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Six Nations

Ireland U20 shock England with Six Nations upset at The Rec

By Ian Cameron

45 days ago

England and Ireland players scuffle near the crowd during the U20 Six Nations 2026 match between England and Ireland at The Recreation Ground on February 20, 2026 in Bath, England. (Photo by Bob Bradford - CameraSport via Getty Images)

Ireland U20 produced a stirring second-half comeback to shock England at The Rec, overturning a 14-7 half-time deficit to claim a deserved 31-21 victory in Round Three of the U20 Six Nations.

Andrew Browne’s side arrived in Bath as underdogs but left with a statement win, built on brilliant attacking accuracy amd clinical finishing, not to mention a back row spearheaded once again by man of the match Josh Neill.

Ireland struck first. Noah Byrne sliced through a fractured defensive line, hooker Lee Fitzpatrick then finished from close range with Tom Wood converting for a 7-0 lead.

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England responded with fluency. Fullback James Pater’s incision and slick handling released George Pearson for a 23rd-minute score, Finn Keylock adding the extras.

No.8 Connor Treacey then powered over from short range on 32 minutes, again converted by Keylock, which saw the hosts going into halftime with a 14-7 lead.

The tone shifted immediately after the restart, not to England’s favour.

The highly rated Neill ignited the turnaround. The back row burst through in the 51st minute, scattering defenders before crashing over. Wood’s conversion levelled the scoreboard.

Ireland’s tempo rose further when Daniel Ryan finished a well-worked move on 59 minutes, Byrne heavily involved once more, before Wood struck again from the tee to edge the visitors in front.

Byrne was at the heart of everything. A searing break on 68 minutes split England open again and from the ensuing crossfield kick the fullback produced a moment of individual brilliance to touch down. Wood converted for a 28-14 advantage.

England refused to fold. Nick Lilley burrowed over on 70 minutes and replacement Ollie Davies converted to narrow the gap to seven. But Ireland managed the closing stages smartly. Charlie O’Shea, introduced in the final quarter for Wood, slotted a 75th-minute penalty to give Ireland some crucial breathing space.

England pressed late, emptying the bench, but Ireland’s defence held firm. A late line break from Davies appeared to see the English grab a last-gasp consolation try and bonus point, only for referee Morgan White to disallow the effort due to a forward pass in the build-up.

Meanwhile, Wales U20 beat their Scottish equivalents 31-21 at Cardiff Arms Park.

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Comments

12 Comments

Eric Elwood 44 days ago

Stirring win by Ireland. It is great to see a blend of heart, passion and skills like that overcome a very powerful England team. Ireland played well in the first half with a well deserved 0-7 lead. England regathered a Garryowen and got a well taken but soft try from Ireland. Ireland tried to attack again and broke the line, but a forward pass leading to scrum pen, kick down line, maul, and try were ominous signs. At 14-7 England were strangling Ireland but Ireland were still able to run and attack and almost got level at half time.

I thought we were heading for England squeezing out a win, maybe holding them to 14 points would be good with green shoots etc.

Apparently the Irish coach in the sheds asked them if they were happy with the gallant loser scenario? The excellent Tom Wood started varying his no 10 play with little chips and cross field kicks. The whole team upped intensity and went for it.

It was inspirational stuff. No more knock ons, and as the game wore on Ireland started getting parity in scrum and winning pens.

A great win for those lads and it filled all Irish rugby fans with pride and hope for the future.

Kudos to Irish coach Andrew Browne. His post match interview reveals a lot.

unknown 44 days ago

England gave away far too many dumb penalties .. and there were too many execution errors. Ireland just seemed to want it more (which is a sad indictment if one’s playing for their country!!)

Eric Elwood 44 days ago

Don’t think that’s fair. The English lads looked very crestfallen at the end and fought back bravely to almost get those two points. I thought the Irish 10, Tom Wood, was outstanding in the second half. If Ford, Jalibert etc did that cross kick for the 4th try it would be very notable.

Chris929 45 days ago

Englands pack looks very average-usually its the backs that are average but they benefit from playing behind a dominant pack-but this year the pack doesnt look great and seems to be coming off second best against opponents.

Eric Elwood 44 days ago

Think England are building. Sometimes in u20 you get a year where most players are relatively less experienced. Maybe the case for England but the coach was saying they were in a building phase so maybe in transition. Ireland did make them run a lot with end to end attacks and an excellent kicking game particularly in the second half

unknown 45 days ago

The England U20s seem unfit and incapable of playing for 80 mins. Apart from Lucas Friday they are a distinctly average bunch. Ireland took their chances and deserved the win

Eric Elwood 44 days ago

Ireland’s excellent running and kicking match meant there was a lot more running for everyone on the pitch.

fl 45 days ago

there are good players in the group though. It seems like a failure of coaching tbh.

James Pater, George Pearson, Will Knight, and Ollie Davies have all been excellent for their clubs.

Alex 45 days ago

Yeah I agree. Although I think it's more just poor decision-making and a lack of concentration. Emotionally just fell off the gas.

Thought Ireland were pretty good. They've grown throughout the tournament.

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