Under-21s Finish Sixth

…Ireland U-21 coach Mark McDermott…

Mark McDermott’s Ireland side finished sixth at the IRB Under-21 World Championship in France, falling to England on the final day of the tournament.

IRB U-21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, June 25

5TH-6TH PLACE PLAY-OFF:

IRELAND U-21 8 ENGLAND U-21 32, Stade Couturier, Cournon d’Auvergne (Att: 6,500)

Scorers: Ireland: Try: Sean O’Brien; Pen: Kieran Hallett

England: Tries: Danny Care, Alex Rogers 2, Anthony Allen, Michael Hills; Cons: Ryan Lamb 2; Pen: Lamb

Sunday’s fifth-sixth place play-off at Stade Couturier saw the Irish come off second best to England, the Grand Slam champions from this year’s U-21 Six Nations.

UCD back row Sean O’Brien powered over in the right corner for an eleventh-minute try. Kieran Hallett missed the converted but tagged on a penalty as the Irish trailed 15-8 at the interval. Ireland were dealt a blow when UCC prop Darragh Hurley was forced off with a neck injury just after the half-hour mark, and was taken to hospital for examinations. He was subsequently released and returns home with the squad and management today.

The stining heat of the first half was replaced by heavy rain after the break and England, despite having prop David Wilson sin-binned for a late tackle on replacement out-half Jonathan Sexton, coped better with tries from centre Anthony Allen, prop Alex Rogers and flanker Michael Hills confirming the result.

…Irish try scorer Sean O’Brien is put under pressure by England’s Chris Robshaw…

Reflecting on the defeat – his side’s third in five games at the tournament – Irish coach McDermott said: “We’re very disappointed and in my opinion the final score doesn’t reflect the difference between the two sides.

“England took their chances – we didn’t. But overall, we’re happy as we’ve had a good look at some players who will feed into the senior team in the future.”

IRELAND: Fionn Carr (Blackrock College RFC); Ian Hanly (UL Bohemians), Tom Gleeson (Cork Constitution), Fergus McFadden (UCD), Matthew Williams (Bristol); Kieran Hallett (Bedford Blues), Matthew D’Arcy (Dublin University); Darragh Hurley (UCC), Sean Cronin (Shannon), Dave Ryan (Highfield), David McGowan (Buccaneers), Devin Toner (Lansdowne), Michael Essex (UCC), David Pollock (Queen’s University) (capt), Sean O’Brien (UCD).

Replacements: Callum Black (Worcester Warriors) for Hurley (31 mins), Diarmuid Laffan (Blackrock College RFC) for Essex (43), Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins) for Gleeson (55), Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College) for Hallett, Stuart Philpott (Belfast Harlequins) for Cronin (both 62), Duncan Williams (UCC) for D’Arcy (72), Daniel Tuohy (Hartpury College/Gloucester) for McGowan (76).

ENGLAND: Michael Brown; Topsy Ojo, Matt Cornwell (capt), Anthony Allen, Paul Diggin; Ryan Lamb, Danny Care; Alex Rogers, Chris Brooker, David Wilson, Richard Blaze, Thomas Croft, James Haskell, Michael Hills, Jordan Crane.

Replacements used: Rob Webber for Brooker (43 mins), Tom Ryder for Blaze (49), Ben Foden for Care (50), Mark Lambert for Rogers (55), Matt Riley for Cornwell (59), Chris Robshaw for Haskell, Toby Flood for Lamb (both 67), Rogers for Hills (71), Hills for Allen (77), Mark Lambert for Wilson (79).

Sin Bin: David Wilson (England) (69 mins)
Referee: Tim Hayes (Wales)

IRB UNDER-21 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – IRELAND RESULTS/FIXTURES:

Friday, June 9:

France U-21 26 IRELAND U-21 8, Issoire

Tuesday, June 13:

IRELAND U-21 22 Argentina U-21 26, Cournon d’Auvergne

Saturday, June 17:

IRELAND U-21 47 Georgia U-21 0, Issoire

Wednesday, June 21:

5th-8th Place Play-Off – IRELAND U-21 42 Argentina U-21 20, Vichy

Sunday, June 25:

5th-6th Place Play-Off – IRELAND U-21 8 England U-21 32, Cournon d’Auvergne