick by out-half Thibault Debaes came to nothing in any case, but Welsh TMO Dan Jones spotted a tucked-shoulder tackle by Kylian Tixeront on Conor McKee moments prior which resulted in the Bleus eight being sent to the bin by Scottish referee Sam Grove-White.
It was a cast-iron yellow but Tixeront was possibly circumstantially unfortunate, seemingly attempting to reduce the force of his own challenge as McKee was simultaneously chopped down by Montgaillard, but undoubtedly connecting with the Ireland scrum-half’s head as he was lowered to ground.
France were still able to exert some early pressure, with Ireland’s lineout misfiring in the opening stanza and a couple of penalty concessions offering the French a greater foothold. They took a 3-0 lead from the boot of captain Nolann Le Garrec before Ireland had much of a chance to get set.
Richie Murphy’s men weren’t long finding their feet, however, and they bashed over for the game’s first try before the quarter-hour mark.
Having worked their way deep into the French 22′ through a clever combination involving Nathan Doak, Cathal Forde and Ben Moxham, Doak arrowed a pass to Jamie Osborne who somehow ploughed his way through French 12 Leo Barre from six yards to score from a position in which he really had no right to.
Doak added the afters to a well crafted try — albeit a soft finish from Barre and France’s point of view — and Ireland led 7-3.
It was then the young men in green who briefly applied some pressure of their own, the early lineout hiccups long gone and a pep visible in most steps as Ireland sustained territory in the French half.
However, a wayward pass on France’s 22′ by scrum-half McKee was pounced upon by Louis Bielle-Biarrey and in a split second, France were away. It looked for all the world as though the flying Grenbole right wing would take it to the house himself only for the chasing Doak to make a miraculous tackle from behind. However, Bielle-Biarrey was just about able to prod the ball into space before he was hauled down, the loose ball was collected by the previously sin-binned Tixeront on the floor and, from the resulting phase, Le Garrec rolled out the red carpet for Debaes to scoot over with Ireland still scrambling back. The scrum-half’s conversion, too, was good, and France were up 10-7.
Les jeunes Bleus struck again just a couple of minutes later. Alex Soroka was pinged for jumping across the line in a lineout and with no advantage occurring, Debaes poked one into the corner. It took only seconds for France to crash over from a well executed dummy maul, Pierre Bochaton emerging from beneath the pile of bodies with the honours. Le Garrec converted majestically from the left-hand touchline to give the French a 10-point lead.
Doak reduced the deficit to seven from the tee on 25 minutes and, just before the half-hour mark, Alex Kendellen had ostensibly dragged his side level once more.
The Munster back row has been Ireland’s undoubted standout of this year’s tournament but this try was mostly about a rabbit pulled from the hat by full-back Osborne and his assistant Shane Jennings, the former producing a deft chip onto which the former Galway minor hurler ran, weaving his way through the French defence to tee up an Irish assault from the 22′.
Powerful carries by Sam Illo and Soroka brought Ireland to within inches of the line before talismanic skipper Kendellen somehow identified a blade of grass amid the carnage to produce the finish, which was well spotted by Grove-White. Doak levelled from in front of the sticks.
An even encounter continued to ebb if refusing to flow. Doak was penalised for obstruction during a kick chase on 34 minutes, Debaes opting for the corner from the edge of the Irish 22′. France’s maul on this occasion went to ground before it could properly motor, but from the resulting phases they continued to explode into contact from close range until tighthead Paul Mallez strolled over unchallenged for their third try. Le Garrec went four for four from the tee and France reestablished a seven-point gap.
Ireland were able to launch one last attack in the first half, which was only possible due to a brilliant jackal turnover by replacement George Saunderson — on for the injured Temi Lasisi — in his own 22′ which both drained some French pressure and allowed Ireland to move up the field. A subsequent French infringement afforded Doak to reduce the gap to four at the stroke of half-time and the Ulster half-back made no mistake from 35-odd yards, 24-20.
A messy first eight minutes of the second 40 culminated in another opportunity from the floor for the impressive Doak, who stroked over his fifth successive kick from midfield to reduce the gap to a solitary point. This should have been reversed almost instantly when Ireland were penalised for not rolling away but Le Garrec pulled his own strike left and wide from a similar area of the pitch.
Philippe Boher had made a host of changes for this final fixture, including an all-new front five to the one that lined out against Scotland, and his handful of replacements for the second half began to make themselves known — particularly the huge Daniel Bibi Biziwu who bounced Ronan Loughnane with a carry that will, for diametrically opposite reasons, surely be converted to a GIF by each player’s respective group of friends.
With a bit more ballast in front of him, out-half Debaes was afforded the extra split second to drill two torturous drives into the left-hand Irish corner, both of which ramped up the pressure on the hosts at what was beginning to feel like a key juncture in the game.
On 58 minutes, excellent lock Harry Sheridan alleviated some of that duress with a lineout steal and, seconds later, the gathering of a loose ball from a French chip — as well as a rare burst in possession. But Ireland were struggling to make headway into the French half, with only one visit to opposition’s red zone in the opening 20 minutes of the second half.
With the same explosive front row that destroyed Scotland last week — Bibi Biziwu, Benjamin Boudou and Henzo Kiteau — on the field by the hour mark, it felt inevitable that France would turn the screw against their tiring opponents. However, it was Les Bleus’ smaller men whose quick thinking told first.
It began when Debaes cleared a ball some 80 yards and the otherwise excellent Jennings, tracking all the way across the field from the left flank and seemingly reluctant to clear off his left foot, kept the ball alive but got caught by France’s quieter left wing Nelson Epee. Grove-White pinged the Connacht man for holding on and, with Ireland half-asleep, Le Garrec went quickly with the penalty, delivering a cross-field kick to the bread basket of right wing Bielle-Biarrey who pirouetted past lock Sheridan for France’s bonus-point score. The French skipper was back on the mark with the conversion, too, and Ireland were two scores behind at 31-23.
A newfound dominance at scrum-time resulted in another France penalty on 68 minutes from which Le Garrec again poked France further ahead.
With some 10 minutes remaining, Ireland finally made inroads into the French half and, indeed, right up as far as the line only for Les Bleus defenders to get in underneath Illo before he could touch down. However, after a reset, Ireland’s scrum was again obliterated and France escaped. So too did any realistic chance of Ireland clawing their way back into the contest — a feeling accentuated when, from that same French clearance kick, the scrambling Doak was penalised for holding on to wild blue celebrations.
As is their wont, Richie Murphy’s men fought on to the final whistle. A last-minute assault on the French line wielded a second try for Kendellen, who was again borderline superhuman, and Doak got off an unsuccessful conversion off before the clock ticked red.
So, Ireland trailed by six, 34-28, but with a French restart and a Hail Mary effort to come.
They won a penalty from that restart which brought them back to halfway but from the resulting lineout, their maul went to ground and France exhaled as Grove-White brought to an end both a pulsating encounter and an entertaining journey.
Scorers for France: Tries: Thibault Dibaes, Pierre Bochaton, Thomas Mallez, Louis Bielle-Biarray
Pens: Nolann Le Garrec (2/3)
Cons: Nolann Le Garrec (4/4)
Scorers for Ireland: Tries: Jamie Osborne, Alex Kendellan (2)
Pens: Nathan Doak (3/3)
Cons: Nathan Doak (2/3)
Ireland U20s
15. Jamie Osborne (Naas CBS/Naas RFC/Leinster)
14. Ben Moxham (Larne High School/Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
13. Jude Postlethwaite (RBAI/Banbridge RFC/Ulster)
12. Cathal Forde (Colaiste Iognaid/Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
11. Shane Jennings (Garbally College/Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
10. Nathan Doak (Wallace High School/Banbridge RFC/Ulster
9. Conor McKee (Sullivan Upper School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
1. Temi Lasisi (CBS Enniscorthy/Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
2. Ronan Loughnane (Cistercian College Roscrea/UCD RFC/Leinster)
3. Sam Illo (Wesley College/Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
4. Mark Morrissey (Blackrock College/UCD RFC/Leinster)
5. Harry Sheridan (Sullivan Upper School/Dublin University FC/Ulster)
6. Alex Soroka (Belvedere College/Clontarf RFC/Leinster)
7. Oisin McCormack (Garbally College/Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
8. Alex Kendellen (PBC Cork/UCC RFC/Munster)(Captain)
Replacements:
16. Eoin de Buitléar (Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin/An Ghaeltacht/Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
17. George Saunderson (Sullivan Upper School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
18. Liam Bishop (Trent College/Nottingham University/IQ Rugby)
19. Jack Kelleher (PBC Cork/UCC RFC/Munster)
20. Reuben Crothers (Wallace High School/Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)
21. Will Reilly (St Mary’s CBS Portlaoise/MU Barnhall RFC/Leinster)
22. Ben Carson (Wallace High School/Banbridge RFC/Ulster)
23. Chris Cosgrave (St Michael’s College/UCD RFC/Leinster)
24. Fearghail O’Donoghue (Cashel Community School/Cashel RFC/Munster)
25. Donnacha Byrne (Summerhill College/Sligo RFC/Connacht)
26. Chay Mullins (SGC Filton/Bristol Bears/IQ Rugby)
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effort boys Irish Rugby U20 Six Nations