Ireland U-20s Outlast France In Dramatic Late Victory

Charlie Tector coolly converted Ben Brownlee’s 79th-minute try as the Ireland Under-20s overhauled France for a memorable 17-16 win in Aix-en-Provence.

Match Photo Gallery: France Under-20s 16 Ireland Under-20s 17

It was only Ireland’s second ever U-20 Six Nations victory on French soil – matching what the 2012 team achieved in Grenoble – as Richie Murphy’s side stayed top of the table after two rounds.

They had to overcome some significant setbacks, coming back from 10 points down in the first half and rebounding brilliantly to curb France’s counter-attacking threat and scrum power.

Hookers Vincent Montgaillard and James McCormick swapped tries either side of the half hour mark, the French young guns leading 10-7 at the break thanks to an earlier Max Auriac penalty.

However, Ireland’s resilient defence kept them in contention, the French missing three penalty kicks in all but extending their lead back to six points despite a Tector reply from the tee.

The McCormick-manned lineout was the ideal launchpad for Ireland, with the hosts coughing up penalties and lock Samuel M’Foudi seeing yellow for collapsing a 77th-minute maul.

In a frantic finish to the game, captain Reuben Crothers made sure Ireland stayed focused, diligently chipping away at the defence before centre Brownlee crossed decisively from close range.

Tector’s surefooted conversion put the visitors ahead for the only time and three points clear at the Championship’s summit. Italy, fresh from claiming the scalp of England, are up next in Cork in two weeks’ time.

Auriac opened the scoring in tonight’s second round clash, firing over a central fourth-minute penalty after an earlier miss and a subsequent break by flanker Esteban Capilla.

A bulldozing carry from impressive prop Jack Boyle soon got the Irish attack firing, and although a couple of handling errors hindered their progress, the lineout proved a reliable platform.

Tighthead Rory McGuire was at the heart of a powerful set of driving phases, the opening try just eluding Ireland as a James McNabney maul score was ruled out for obstruction by Crothers.

Mark Morrissey and James Culhane revelled in the physical exchanges, debutant Aitzol King also growing into the game but his pass out wide was intercepted by Jefferson Joseph as an attack petered out.

Second row Morrissey pinched a French lineout but the hosts countered clinically, Enzo Reybier flying down his wing and a smart kick by Louis Foursans-Bourdette forced Patrick Campbell to concede a lineout.

A well-worked maul move was capped off by a superb offload from M’Foudi which put Montgaillard over to the right of the posts. Auriac’s conversion took them into double figures.

Ireland’s own lineout drive continued to earn penalties, their persistence paying off when some pick-and-drives drew them close before Ballymena’s McCormick lunged over beside the posts.

Tector’s conversion cut the gap to three points, most of the rugby still being played in the French half with number 8 Culhane’s direct running causing problems for the home defence.

France resumed on the front foot, moving 13-7 ahead within four minutes of the restart. A try looked on the cards but Ireland held firm out wide, Shane Mallon doing well to deny Joseph from a cross-field kick.

Auriac mopped up with the three points, France absorbing some pressure before Reybier threatened from turnover ball and Mallon, his opposite number, thwarted him with a well-won turnover penalty.

Crothers foiled a fast-paced French attack with great work at the breakdown, and with the newly-introduced Matthew Devine sniping through, Matis Perchaud went off his feet and Tector landed his only penalty goal.

Nonetheless, an offside decision against Daniel Hawkshaw was punished by Auriac, his 57th-minute strike just squeezing inside the left hand post to the delight of the vocal home crowd.

Les Bleuets repelled the next Irish attacking wave with an important lineout steal from Léo Banos, and a decibel-raising scrum penalty went unrewarded when out-half Foursans-Bourdette missed the long-range place-kick.

Munster starlet Campbell beat two defenders to take Ireland back into French territory, but France continued to look dangerous in broken-field play, particularly out wide.

However, they began to leak penalties during the closing stages, Conor O’Tighearnaigh and company providing a clean lineout supply with his opposite number, M’Foudi, then dispatched to the bin for repeated maul penalties.

Banos was penalised for offside as Ireland continued to chip away, a few metres out. Time was running out but Murphy’s well-drilled charges stayed composed when it mattered most.

McCormick and Crothers connected at the lineout, the maul was stopped short but Devine’s whipped pass found Brownlee who gleefully crashed over past two defenders.

The all-important kick, to the left of the posts from the edge of the 22, was struck home by Tector, his team-mates duly erupting in celebration as they dramatically made it two wins out of two.

TIME LINE: 2 minutes – France penalty: missed by Max Auriac – 0-0; 4 mins – France penalty: Max Auriac – 3-0; 24 mins – France penalty: missed by Louis le Brun – 3-0; 27 mins – France try: Victor Montgaillard – 8-0; conversion: Max Auriac – 10-0; 32 mins – Ireland try: James McCormick – 10-5; conversion: Charlie Tector – 10-7; Half-time – France 10 Ireland 7; 44 mins – France penalty: Max Auriac – 13-7; 55 mins – Ireland penalty: Charlie Tector – 13-10; 57 mins – France penalty: Max Auriac – 16-10; 64 mins – France penalty: missed by Louis Foursans-Bourdette – 16-10; 77 mins – France yellow card: Samuel M’Foudi; 79 mins – Ireland try: Ben Brownlee – 16-15; conversion: Charlie Tector – 16-17; Full-time – France 16 Ireland 17

FRANCE U-20: Max Auriac (Toulouse); Jefferson Joseph (Agen), Emilien Gailleton (Agen), Louis le Brun (Castres Olympique) (capt), Enzo Reybier (Oyonnax); Louis Foursans-Bourdette (Montpellier), Baptiste Jauneau (Clermont Auvergne); Matis Perchaud (Bayonne), Victor Montgaillard (Perpignan), Valentin Simutoga (Clermont Auvergne), Samuel M’Foudi (Perpignan), Matthieu Uhila (Montpellier), Léo Banos (Stade Montois), Esteban Capilla (Bayonne), Malohi Suta (Provence).

Replacements used: Thomas Cretu (Stade Francais) for Simutoga (36 mins), Jules Coulon (Toulon) for Suta, Raphaël Portat (Toulouse) for Uhila (half-time), Lucas Martin (Provence) for Montgaillard (47), Ethan Randle (Perpignan) for Foursans-Bourdette (74). Not used: Louis Penverne (La Rochelle), Noé Della Schiava (La Rochelle), Aubin Eymeri (Montpellier).

IRELAND U-20: Patrick Campbell (Young Munster RFC/Munster); Aitzol King (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Ben Brownlee (UCD RFC/Leinster), Daniel Hawkshaw (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Shane Mallon (UCD RFC/Leinster); Charlie Tector (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), Ethan Coughlan (Shannon RFC/Munster); Jack Boyle (UCD RFC/Leinster), James McCormick (Ballymena RFC/Ulster), Rory McGuire (UCD RFC/Leinster), Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster), Mark Morrissey (UCD RFC/Leinster), James McNabney (Ballymena RFC/Ulster), Reuben Crothers (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster) (capt), James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster).

Replacements used: Matthew Devine (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht) for Coughlan (45 mins), Darragh McSweeney (Shannon RFC/Munster) for McGuire (64), Conor Moloney (Young Munster RFC/Munster) for McNabney (67), Adam McNamee (Malone RFC/Ulster) for Morrissey, Dylan O’Grady (UCD RFC/Leinster) for Mallon (both 69). Not used: Josh Hanlon (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster), Oisin Michel (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), Tony Butler (Garryowen FC/Munster).

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)