The Ireland verdict on clinical reaction to 'last chance saloon'

Paarl in the Thursday mud was a cauldron of raw emotion, agony and ecstasy shared out across all three compelling Junior World Championship fixtures. The neighbouring Italy and France were the pair that celebrated jubilantly later in the day, thrilled that they had seen off the respective challenges of host nation South Africa and New Zealand.

Around lunchtime, however, it was Irish eyes who were sparkling in the rain, Richie Murphy’s Six Nations Grand Slam champions delivering an impressive pick-and-go performance to suffocate the Junior Wallabies who had initially thought it would their day when they found themselves leading 10-3 after a brilliantly taken support play try from deep.

The Ireland reaction to finding themselves with backs to the wall was class. Having drawn their opening match with England, the Irish knew that another winless outing would extinguish their World Cup hopes and there was not a hint of nervousness as they battled to lead 11-10 at the break and then going to win 30-10 with a four-try bonus point also secured.

It leaves them behind leaders England on points difference heading into Super Tuesday where the Ireland versus Fiji match in Stellenbosch (not Paarl as originally planned) will be followed by the English playing Australia in Athlone to determine exactly who progresses as the Pool B winners. Murphy is thrilled that his team is nicely poised.

“Definitely, we are in control of our own destiny at this stage,” he enthused to RugbyPass. “Getting the bonus point last week, getting the bonus point this week, eight points after two games – we are reasonably happy with that.

A try on the hooter seals a deserved 30-10 win for Ireland. #WorldRugbyU20s ##IREvAUS pic.twitter.com/mkYqM3Ysq3

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 29, 2023

“England are a really good side but the lads, when they looked back to the England game (that was drawn 34-all), they were a little bit disappointed with how they played and we showed them some opportunities that we missed, so we knew it was last chance saloon against Australia.

“We had to step up and they did that really well. The atmosphere they brought all week, their tightness and their connections they have built within the group, are really strong. You could see that towards the end of the game where they kept at it until they got that fourth try.

“I’m absolutely thrilled. It was an incredibly tough day to play rugby. Pitches around this place are completely under water. Even trying to find an area to do your warm-up was really difficult.

“The main pitch held up pretty well but it was unbelievably heavy, so I thought we managed the game really well in the second half playing ball into the corners and getting the pressure on.

“Our scrum was really strong and our maul dominant. Rugby games have to be won in many different ways; we just had to roll our sleeves up and we managed to do that.”

Who especially stood out for the coach? “I thought Ruadhan (Quinn) was very impressive in his carrying. I thought Charlie Irvine, for a guy who didn’t play with us in the Six Nations, really stepped up. Paddy McCarthy was just phenomenal in these conditions; his engine is incredible.

“In general, all the boys have done really well,” he added before making particular reference to his half-backs, including Sam Prendergast whose two-from-six return off the kicking tee hurt in the England draw.

“I thought our half-backs managed the game really well as well. Like all top players, they will bounce back. They might have an off day and Sam will say that he was a little bit off last week, but he bounced back really well, showed the confidence to get in there and take the kicks as well. Fintan (Gunne) had another fine game, a very tough, nuggetty nine who kicked really well as well did a great job for us.”

The only downer for Ireland was a second successive match where they picked up a red card. Last Saturday it was Hugh Cooney who was sent off, his foul tackle play getting punished with a three-game ban that will be reduced to two if tackle school is successfully completed.

On Thursday, it was replacement midfielder Rory Telfer who saw red, his originally yellow-carded tackle getting upgraded following further review by the TMO bunker.

It also emerged that back row James McNabney was cited and both players were banned on Saturday for three matches, sanctions that can be cut to two via tackle school.

“That makes it a little bit tight, we will have to have a look and see,” explained Murphy about the Telfer incident, a time when the coach was unaware of anything untoward involving McNabney.

“It was upgraded to a red, so we need to go back and have a look. It’s very hard to say. We only brought 13 backs out here, we are down to 11 now if that is the case so we are pretty tight.”