Ireland U20s' Junior World Championship hopes dead after Argentina thumping

Federico Serpa scored 26 points as Argentina seized control of Pool C with a second successive victory after seeing off a spirited second-half fightback from Ireland to win 62-40.

Los Pumitas, who hammered USA 78-14 in their first game, scoring 12 tries, have now set up a winner-takes-all showdown with England next Tuesday for a place in the semi-finals.

They started well, scoring the opening try after three minutes when Luciano Avaca went down the short side, and Serpa converted and doubled their advantage five minutes later with a length-of-the-pitch try.

A counter-attack ended with Simon Pfister popping up a pass for Serpa, who converted his own try. Ireland hit back after 20 minutes, however, with Rian Handley scoring from a drive following a line-out, with Charlie O’Shea converting.

But Ireland then paid a heavy penalty for Daniel Ryan’s sin-binning for a 31st-minute deliberate knock-on, with Serpa kicking a penalty and then converting tries from Pfister three minutes later and Dande after breaking from the resulting restart.

Fixture

World Rugby U20 Championship

Argentina U20

62 - 40

Full-time

Ireland U20

All Stats and Data

Argentina looked to be heading for victory when Pfister scored his second try, which Serpa converted five minutes after poor Ireland defending from a kick chase.

They then opened the door when Benjamin Ordiz picked up a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on after 48 minutes, allowing O’Shea to go under the posts and convert his own try.

Five minutes later, Luciano Avaca picked off an O’Shea pass, and Serpa converted before Jack Deegan scored a 55th-minute try, which O’Shea converted, and within four minutes Blake McClean went across from short range, with O’Shea again converting.

Ireland got back to within ten points after O’Shea, who converted his own 66th-minute try.

But any hopes of a fairy-tale comeback were ended when Serpa kicked a 72nd-minute penalty, and within a minute he converted a Bautista Lescano try before Josh Neill picked up from the base of the ruck to score.