Ireland under-20s complete magic weekend as they secure back-to-back Grand Slams

Ireland U20 36 England U20 24

On the greatest weekend in the history of Irish rugby only happy endings were entertained. For the second year in a row the Ireland under-20s eclipsed their peers with a series of thrilling performances, ending in another Grand Slam in Musgrave Park on Sunday night. England refused to roll over, but Ireland weren’t taking no for an answer.

The game turned somersaults in the third quarter, when England had a try disallowed, a player sent to the sinbin and another sent off. In the bedlam, Ireland stretched their lead to 21 points, and all of the stress that had been hanging in the air dissipated like smoke.

The looting that might have been expected with a numerical advantage never materialised in the final quarter, and England counterpunched with two late tries. By then Ireland had emptied most of their bench and their concentration had been diluted. When it became a one-score game in the final minutes, though, Fintan Gunne darted over in the corner for Ireland’s fifth and final try.

Under the baton of Richie Murphy the rugby they play is powerful and carefully orchestrated, but it has a cavalier quality too that makes it thrilling. The sheet music is liable to be torn up at the first sight of a gap, or an overlap, or a soft shoulder, or whatever catches Sam Prendergast’s mischievous eye. None of that changed with the magnitude of this game.

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“They were fearless,” said Murphy. “In fairness they have been all the way through, haven’t they? Going in at half-time five points up, playing into the wind in the second half, was going to be difficult, but they were really brave the way they played. England loaded the backfield, giving us the front line and asking us to play, and in fairness the lads played and did it very well.

“They were very calm all week. Very controlled. We watched the senior game together yesterday which was really a unique experience. Lads were singing in the team room. Then afterwards we sat down and started analysing what can we learn from that game and they were starting to pick out things that they wanted to do today. We didn’t get it all right, but we got enough right to get over the line.”

None of the performance anxiety and clouded thinking that had stalked the senior team for an hour on Saturday percolated down to the 20s. Instead, they attacked the game with the same verve and invention and daredevil spirit that had characterised all of their performances in this championship.

Just in case any germ of tension was lurking in their system Ireland scored in their very first attack. England botched the kick-off reception and Ireland jumped all over them, refusing to leave the visitors’ 22 for four hectic minutes until Hugh Gavin scored in the corner, finishing a whiplash pass from the brilliant Prendergast.

Four minutes later Ireland scorched England with a scintillating move down the short side that must have covered 60 metres. It had the scent of the Barbarians, full of soft hands and instant vision and offloading and gung-ho support running. Gus McCarthy survived a last-ditch tackle metres from the English line, only for Gunne to be collared by that only scramble defender still standing. The move captured the essence of this team and their collective imagination.

The nature of these games, though, is that the ball and the pendulum are never still. England scored with their first visit to the Ireland 22 and any notion that the visitors would be brushed aside were disabused with a period of sustained pressure.

Ireland regained the lead before the break. Turning down a handy three points, Prendergast kicked a penalty to the corner and Ireland marched the England pack over their own line with a devastating lineout maul.

The beginning of the second half was hairy for Ireland, though, Gunne had a box-kick charged down by England’s giant secondrow Lewis Chessum and he appeared to beat Prendergast in a race to the touchdown. The on-field decision was a try, but just before the conversion was attempted the South African referee Adriaan Jacobs was prompted to have second thoughts by the Television Match Official. The replays showed the Chessum had not exerted downward pressure on the ball as it squirted from his control.

It was the first major turning point in the game. A few minutes later Tobias Elliott was sinbinned for a deliberate knock-on when Ireland looked certain to score in the corner. And while he was still off the field the England outhalf Monty Bradbury was red-carded for a dangerous, no-arms tackle on Henry McErlean.

Minutes later the player of the match Brian Gleeson scored his second try, and only one ending was on the table now.

IRELAND: H McErlean (Terenure); J Nicholson (UCD), H Cooney (Clontarf), J Devine (Corinthians), H Gavin (Galwegians); S Prendergast (Lansdowne), F Gunne (Terenure); G Hadden (Clontarf), G McCarthy (UCD, capt), P McCarthy (Dublin University); D Mangan (UL Bohemian), C O’Tighearnaigh (UCD); J McNabney (Ballymena), R Quinn (Old Crescent), B Gleeson (Garryowen).

Replacements: A Osborne (Naas) for McErlean (51-60 mins, HIA) and for Nicholson (61); L Molony (Blackrock) for Quinn, F Barrett (Corinthians) for McCarthy (both 63); G Morris (Lansdowne) for Hadden, H West (Buccanners) for Devine (both 67); J Hopes (Queen’s University) for Mangan (70); D Sheahan (UCC) for McCarthy, O Cawley (Naas) for Gunne (both 79).

ENGLAND: S Harris; C Cleaves, R Mas’asi-White, J Woodward, T Elliott; M Bradbury, C Bracken; A McArthur, F Theobald-Thomas, A Fasogbon; D Eite, L Chessum; F Carnduff, G Fisilau, C Cunning-South.

Replacements: N Jibulu for Fasogobn, T Hoyt for McArthur (both 54 mins); J Jenkins for Mas’asj-White (56); T Woodman for Carnduff (61); N Thomas for Bracken, R Carmichael for Eite (for 67).

Referee: A Jacobs (South Africa).