World Rugby Under-20 Men’s Championship: Ireland U-20s v Australia U-20s

World Rugby have advised that due to adverse weather conditions, and in the interest of player safety, the match has been cancelled. Both teams will receive two points.

The Ireland Under-20 Men’s team (sponsored by PwC) have their destiny in their own hands, as their hopes of reaching a second successive World Rugby U-20 Championship semi-final rest on today’s Pool B decider against Australia.

WORLD RUGBY UNDER-20 MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP – POOL B:

Tuesday, July 9 –

IRELAND UNDER-20s (1st) v AUSTRALIA UNDER-20s (2nd), Athlone Sports Stadium, Cape Town, kick-off 2pm local time/1pm Irish time (live on RugbyPass TV)

Team News: Ireland head coach Willie Faloon has made 11 personnel changes and one positional switch for the crunch clash with Australia in Cape Town. Brian Gleeson captains his country for the first time, taking over from the injured Evan O’Connell (ankle).

James McKillop reverts to the back row for the pool leaders, alongside fellow Ulster Academy newcomer Bryn Ward, while Old Wesley’s Billy Corrigan gets his first start in the second row, alongside the 6ft 10in Alan Spicer.

Also making his first start at this level is Shannon clubman Emmet Calvey, who combines with Danny Sheahan and Patreece Bell in a freshened-up ront row.

Sheahan, a try scorer against Italy in the first round, is one of three players included who played in last June’s 30-10 pool win over Australia in Paarl. Gleeson and Hugh Gavin are the other two, and current skipper O’Connell was also involved.

Connacht talent Gavin is reunited with his centre partner from this year’s U-20 Six Nations, as the Ulster-bound Wilhelm de Klerk makes his World Rugby U-20 Championship debut.

The selected back-line is the same as the ever-present one from the Six Nations campaign, with Jack Murphy resuming at half-back alongside Oliver Coffey, and Hugo McLaughlin linking back up in the back-three with Ben O’Connor and Finn Treacy, the last-gasp try-scoring hero against Georgia.

Cobh youngster Sean Edogbo is one of the forward options on the bench, along with Stephen Smyth, Jacob Boyd, Andrew Sparrow, and Max Flynn. Faloon’s replacements backs are Tadhg Brophy, Sean Naughton, and Davy Colbert.

The equation is simple for Faloon’s charges, who hold a three-point lead over Australia in the standings, as they know that avoiding defeat will see them through to the semi-finals as pool winners.

However, Australia could still leapfrog Ireland with victory as long as they deny last year’s runners-up more than one bonus point.

If Ireland were to finish within seven points of Australia and score at least four tries, then the Junior Wallabies would have to secure all five match points to move above them in the table.

That is because if the Australian youngsters win, and the two sides finish level on 10 or 11 points, it would be the Junior Wallabies who advance by virtue of beating Ireland.

Meanwhile, Australia head coach Nathan Grey has made just two changes to the side that lost 17-12 to Italy at the Athlone Sports Stadium, the venue for this afternoon’s showdown with Ireland.

Queensland Reds’ Nick Bloomfield comes in at tighthead prop, and Archie Saunders’ ability under the high ball – with expected wet and windy conditions – seeing him return on the right wing.

Grey, who won 35 Test caps and was part of Australia’s 1999 Rugby World Cup-winning squad, has opted for a six-two split on the bench. NSW Waratahs’ Austin Durbidge, who is only 18, is standing by to make his debut.

This summer’s World Rugby U-20 Championship is the first global competition to feature the three global law amendments, which were approved by the World Rugby Council. In addition, six law trials are being implemented, which include the simplified red card sanction process and a revised TMO protocol trial.

For the first time, both the World Rugby U-20 Championship and Trophy competitions are operating the full Head Injury Assessment (HIA) process, and all players have access to smart mouthguards, under the World Rugby-funded player welfare initiative.

World Rugby U-20 Championship Fixtures/Results/Pool Tables

IRELAND U-20: Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster); Finn Treacy (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Wilhelm de Klerk (UCD RFC/Leinster), Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Hugo McLaughlin (Lansdowne FC/Leinster); Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Oliver Coffey (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster); Emmet Calvey (Shannon RFC/Munster), Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster), Patreece Bell (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby), Alan Spicer (UCD RFC/Leinster), Billy Corrigan (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster), James McKillop (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster), Bryn Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster), Brian Gleeson (Garryowen FC/Munster) (capt).

Replacements: Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster), Jacob Boyd (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster), Andrew Sparrow (UCD RFC/Leinster), Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster), Max Flynn (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), Tadhg Brophy (Naas RFC/Leinster), Sean Naughton (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), Davy Colbert (Dublin University FC/Leinster).

AUSTRALIA U-20: Shane Wilcox (ACT Brumbies/Tuggeranong Vikings); Archie Saunders (NSW Waratahs/Warringah Rugby Club), Kadin Pritchard (ACT Brumbies/Gungahlin Eagles), Jarrah McLeod (ACT Brumbies/Canberra Royals), Ronan Leahy (Western Force/Sydney University); Harry McLaughlin-Phillips (Queensland Reds/Souths Brisbane), Dan Nelson (ACT Brumbies/Canberra Royals); Lington Ieli (ACT Brumbies/Tuggeranong Vikings), Ottavio Tuipulotu (Melbourne Rebels/Eastern Suburbs), Nick Bloomfield (Queensland Reds/Easts Brisbane), Toby Macpherson (ACT Brumbies/Uni-Norths Owls) (capt), Ollie McCrea (NSW Waratahs/Eastern Suburbs), Aden Ekanayake (Australia Sevens/Gordon Rugby Club), Dane Sawers (Western Force/Kalamunda Districts), Jack Harley (ACT Brumbies/Gungahlin Eagles).

Replacements: Bryn Edwards (NSW Waratahs/Sydney University), Nathaniel Tiitii (NSW Waratahs/Eastern Suburbs), Trevor King (Queensland Reds/Souths Brisbane), Eamon Doyle (NSW Waratahs/Sydney University), Austin Durbidge (NSW Waratahs/Sydney University), Dominic Thygesen (Queensland Reds/Souths Brisbane), Billy Dickens (NSW Waratahs/Eastern Suburbs), Boston Fakafanua (Western Force/Sydney University).

Referee: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Saba Abulashvili (Georgia)
Television Match Official: Ian Tempest (England)

Watch

The game is live on RugbyPass TV, which you can register to watch for free. Fans around the globe can watch the action through local broadcast partners in South Africa (SuperSport), France (L’Équipe TV), New Zealand (Sky NZ), and Fiji (Fiji Broadcasting Corporation).

Pre-Match Quotes – Toby Macpherson (Australia U-20s): “We’ve got to get better and that’s what we’re planning on doing this week leading into Ireland. They are a really good team, a class outfit, but they’ve got points that we’ll attack and no doubt they’ve got points on us.

“The boys have got to get up, swallow the tough pill after Georgia, back it up this week at training, get better and get better quick.”

Head-To-Head –

– This is the fifth time the sides have met at a World Rugby Under-20 Championship, with a record of two wins apiece from the four previous encounters

– Ireland turned in a strong second half performance to win last year’s contest, again in Pool B, scoring 19 unanswered points

– In heavy rain and tough conditions in Paarl, Australia started strongly and scored the first try of the match through Henry O’Donnell

– The Junior Wallabies opened up a 10-3 lead after Jack Bowen slotted over a penalty on top of the conversion, before James Nicholson reduced the margin with his try out wide

– Sam Prendergast missed the conversion but kicked two penalties, giving Ireland a one-point advantage just before the break

– In the second half, Gleeson, 2023 captain Gus McCarthy, and Diarmuid Mangan all crossed as Ireland got the bonus point win they needed, with Prendergast and Jack Oliver adding the extras to two of the tries

– Ireland played the last few minutes down to 14 men when replacement Rory Telfer received a yellow card which was later upgraded to a red

– James McNabney was cited for foul play in that match and, like Telfer, subsequently picked up a three-match ban

Previous Meetings –

2013: World Rugby Under-20 Championship Pool B: Ireland U-20s 19 Australia U-20s 15, Stade de la Rabine, Vannes; 7th-8th Place Play-Off: Australia U-20s 28 Ireland U-20s 17, Stade Henri Desgrange, La Roche-sur-Yon

2019: World Rugby Under-20 Championship Pool B: Australia U-20s 45 Ireland U-20s 17, Club de Rugby Ateneo Inmaculada, Santa Fe

2023: World Rugby Under-20 Championship Pool B: Australia U-20s 10 Ireland U-20s 30, Paarl Gymnasium, Paarl

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