Second-Half Rally Not Enough For Ireland U-20s In Treviso

Second half tries from Henry Walker and Tom Wood provided a decent platform for the Ireland Under-20 Men (sponsored by PwC), but they were unable to pounce for a late win over Italy in Treviso.

UNDER-20 MEN’S SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 5:

Friday, March 14 –

ITALY UNDER-20 MEN 15 IRELAND UNDER-20 MEN 12, Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso
Scorers: Italy: Tries: Alessandro Drago, Alessio Caiolo-Serra; Con: Pietro Celi; Pen: Pietro Celi
Ireland: Tries: Henry Walker, Tom Wood; Con: Sam Wisniewski
HT: Italy 15 Ireland 0

In the end, a fast start from the Italians despite losing hooker Nicolò Michele Corvasce saw them beat Ireland for the first time in an U-20 Men’s Six Nations match, securing a fourth place finish in the process.

Building on Pietro Celi’s early penalty, winger Alessandro Drago turned a lineout steal into a classy counter-attacking try, and replacement Alessio Caiolo-Serra muscled in under the posts inside the 12-minute mark.

Trailing 15-0 at half-time, Ireland responded in encouraging fashion with Walker’s try off a 46th-minute lineout maul. The visitors managed to capitalise on a second Italian sin-binning, this time for flanker Anthony Italo Miranda.

Wood, who started the game at out-half and finished it at full-back, crossed on the hour mark from a Ciarán Mangan pass, rewarding the sharpest Irish attack of the night in wet conditions.

Replacement Sam Wisniewski’s conversion closed the gap to three points, but Italy managed to hang on during a tense final quarter with Michael Foy going closes to scoring that elusive third try.

A third straight defeat for Neil Doak’s young side, coupled with Scotland picking up two bonus points against new champions France, meant that Ireland finished bottom of the U-20 Men’s Six Nations table for the first time.

The second half of their international season will see them return to Italy in late June for the World Rugby U-20 Championship. Interestingly, they will a chance to avenge this loss against the Azzurrini in a pool which also contains New Zealand and Georgia.

Giving his reaction after missing out on a winning finish to the Six Nations, Ireland U-20 captain Éanna McCarthy said: “We spoke before the game, in the huddles in the dressing room, we were saying we have to start fast in that first 10 minutes.

“We didn’t do that though, we left in that penalty off kick-off and then that try straight after put us on the back foot. It is in the team to start strong, but it just wasn’t in us tonight, I suppose.

“You can’t fault the effort from the lads at all, the work-rate. During this campaign we have put ourselves on the back foot, and we have kind of come back and just been off by that small bit, that last try or a dropped ball here and there.

“It’s just back to the drawing board now for the World Cup. There’s some good stuff to take forward. The coaching staff are driving the standards they want, and as players we need to drive the same standards as them and drive on from here now.”

TIME LINE: 1 minute – Italy penalty: Pietro Celi – 3-0; 2 mins – Italy yellow card: Nicolò Michele Corvasce; 6 mins – Italy try: Alessandro Drago – 8-0; conversion: missed by Pietro Celi – 8-0; 11 mins – Italy try: Alessio Caiolo-Serra – 13-0; conversion: Pietro Celi – 15-0; Half-time – Italy 15 Ireland 0; 46 mins – Ireland try: Henry Walker – 15-5; conversion: missed by Tom Wood; 52 mins – Italy yellow card: Anthony Italo Miranda; 61 mins – Ireland try: Tom Wood – 15-10; conversion: Sam Wisniewski – 15-12; Full-time – Italy 15 Ireland 12

ITALY U-20: Gianmarco Pietramala (Unione Rugby Firenze); Alessandro Drago (Mogliano Veneto Rugby), Federico Zanandrea (Mogliano Veneto Rugby), Edoardo Todaro (Northampton Saints Academy), Malik Faissal (Rugby Parma FC 1931); Pietro Celi (Livorno Rugby), Niccolò Beni (Biarritz Olympique); Christian Brasini (Livorno Rugby), Nicolò Michele Corvasce (SS Lazio Rugby 1927), Bruno Vallesi (Rugby Viadana 1970), Mattia Midena (Rugby Paese), Tommaso Redondi (Verona Rugby), Anthony Italo Miranda (Rugby Paese), Nelson Casartelli (Rugby Paese), Giacomo Milano (Rugby Noceto FC) (capt).

Replacements used: Alessio Caiolo-Serra (Stade Olympique Chambérien Rugby) for Pietramala (4-13 mins), Nicola Bolognini (Rugby Badia 1981) for Vallesi (23), Sergio Pelliccioli (Rugby Petrarca) for Brasini (47), Caiolo-Serra for Corvasce, Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi (Bath Rugby Academy) for Midena (both 53), Roberto Fasti (Rugby Casale) for Pietramala (56), Carlo Antonio Bianchi (Unione Rugby Firenze) for Milano (62), Matteo Bellotto (Mogliano Veneto Rugby) for Beni (65), Riccardo Ioannucci (Rugby Petrarca) for Celi (73).

IRELAND U-20: Daniel Green (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster); Charlie Molony (UCD RFC/Leinster), Ciarán Mangan (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Eoghan Smyth (Cork Constitution FC/Munster), Gene O’Leary Kareem (UCC RFC/Munster); Tom Wood (Garryowen FC/Munster), Clark Logan (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster); Billy Bohan (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), Henry Walker (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster), Alex Mullan (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Mahon Ronan (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster), Billy Corrigan (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster), David Walsh (Terenure College RFC/Leinster), Michael Foy (UCC RFC/Munster), Éanna McCarthy (Galwegians RFC/Connacht) (capt).

Replacements used: Bobby Power (Galwegians RFC/Connacht) for Walsh (half-time), Mikey Yarr (UCD RFC/Leinster) for Walker, Tom McAllister (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster) for Mullan, Conor Kennelly (Highfield RFC/Munster) for Ronan (all 53 mins), Paddy Moore (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) for Bohan (57), Sam Wisniewski (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) for Green (59), Connor Fahy (Clontarf FC/Leinster) for O’Leary Kareem (68), Chris O’Connor (Terenure College RFC/Leinster) for Logan (77).

Referee: Katsuki Furuse (Japan)