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Ireland U20s thump English counterparts in Franklin Gardens
England men U20s were defeated 39-21 by reigning U20 Six Nations champions Ireland U20s at Northampton’s Franklin’s Gardens.
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Ireland led 29-7 at the break scoring tries through Alex Soroka, Hayden Hyde, Thomas Ahern and Ethan McIlroy, while England crossed via George Hammond.
Second half scores from Hugh Tizard and Theo Dan gave England hope but tries via Max O’Reilly and Ahern won the game for Ireland.
It was a first loss for England having defeated France and Scotland in the opening two rounds, while Ireland remain unbeaten.
Ireland started brightly and sent over an early penalty through Jack Crowley but England responded soon after with Hammond crashing through for a try which George Barton converted.
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WATCH: England Rugby head coach Eddie Jones and fly half George Ford look ahead to Sunday’s Six Nations clash with Ireland.
The visitors had a try ruled out by the TMO for an earlier knock on, but they weren’t to be denied with Soroka bundling over in the corner after a period of sustained pressure.
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Ireland had a second with Hyde going over after a fine offload moments earlier kept the ball in play and Crowley converted for 15-7.
A third followed through Ahern who crashed over as Ireland showed great patience to work their way through England’s defence and Ireland had a bonus point on the stroke of half time, with McIlroy crossing in the corner after a flowing team move.
Tizzard went over soon after the break but O’Reilly had a fifth Ireland try after searing down the left wing to cross.
“My contract is up with the RFU at the end of the season… but I’m fit as I have ever been – that’s what my scores tell me”
– veteran match official Wayne Barnes talks to @heagneyl ahead of his latest Six Nations assignment #WALvFRA ?????????https://t.co/R6KYLJ5svz— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 22, 2020
Dan bundled over off the back of a driving maul but Ahern’s try helped seal victory.
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Head coach Alan Dickens said: “The performance wasn’t up to the standard of the previous two games. We were slow to start and even though we scored the first try we always seemed to be chasing the game once they took the lead.
“We didn’t slow their ball down, they played on the front foot and that put us under pressure defensively and we conceded some soft tries
“One of the big learnings will be to manage the game and to know when to play expansive rugby and when to control it. That will come with maturity and game understanding the more competitive fixtures we play.
“We have two games left in the tournament, we want to play well in those fixtures, continue to develop and hopefully finish with two victories. There were positives to take from tonight and we’ll focus on them and take it into the Wales game.”
Scorers
England U20 – Tries: Hammond, Tizzad, Dan Cons: Barton 3
Ireland U20s – Tries: Soroka, Hyde, Ahern 2, McIlroy, O’Reilly Cons: Crowley 2, Corkery Pens: Crowley
England men U20s side to face Ireland
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers), 14. Gabriel Hamer-Webb (Bath Rugby), 13. Connor Doherty (Sale Sharks), 12. Charlie Watson (Saracens), 11. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), 10. George Barton (Gloucester Rugby), 9. Sam Maunder (Exeter Chiefs) – captain, 1. Sam Crean (Saracens), 2. Theo Dan (Saracens), 3. Luke Green (London Irish), 4. Hugh Tizard (Harlequins), 5. George Hammond (Harlequins), 6. Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs), 7. Josh Gray (Gloucester Rugby), 8. Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)
Replacements: 16. Ben Atkins (London Irish), 17. Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints), 18. Harvey Beaton (Saracens), 19. Chunya Munga (London Irish), 20. Rob Farrar (Newcastle Falcons), 21. Blake Boyland (Bristol Bears), 22. Will Haydon-Wood (Newcastle Falcons), 23. Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)
Ireland XV: 15. Oran McNulty, 14. Ethan McIlroy, 13. Dan Kelly, 12. Hayden Hyde, 11. Andrew Smith, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Lewis Finlay, 1. Marcus Hanan, 2. John McKee, 3. Thomas Clarkson, 4. Thomas Ahern, 5. Brian Deeny, 6. Alex Soroka, 7. Sean O’Brien, 8. David McCann (C)
Replacements: 16. Tom Stewart, 17. Harry Noonan, 18. Charlie Ward, 19. Joe McCarthy, 20. Cian Prendergast, 21. Ben Murphy, 22. Tim Corkery, 23. Max O’Reilly.
Referee: Ben Blain (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Finlay Brown, Ross Mabon (both Scotland)
Comments on RugbyPass
“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to comments