Ireland and England played out a thrilling 34-34 draw as the World Rugby U20 Championship got underway in South Africa on Saturday.
The Irish are current age-grade Six Nations Grand Slam champions, securing the title with a 36-24 triumph over the English back in March.
However, they were met by stubborn resistance this time around with their opponents pushing them all the way and almost snatching the victory right at the end.
Ireland went into the break with a 15-10 advantage thanks to tries from Sam Prendergast, George Hadden and James McNabney.
Prendergast struggled off the tee though and they paid the price as, following Asher Opoku-Fordjour’s try in the first half, England went ahead in the second period thanks to a penalty try and a score from Jacob Cusick.
To the Irishmen’s credit, they responded well and looked to have sealed the win through Ruadhan Quinn, Henry McErlean and Hugh Cooney, but a Connor Slevin penalty and Cusick’s effort 10 minutes from time meant that the teams had to be content with a share of the spoils.
Click here for Saturday’s results
In the Six Nations clash between these teams, England were bested physically while they struggled to deal with the ball movement of the Irish in attack.
The latter was still a problem for the Red Rose as Ireland broke their line on a number of occasions, but this time they did manage to control the forward exchanges.
England’s big runners often made it over the gain line and, after their opponents were caught offside, Slevin kicked them ahead early on.
However, Ireland showed their class to wrestle control of the match and go 10-3 ahead thanks to two well-worked tries. The final acts came from close range, with Prendergast and Hadden crossing the whitewash, but the build-up was impressive for both.
Hugh Gavin on the left wing was a constant threat and the handling from both forwards and backs alike caused significant problems for the English defence.
But the raw power was coming from the men in white and loosehead Opoku-Fordjour scored a brilliant individual try by shrugging off several defenders and touching down.
Slevin’s conversion levelled matters, but it would not stay that way for long as McNabney went over on the stroke of half-time to give the U20 Six Nations holders the lead.
Ireland had the momentum, but England hit back well at the start of the second period, earning a penalty try, before putting together a brilliant move which ended in Cusick scoring.
The English held a nine-point advantage but Ireland have both quality and confidence, and duly responded with Quinn, McErlean and Cooney all going over.
It left England with an uphill battle, but Slevin’s three-pointer gave them hope of a comeback before Cusick completed his brace to put the match in the balance.
Cooney’s red card for a dangerous hit on Cusick tilted it England’s way and they pressurised the opposition line with the clock in the red. However, the ball was knocked on, ending a thrilling game but leaving both sides slightly disappointed.
Hosts South Africa overcome brave Georgia
South Africa got their campaign off to a winning start, but Georgia made it an uneasy 80 minutes for the host country.
They ended up claiming a relatively comfortable 33-23 win, but the result was only put beyond doubt when Ethan Hooker crossed the whitewash late in the game.
Georgia looked overawed early on with Jean Smith’s penalty and Katlego Letebele’s try giving the Junior Boks a 10-0 advantage.
Lasha Tsikhistavi hit back for the Junior Lelos, but South Africa held a 20-7 advantage at the break thanks to Jurenzo Julius’ effort.
That deficit was cut to two points thanks to a brace of penalties and Luka Tsirekidze’s try, but Smith increased that gap following successive three-pointers before Hooker’s decisive score late on.
Stepping up under pressure 💪
Luka Tsirekioze coming through for @GeorgianRugby #WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/29TRkC8Zc5
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) June 24, 2023
New Zealand fight back to edge Wales
New Zealand came from 19-5 behind at the break to score 22 unanswered points and eventually defeat Wales 27-26.
The Welsh were exceptional in the opening period, touching down three times through Lewis Lloyd, Dan Edwards and Morgan Morse.
However, they could not maintain their intensity and the Baby Blacks managed to find their way back into the match.
Macca Springer started the comeback before Sam Hainsworth-Fa’aofo and Che Clark also touched down to rescue New Zealand, rendering Sam Scarfe’s late effort moot.
Australia survive Fiji scare
New Zealand’s trans-Tasman rivals Australia were also made to fight hard before they eventually earned a 46-37 triumph over Fiji.
At one stage, the Pacific Islanders were 37-29 in front with the Junior Wallabies also down to 14 men following Marley Pearce’s red card. However, late tries from Mason Gordon and Darby Lancaster won the game for Australia.
Liam Bowron, Nick Bloomfield, Lancaster, David Vaihu and Ronan Leahy also went over, while Waqa Nalaga, Moti Murray, Ratu Kavaia Tagivetaua and Timoci Nakalevu crossed the whitewash for the Fijians.
Big wins for Argentina and France
Argentina produced an impressive display to easily defeat an improving Italy outfit 43-15.
Juan Baronio starred, scoring one of their six tries and adding 11 more points via the boot.
Eliseo Chiavassa, Mateo Soler, Efraín Elías, Valentino Minoyetti and Benjamín Elizalde scored their other tries, with Dewi Passarella and David Odiase responding for the Azzurrini, who had Destiny Aminu sent off early on for a dangerous tackle.
Meanwhile, France also recorded a big victory as they proved far too strong for Japan, running in 11 tries in a 75-12 victory.
Nicolas Depoortere got the ball rolling before Hugo Reus, Marko Gazzotti and Noa Zinzen secured the bonus-point in the first half.
They did not relent and they crossed the whitewash seven more times via Esteban Capilla, Gazotti, Mathis Ferte, Depoortere, Léo Carbonneau, Brent Liufau and Andy Timo.
READ MORE: The 15 players who have won the World Rugby U20 Championship and Rugby World Cup
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