Ireland 47-27 Fiji
Ireland have booked their place in the semi-finals of the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in South Africa, putting a traumatic 48 hours behind them to defeat Fiji 47-27 in Stellenbosch.
Richie Murphy's side found themselves surrounded by tragedy in recent days after the sudden death of Greig Oliver in Cape Town yesterday. The Munster elite performance officer, and father of Ireland U20 out-half Jack, died in a paragliding accident on Monday, with players wearing black armbands and observing a minute's silence before this afternoon's game.
Players also remembered Andrew O'Donnell and Max Wall before kick-off at Danie Craven Stadium. The pair, who died suddenly on holidays in Greece at the weekend, were known to several members of the Ireland team at St Michael's College in Dublin.
In difficult circumstances, the Irish squad showed huge character to hold off a spirited Fiji and secure the bonus-point win to secure their place in Sunday's semi-finals, finishing top of Pool B after England and Australia drew 22-22.
Aside from a brief period early in the second half, Ireland were the better side throughout against Fiji, leading 26-12 at half time after a pair of tries for Brian Gleeson and one each for Danny Sheahan and George Hadden.
And although Fiji got back within four points, two Gus McCarthy tries, either side of a stunning effort from Andrew Osborne saw the Six Nations champions ease their way to victory.
Having come close to scoring in the opening two minutes when a dominant maul was stopped short of the line, Ireland controlled possession and territory early on, aided by a tight kick-chase which consistently put Fiji under pressure.
It was only a matter of time before Ireland would get their opening score, and it arrived on six minutes when Gleeson barreled over to score, with John Devine, Joe Hopes and Evan O'Connell’s strong carries initially getting them into position.
Lynch converted to make it 7-0, and they extended the advantage to 12-0 shortly after when another offside penalty against the Fijians allowed Ireland launch an attacking lineout five metres out.
Sheahan found Hopes in the middle of the lineout, before collecting the ball at the back of the maul and dotting down to grab Ireland’s second try.
Fiji had hardy touched the ball in the opening 10 minutes, but looked impressive on their first meaningful attack. And after forcing Ireland into the concession of a penalty, they worked their way up to the line before loosehead Moses McGoon picked and drove over to score from close range, while the Isiah Ravula conversion made it 12-7 after a quarter of an hour.
Ireland’s 12-point buffer was restored by the 20th minute when Hadden crossed for his second try of this championship, burrowing over from close range to score after a dominant scrum had put Ireland on the front foot. Lynch’s second conversion left the Six Nations champions comfortably in front at 19-7.
Ireland knew a bonus-point win would be enough to secure their place in one of Sunday’s semi-finals, and they hit that four-try mark seven minutes before half time when Gleeson squeezed over to get his second of the day. The Tipperary man put the final touches on the score, but the heavy lifting was done by Connacht centre Devine, whose powerful carry against the grain had brought Ireland within inches of the line.
Lynch’s conversion made it 26-7, but there was time for Fiji to give themselves a lifeline just before the break, out-half Ravula finding a gap between Oscar Cawley and Sam Berman to dive over and score a second Fijian try, leaving the half time gap at 26-12.
If Ireland thought they were cruising towards the semi-finals, they were given a wake-up call early in the second half when Fiji broke clear for their third try.
After a Fiji lineout in their own half, Ireland out-half Lynch had shot up in the line to try intercept a Ratuva pass, but misjudged his run which allowed centre Waqa Nalaga break into space, and Nalaga popped the ball out to his captain Moti Murray who held off the tackle of Henry McErlean to score.
Ratuva missed the chance to close the gap even further though, going over the shot-clock on his conversion attempt, which left the score at 26-17 in Ireland’s favour.
Fiji were growing in confidence though, and Ireland’s play was becoming sloppy. Handling errors saw them cough up a chance in the 22 after a dominant maul, before another knock-on from James Nicholson in midfield saw the ball bounce kindly for Pateresio Finau, who ran in to score a fourth Fijian try on 48 minutes.
Again, the damage was limited by Ratuva missing the conversion, but with Ireland’s lead now down to 26-22, head coach Richie Murphy quickly went to his bench, bringing in Sam Prendergast, Paddy McCarthy and Gus McCarthy who all quickly made an impact.
A penalty won in midfield was pumped towards the corner by Prendergast, and while Ireland initially lost the lineout, they recovered the ball for Gus McCarthy to power over the line, with Prendergast’s conversion making it 33-22 on 55 minutes.
It had become a disjointed second half, with both sides plagued by lineout issues, while Ireland saw two promising attacks ended in quick succession when wings Nicholson and Osborne both passed directly into touch within minutes of each other.
The latter made up for that on 66 minutes though, breaking through for the game’s best try. It originated from a midfield lineout, with Ireland going off the top to Prendergast, who drew in the Fijian defence by carrying right up to the line.
Osborne ran a great line off Prendergast’s inside shoulder, and after drawing in the defence, he popped back inside to his fellow Kildare man who pierced his way through the centre of the pitch to score under the posts, with Prendergast again converting to make it 40-22.
Gus McCarthy added his second try of the game late on, as Ireland looked to improve their points difference, but Fiji had the final say with a try of their own through Manieta Navonovono, despite ending the game with 14 players following a Sireli Masiwini yellow card.
Ireland U20: Henry McErlean; James Nicholson, Sam Berman, John Devine, Andrew Osborne; Matthew Lynch, Oscar Cawley; George Hadden, Danny Sheahan, Fiachna Barrett; Evan O'Connell, Joe Hopes; Diarmuid Mangan (capt), Dan Barron, Brian Gleeson.
Replacements: Max Clein, George Morris, Ronan Foxe, Charlie Irvine, Paddy McCarthy, Sam Prendergast, Hugh Gavin.
Fiji U20: Peni Waqalala; Sireli Masiwini, Waqa Nalaga, Pateresio Finau, Manieta Navonovono; Isaiah Ravula, Philip Baselala; Moses McGoon, Joeli Nainoca, Breyton Legge; Mesake Vocevoce, Nalani May; Timoci Nakalevu, Moti Murray (capt), Juda Saumaisue.
Replacements: Josh Kina, Marika Toga, Lasaro Vuluma, Semi Tokitani, Sakenasa Nalasi, Zach Kama, Frank Ralogaivau, Netava Saukuru.
