WALES U20s 12-40 IRELAND U20s
Ireland made it two wins from two in their Under-20 Six Nations campaign as they beat Wales 40-12 in the Cardiff Arms Park.
The bonus-point victory sees Richie Murphy's side go top of the table ahead of England on points difference.
"The boys dug deep, it's never easy coming to Wales and beating them in their back yard," said man of the match Nathan Doak.
"We fought right through to the end. Wales were physical but we've worked hard and we knew they were going to bring it to us. We're happy to deliver a win."
Cathal Forde barges over for the first try of the game #WAlvIRE #RTERugby - live on @RTE2 @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/KDmo2DJ8st
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) June 25, 2021
The visitors dominated the opening exchanges and Cathal Forde's try, barging over after receiving the ball from a scrum under the posts, was just reward for 13 minutes’ toil.
Wales out-half Sam Costelow missed a long-range penalty effort before Ireland grabbed a second, this time a length-of-the-pitch move that ended with Jamie Osborne setting Chris Cosgrave free for a run-in from 22 yards out.
Cosgrave grabs Ireland's second #WALvIRE #RTERugby - live on @RTE2 @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/itSTfsz35i
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) June 25, 2021
Impressive scrum-half Doak, who finished with 20 points, converted and soon added a penalty to hand Ireland a 17-0 half-time lead.
Ireland’s third try came just after the break when Doak ran back a loose kick from half-way before offloading to Osbourne and taking a return pass to touch down in the corner.
Doak brilliance leads to Ireland's third #WALvIRE #RTERugby #RTESport - live on @RTE2 @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/7Bu9Rf545R
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) June 25, 2021
Flanker Alex Mann grabbed a close-range effort for Wales as they tried to get a foothold and when Shane Jennings was in the sin-bin, scored their second try through centre Carrick McDonough with 20 minutes to play.
However, two Doak penalties kept Ireland clear of the hosts and when replacement Daniel Okeke got on the end of a lineout maul Ireland had their bonus point in the bag.
Bonus point for Ireland as Daniel Okeke scores #RTERugby #RTESport pic.twitter.com/gVlEzXEC3d
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) June 25, 2021
Skipper Alex Kendellen’s late try put the icing on the cake.
The victory was Ireland’s tenth in a row at this grade and sets the team up perfectly for Thursday’s game against England, who have beaten France and Scotland, at the same venue (8pm, live on RTÉ News and RTÉ Player).
Doak added: "We've looked at England and we know the threat that they bring but we fully back ourselves to do a job on them.
"We’ll be going in their with great confidence and belief to produce a performance that we produced tonight."
Kendellen caps five-star performance #RTERugby #RTESport pic.twitter.com/81Zq5zkC5x
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) June 25, 2021
