Interview
world rugby u20 championship
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Liam Heagney
@heagneyl
A seasoned rugby journalist, Liam hails from Limerick and has covered World Cups, Lions tours, Six Nations Championships and European Cup campaigns since 2000. He became a content editor at RugbyPass in 2019 after joining from the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday in Ireland.
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Interview
'He’s lying, it’s all Asher!': England U20s' Cape Town title party
Mark Mapletoft's side were immense in putting manners on a French side who needed a last-second converted consolation to massage t…
Liam Heagney
20 Jul 2024, 2:07
Glory for England U20s as second-half power show dethrones France
Ahead by a single point at the break after riding their luck at times during an edgy opening half, Mark Mapletoft’s dynamos took…
Liam Heagney
19 Jul 2024, 15:03
Baby Blacks clinch best U20 Championship finish since 2017 title win
Both teams were soundly beaten in the semi-finals, New Zealand swatted aside 55-31 by French flair while Ireland were depowered 31…
Liam Heagney
19 Jul 2024, 12:36
Junior Boks end poor Championship run with seven-try win over Wales
Bafana Nhleko’s injury-hit side had lost twice to Argentina and England in their recent outings at a variety of venues following…
Liam Heagney
19 Jul 2024, 9:54
Sudden death try sees Spain relegate Fiji from World U20 Championship
The Fijians ultimately paid a heavy price for card trouble, suffering three yellows and one red over the course of an exhausting 9…
Liam Heagney
19 Jul 2024, 8:55
Interview
Willie Faloon: 'I wouldn’t have done an awful lot differently'
Defeat when a team hasn’t performed fully is the worst kind of loss. That was the ordeal Ireland were put through in Cape Town o…
Liam Heagney
15 Jul 2024, 8:17
Interview
'URC is the only proper competition where we can be involved'
The former national team boss, who stepped down after Rugby World Cup 2023 to become his union’s high-performance boss, claimed …
Liam Heagney
19 Jul 2024, 4:50
Analysis
4 England vs France World Rugby U20 Championship final talking points
A high-scoring shootout is the expectation, although the forecasted rain could temper attacking ambition. Here are the RugbyPass t…
Liam Heagney
19 Jul 2024, 2:21
Interview
Getting to know: South Africa U20s back row Thabang Mphafi
He started all three of their pool matches, packing down at openside, blindside and then No8 in the final game against the English…
Liam Heagney
19 Jul 2024, 2:05
Interview
England U20s Ollie Allan: 'It has worked out, I've got myself here'
Thirteen months ago, he was suddenly made redundant. London Irish collapsed, leaving the senior academy member at an awkward loose…
Liam Heagney
19 Jul 2024, 2:01
Interview
France U20s skipper Hugo Reus: 'We need to win for my village'
Four times he has flown south from France in the last 13 months, his involvement at the 2023 and 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship…
Liam Heagney
19 Jul 2024, 1:51
Two England changes for World U20 Championship final versus France
Mark Mapletoft’s side demonstrated their ability to squeeze teams in that last four success, holding the Irish scoreless in the …
Liam Heagney
17 Jul 2024, 13:14
Interview
'You shouldn’t really judge a whole programme on one particular game'
If the double doesn’t materialise, though, he doesn’t want people judging the RFU’s pathway programme based on a single resu…
Liam Heagney
18 Jul 2024, 3:51
Interview
Getting to know: Italy U20s No8 Jacopo Botturi
Skipper Botturi, who led the team to two wins – including a victory away to France – in a fourth-place Six Nations finish, wil…
Liam Heagney
18 Jul 2024, 3:03
Interview
Philippe Boher: 'We adapted our rugby specifically for this group'
France, of course, had their dominance in this grade interrupted by the pandemic after their two-in-a-row of 2018 and 2019, but th…
Liam Heagney
18 Jul 2024, 2:51
Analysis
Where are they now? The 2016 England U20 Championship-winning team
Ten of Martin Haag’s class of 2016, who defeated Ireland 45-21 in the final in Manchester, went on to play Test-level rugby, eig…
Liam Heagney
18 Jul 2024, 2:36
France make two changes for U20 Championship final versus England
The French, who are chasing a fourth successive world title in a row, swatted aside New Zealand 55-31 in their semi-final last Sun…
Liam Heagney
17 Jul 2024, 8:22
Interview
Getting to know: England U20s scrum-half Ollie Allan
With that pesky leg ailment since healed, Allan has returned to the England squad and been a key component in what has been achiev…
Liam Heagney
17 Jul 2024, 3:17
Interview
Brent Liufau: 'Special night playing against my cousin for New Zealand'
France versus New Zealand was a spicy rematch last Sunday at the World Rugby U20 Championship. The French, the defending three-in-…
Liam Heagney
16 Jul 2024, 5:51
Interview
'The bright side' Vernon Bason has taken from heavy loss to France
The Baby Blacks had defeated France in a pool match in Stellenbosch 10 days earlier, Rico Simpson kicking an 80th-minute penalty t…
Liam Heagney
16 Jul 2024, 15:03
