Ireland u20 2021

[Dave Cahill]

Quite like Des Curran as a commentator, don’t remember hearing him do anything other than football before but might be wrong.

+1

Is that his name? He was good

[LeRouxIsPHat]

The stupid extends to the sideline it would appear

How so? Thought it was a great call to try the drop, was actually shouting for it the second the penalty was given.

Great effort with the kick, very unlucky.

Players wanted to go for the corner but one of Irish water carriers ran on with the kicking tee so they had no option but to kick at goal.

Not sure Soroka wanted to go the corner. I’m a bit confused as to whether to coaches wanted a kick to get a LBP or give them a chance of winning, but either way I wanted them to take it ASAP to try to win and thought that was the right call.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Soroka really was immense. Even at the very end he was jumping up to clear a ruck for an isolated player just after he’d been tackled. He was everywhere in the tight and even chased that chip through in midfield.

The backs have a long way to go. They lost their shape badly when Cosgrave was binned, you’d have sworn they’d just lost an outhalf. Moxham needs to get far more involved, unless the ball is handed to him the game just passes him by in an attaching sense.

[Oldschool]

A penalty kick at the posts was the only logical decision.
Anything else was like a decision from NIAC, nonsense.
Regardless of the age level of the team, stupidity should not be condoned.

[limecat]

The stupid extends to the sideline it would appear

How so? Thought it was a great call to try the drop, was actually shouting for it the second the penalty was given.

Great effort with the kick, very unlucky.

Players wanted to go for the corner but one of Irish water carriers ran on with the kicking tee so they had no option but to kick at goal.

IMO the coaches were right and we should have taken the relatively easy 3 points on offer. Decision to go with the drop was the captains and I thought it was a bad call.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Why is it a bad idea to try and win the game?

England have Wales and Italy to come, they’ll hammer Wales and will more than likely beat Italy. I don’t see the point in an under 20 team trying to earn an extra point for the sake of the league table unless there’s a financial incentive that I’m not aware of.

I’m not sure the kick was a gimme anyway, Doak was off the pitch and he’d already missed a conversion.

[backrower8]

And that try comes from Cosgrave’s loopy pass, couldn’t believe he was brought back on tbh.

Cosgrave did a lot more right than wrong. The penalty after his tackle was not his fault, they pinned him immediately. Jackman saw it that way in comms as well.

[hugonaut]

The lads put in a big effort, but they were physically outmatched up front. I wasn't at all impressed with the English backline, but they didn't really need to do an awful lot ... England had what seemed like an endless supply of really big, hard-running lumps that they could call on to carry one or two out and win the collisions. And in fairness, they put in a defensive display as well. Their No2, their entire starting backrow and their No17 were all very impressive.

I felt that we missed Murray and McCarthy a lot in this game. Soroka is a better fit at No6 [although he put in a serious day of work in the row yesterday] and we could have done with a lot more size and strength on the pitch in the second and third rows of our pack.

[mildlyinterested]

15. Jamie Osborne (Naas CBS/Naas RFC/Leinster)
14. Conor Rankin (Campbell College Belfast/Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)
13. Jude Postlethwaite (RBAI/Banbridge RFC/Ulster) - u19
12. Ben Carson (Wallace High School/Banbridge RFC/Ulster) - u19
11. Chay Mullins (SGC Filton/Bristol Bears/IQ Rugby) - u19
10. James Humphreys (Dean Close School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
9. Nathan Doak (Wallace High School/Banbridge RFC/Ulster)

1. George Saunderson (Sullivan Upper School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
2. Eoin de Buitléar (Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin/An Ghaeltacht/Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
3. Sam Illo (Wesley College/Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
4. Mark Morrissey (Blackrock College/UCD RFC/Leinster) - u19
5. Harry Sheridan (Sullivan Upper School/Dublin University FC/Ulster)
6. Alex Soroka (Belvedere College/Clontarf RFC/Leinster)
7. Alex Kendellen (PBC Cork/UCC RFC/Munster)(Captain)
8. Daniel Okeke (Ardscoil Ris/Shannon RFC/Munster).

Replacements:
16. Ronan Loughnane (Cistercian College Roscrea/UCD RFC/Leinster)
17. Jack Boyle (St. Michael’s College/UCD RFC/Leinster) - u19
18. Liam Bishop (Trent College/Nottingham University/IQ Rugby)
19. Fearghail O’Donoghue (Cashel Community School/Cashel RFC/Munster)
20. Jack Kelleher (PBC Cork/UCC RFC/Munster)
21. Conor McKee (Sullivan Upper School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
22. Cathal Forde (Colaiste Iognaid/Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
23. Josh O’Connor (St Peter’s College/UCD RFC/Leinster)
24. Reuben Crothers (Wallace High School/Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster) - u19
25. Levi Vaughan (Terenure College/Terenure RFC/Leinster)
26. Ben Moxham (Larne High School/Ballymena RFC/Ulster)

[dropkick]

The English knew that ireland lacked a bit of size but instead of seeing that as one area of advantage, they doubled down on it and picked a massive pack. Their backrow was essentially two 8s and a lock.


What's amazing is ireland could have won it if they kept their heads. There was only 9 points difference when ireland had the chance to kick to the corner. If you think about all the needless penalties, the gift of a try, Corkery's bizarre kick error, the missed kicks at goal. If ireland were less bad they would have had a chance. It says as much about England as Ireland.


The ref was not good either. How that player didn't get a red is a mystery. Shoulder into the face is clear cut.


9 changes is good to see. I think there should be 5 or 6 changes per game to keep the squad fresh and if players are starting every game like Kendellen and Sheridan, substitute them a few times. In all my years watching the U20 world championship, performances usually nosedive after the second game. The adrenaline drains, mental fatigue creeps in as well as physical fatigue and carrying all the bumps and bruises. The top teams rotate more. No point having your best players on if they're not going to be at their best.


Italy looked good against the Scots so it's a tough game.

[Dexter]

The English knew that ireland lacked a bit of size but instead of seeing that as one area of advantage, they doubled down on it and picked a massive pack. Their backrow was essentially two 8s and a lock.


What's amazing is ireland could have won it if they kept their heads. There was only 9 points difference when ireland had the chance to kick to the corner. If you think about all the needless penalties, the gift of a try, Corkery's bizarre kick error, the missed kicks at goal. If ireland were less bad they would have had a chance. It says as much about England as Ireland.


The ref was not good either. How that player didn't get a red is a mystery. Shoulder into the face is clear cut.


9 changes is good to see. I think there should be 5 or 6 changes per game to keep the squad fresh and if players are starting every game like Kendellen and Sheridan, substitute them a few times. In all my years watching the U20 world championship, performances usually nosedive after the second game. The adrenaline drains, mental fatigue creeps in as well as physical fatigue and carrying all the bumps and bruises. The top teams rotate more. No point having your best players on if they're not going to be at their best.


Italy looked good against the Scots so it's a tough game.

Agree. England were not a more skillful side. They were much bigger and Ireland made lots of errors, it happens. The ref certainly didn't help but he wouldn't have been issue without all the errors.

[Ruckedtobits]

Really good to see this selection and at this level in particular to realise that many guys will walk away from this extraordinary year of isolation and dedication with a notable entry on their CV. This is smart and sympathetic management and the Italians are no longer a soft touch at this level.

[cormac]

Ireland being totally outplayed at the moment. Second best in pretty much every facet.

Losing 20-12 in the last minute of the first half.

[mildlyinterested]

soroka only irish player whose had a good 1st half.

[cormac]

23-12 HT

Big job for the coaches. Backs look fairly clueless with and without the ball. Defensive alignment between 10-12-13 is almost non-existent.

[cormac]

Much better start to the second half. Italians down to 14 for the next 10.

23-22 52 mins

[mildlyinterested]

ireland better.

[cormac]

4 mins left and Ireland lead 27-23. Much better second half. Bringing on a 10 who can tackle helped shore up the defending. Held on to the ball much better thus denying a platform to the Italians.

[wixfjord]

Soroka's lineout work has been impressive.

[Ruckedtobits]

Have to think that Humphrey's selection was a step too far at this point in his career. His departure after half-time certainly marked the point from which Ireland rescued a win in this game. As EO'S commented in the post-match discussion, our backline don't post a sufficient threat to worry teams who have a disciplined defence.

There's a number of players who will undoubtedly progress to long Pro careers but, IMO, it is likely that more of those Italians will progress along that path than their Irish counterparts. Full-back, both wingers, out-half, scrum-half & No 8 were the most obvious candidates but both starting props & No 4 will also be strong contenders.

Really entertaining game, despite the pedantic refereeing. Really good to watch a young Italian team which has been well coached. We expect it from Ireland but it's rare from Italy.