“World U20 Rugby Championships: Convincing 55-15 win for Ireland over Italy
Even with their commanding first round victory of 55-15 against Italy, marked by scoring eight tries against two, Evan O’Connell, Ireland’s captain, has emphasised the requirement for continued betterment before their forthcoming match with Georgia this coming Thursday in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship held in Cape Town.
The convincing performance from Willie Faloon’s Irish was notable particularly given the tough competition their Italian rivals presented during the Six Nations match-up. Sam Berman’s remarkable three-try contribution provided a sturdy groundwork for this initial Champion’s victory, a feat not achieved since New Zealand’s defeat in 2016 by the Irish.
O’Connell conceded satisfaction with the initial match performance, but highlighted the necessity for further improvements ahead of next weeks challenge, following their triumph at DHL Stadium.
There was early fruition as they secured the bonus point just 27 minutes in, thence a fifth try before half-time, this put them comfortably in the lead at half-time with 31-10 following a spirited early effort.
Late substitute alterations became necessary, replacing the debut-ready Max Flynn with Bryn Ward, offspring of past Ulster star and Irish international, Andy Ward.
Opening quarter saw an Irish side exercising 64 per cent possession resulted in two tries scored by former Munster and Irish internationals’ nephews, Danny Sheahan, and team captain O’Connell, delivering suitably robust finishes.
Novel regulations were subjected to testing during the competition, with kickers feeling the pressure from the mandated 30 second limit for conversions and penalties. Noteworthy incident led to Mattia Midena, the Italian lock, being briefly sidelined after his cutting-edge mouth guard indicated a need for withdrawal.
During the past encounter with Italy in Cork where the win was sealed by a late try from Seán Edogbo, Ireland used their set-piece strategy to great success, scoring their initial half tries via penalties on the corner. In three of the successful lineouts, Edogbo gained control. The opening try manifested from a skilful play where Berman and Hugo McLaughlin collaborated, shifting the ball to hooker Sheahan, who victoriously sent it over in the left corner.”
The Italian team retaliated swiftly and established a lead of 10-5 within 10 minutes, capitalising on some lacklustre defence strategies. Lorenzo Elettri, the left-winger, was successful in scoring after initiating a lineout from the right corner to achieve a score on the opposite end. Martino Pucciariello, the son of iconic Munster prop Freddie, successfully executed a conversion as well as a penalty. However, Ireland dominated the latter part of the initial half.
Amid chaos from a miscued Italian lineout, Captain O’Connell managed to strike after Ireland had been shoved into touch on account of a penalty within the 22. Strong on confidence, they executed a successful manoeuvre which entailed a well-orchestrated back pass by centre Finn Treacy. This allowed Luke Murphy, the number eight, to sprint across and score after a quarter of an hour, putting Ireland ahead 12-10 with Jack Murphy delivering the conversion this time.
Subsequently, Berman, who is heading to Ulster following a commendable stint with Terenure College in the AIL, returned to the under-20s for the first time since the previous summer’s competition in South Africa. Demonstrating his expertise and skill, he delivered two tries before half-time.
Upon earning the bonus point in the 27th minute through another lineout steal from Edogbo, Berman added to Ireland’s lead by cutting through two defenders to score and causing a 21-point gap by the half-time interval.
Italy fought back by scoring a try shortly into the second half via flanker Luca Bellucci, following a high tackle – which earned Edogbo a yellow card upon reviewing – but Ireland retaliated rapidly as Berman completed his hat-trick after additional well-coordinated pressure.
Though both teams exhausted their reserves, points continued to be scored by Ireland, even after loosehead Jacob Boyd was penalised with a yellow card. Finn Treacy scored another try, followed swiftly by replacement centre Hugh Gavin’s pivotal role in Seán Naughton’s try. Naughton had replaced Jack Murphy after the half-time break, and proceeded to score the eighth and final try, completely outplaying the opposition.
Looking ahead, Ireland now shifts their focus onto Georgia up next on Thursday, with Australia to play five days later. The runners-up from last year are eager to clinch the trophy for the very first time in the tournament’s history.
In a heated match between Ireland and Italy, Ireland’s scorers were S Berman with three tries, S Naughton with a try, a penalty kick, and three conversions. J Murphy, also, successfully completed three conversions. D Sheahan, L Murphy, E O’Connell, and F Treacy scored one try each. As for Italy, L Elettri, L Bellucci both got a try each with M Pucciariello making a successful penalty and conversion.
During the match, Ireland’s team was led by B O’Connor and included D Colbert, F Treacy, S Berman, H McLaughlin, J Murphy, and O Coffey. Substitutes included the likes of S Naughton for J Murphy, H Gavin for Berman, and J McKillop for Ward. Later stages of the game saw J O’Riordan replace Coffey and B Corrigan coming in for O’Connell.
The Italian team, on the other hand, was spearheaded by M Bellini and composed of players like M Scalabrin, F Zanandrea, N Bozzo, L Elettri, and M Pucciariello. Later, T Redondi was substituted in for Midena. Other notable substitutions included S Brisighella replacing Pucciariello and Redondi being substituted in place of Zucconi. The match was officiated by Sabu Abulashvili from Georgia.