It all began so, so well for the Electric Ireland Under-20s before a potent Wales side ran away with their Six Nations opener at Donnybrook Stadium.
There were a number of positives to take for the home fans, which included Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt, but the final scoreline of Ireland 24-35 Wales brooked little cause for complaint.
Nigel Carolan’s lads started like a train on fire [rushing us into mixing metaphors] and led 8-0 after seven minutes. Johnny McPhillips kicked a penalty and was the catalyst for Cillian Gallagher’s try.
Wales, who entered the game as slight favourites, struck back with a penalty and a converted Dafydd Hughes try to lead 10-8 after 25 minutes. Penalties were traded before McPhillips put his side 14-13 in front again. The Welsh lads were not done yet.
After another brutally intense period of pressure, Adam Beard boshed over and impressive outhalf Dan Jones’ conversion made it 20-14 at the break.
Ireland’s half-time natter surely did not involve shipping another try 55 seconds into the second stanza. Jones breezed over and made it 25-14. A Ross McBurney carry, and offload to John Poland, was Ireland’s reply and it got louder when sub flanker Kelvin Brown finished off a rolling maul to nab an unconverted try.
Any hope of an Irish comeback was dashed, however, when Jones chipped over another penalty and Wales centre Harri Millard scored a counter-attack try in the final quarter. Shane Daly got over for what proved to be a late Irish consolation as Carolan’s side fought to the very end.
Here are the four Electric Ireland U20s, and two Welshmen, that stood out during the contest.
Johnny McPhillips (Ireland)
Confident penalty to get the Queens and Ulster outhalf (pictured above) off the mark, followed by a sublime cross-kick that eventually led to Cillian Gallagher’s early try. Tried his best to keep his team moving forward in the second half but Wales were on the up and bashing Ireland back with regularity.
Harri Millard (Wales)
Grew as the game went on, and he was big enough to start with. The sizeable centre kept Ireland guessing with clever chips and reverse passes and was a brutish ball-carrier. Possesses great pace too and showed that off in the second half to finish off an attacking dart up the left.
No.13 for @WelshRugbyUnion U20s Harri Millard is huge. Must eat breeze-blocks for breakfast
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 5, 2016
Will Connors (Ireland)
The UCD openside tackled Welshmen as if his young life depended on it. Saved what looked like a certain try after 20 minutes and forced a turnover in the process. Put his body on the line and paid the price. After hitting double figures for first half tackles, Connors was replaced at the break.
Shane Daly (Ireland)
Popped up all over the park and, more often than not, he was making huge gains and line breaks for his team. Involved in Ireland’s opener and a 30-yard foray led to another McPhillips penalty in the first half. Unfortunately, was needed more in defence than attack in the second half. Deserved his late try in the corner.
Dan Jones (Wales)
Every inch the next Dan Biggar, apart from dancing a jig when kicking at goal. Set the tempo for his team and kicked well out of hand and off the tee. Not afraid to roll up his sleeves, he never shirked a defensive task. Scored a decent try after the break to turn Ireland’s molehill into Carrauntoohil.
James Ryan (Ireland)
If the Lansdowne and Leinster lock can be nurtured and, crucially, stay injury free, he could be featuring for his province’s senior set-up within two years. 6′ 8″ and just under 17-stone, the Electric Ireland Under-20s captain is also their pack’s talisman. Clear-outs, hefty tackling, clean breaks and even an offload. Remained on, urging his side on, to the bitter end. One to watch. Closely.
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