Under-20 World Championship semi-final: England 31 Ireland 20
When Clontarf’s Jack Murphy landed a penalty for Ireland with a minute to go in normal time in what had been a pulsating first half, one wondered what further twists awaited spectators treated to some terrific duels between these two teams over the last two seasons.
The biggest twist though was straightforward enough in the end. Ireland were held scoreless for the remainder of the game, as their old foes progressed to the final following a masterclass of kicking from their centre Sean Kerr.
After pulling an early effort wide, he hardly put a foot wrong thereafter. But that is not the full story of this game played in Cape Town.
In the end it came down to the sheer aggression of the English pack. England hooker, Craig Wright, sported a handlebar moustache that curled at the end. It might have well defined him were it not for a thundering tackle on his opposing number Danny Sheahan as the Cork Constitution forward made a beeline for the left-hand corner as Ireland sought to double an early advantage.
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Willie Falloon’s men couldn’t have asked for a better start. Within two minutes of the kick off, Ireland had scored under the posts through Oliver Coffey after a quick release of hands from Hugh Gavin.
Murphy duly added the conversion, but the English forwards soon began to turn the screw with the Irish scrum suffering the first of two turnovers.
Nonetheless, having survived a sustained spell of English pressure, Ireland made their second foray upfield and looked certain for their second try until Wright put in a crunching tackle on Sheahan.
It left Wright with a bloody nose, but he never wilted and while Kerr was off target with a relatively simple kick midway through the half, Wright would eventually bring England back into the game on the half hour.
Coming off Ben Redshaw’s shoulder, he cut in from the right to give Kerr the simplest of conversions.
The action really picked up from there when, following a Murphy penalty, the two teams traded scores. Ollie Allan’s converted try cancelled out soon after by Oliver Coffey’s try, also converted by Murphy.
At this stage, Ireland were finding their rhythm, a terrific piece of individual skill from fullback Ben O’Connor followed soon after by a superb block by Irish captain and number eight, Brian Gleeson. The Garryowen man’s tackle stats stood out on the day, but the Irish pack battled well as a unit.
Their collective efforts saw Brynn Ward burrow under the posts following a series of phases on the English line as the interval approached.
Murphy added the conversion and, though Kerr responded with a penalty to make it 17-apiece, a further Murphy penalty proved Ireland’s last dent on the scoreboard.
Just as disappointing was the concession of a try two minutes into stoppage time, when a skipped pass sent Kerr into the corner. He was unable to convert his own score but crucially it left England two points up at the break, 22-20.
For whatever reason, Ireland were never the same thereafter as England kept close tabs on wing Ben Treacy, Ireland’s most attacking threat after the break.
Three further penalties from Kerr consolidated England’s grip on proceedings. And while perhaps this latest clash was not quite at the same level of the previous two encounters, it was nonetheless another intriguing chapter in this enduring rivalry.
Scoring sequence – 2 mins: Coffey try, Murphy con 7-0; 26 mins: Wright try, Kerr con 7-7; 30 mins: Murphy pen 10-7; 32 mins: Allen try, Kerr con 14-10; 36 mins: Ward try, Murphy con 17-14; 38 mins: Kerr pen, 17-17; 39 mins: Murphy pen 20-17; 40 (+2) Kerr try, 20-22; half-time 20-22; 52 mins: Kerr pen 20-25; 58 mins: Kerr pen, 20-28; 80 mins: Kerr pen, 20-31; full time.
Ireland: Ben O’Connor (UCC), Finn Treacy (Galwegians), Wilhelm de Klerk (UCD), Hugh Gavin (Galwegians), Hugo McLaughlin (Lansdowne), Jack Murphy (Clontarf), Oliver Coffey (Blackrock College), Ben Howard (Terenure College), Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution), Jacob Boyd (Queen's University Belfast), Alan Spicer (UCD), James McKillop (Queen's University Belfast), Sean Edogbo (UCC), Bryn Ward (Ballynahinch), Brian Gleeson (c) (Garryowen). Replacements: Patreece Bell (Sale Sharks) for Boyd (48), Stephen Smith (Old Wesley) for Sheahan (48), Luke Murphy (Shannon) for Spicer (55), Emmet Calvey (Shannon) for Howard (58), Sean Naughon (Galway Corinthians) for Murphy, Sean Bernan (Terenure College) for Gavin (all 76 minutes).
England: Ioan Jones (Gloucester Rugby), Ben Redshaw (Newcastle Falcons), Ben Waghorn (Harlequins), Sean Kerr (Harlequins), Alex Wills (Sale Sharks), Ben Coen (Exeter Chiefs) Ollie Allan (Leicester Tigers) Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks) Craig Wright (Northampton Saints) Afolabi Fasogbon (Gloucester Rugby), Joe Bailey (Exeter Chiefs), Junior Kpoku (Racing 92) Finn Carnduff (c) (Leicester Tigers), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints), Nathan Michelow (Saracens). Replacements: Olamide Sodeke (Saracens) for Bailey (45) Lucas Friday (Harlequins) for Coen (55), James Halliwell (Bristol Bears) for Fasogabon (61) Josh Bellamy (Harlequins) for Redshaw (75).
Referee: Morné Ferreira (South Africa).
