Match Report

England Under-20s keep Grand Slam dream alive after beating Ireland

Shane Jennings is tackled by Jack van Poortvliet 1/7/2021
Bullish England overpowered Ireland 24-15 to take a giant leap towards claiming a Six Nations Under-20s Grand Slam in the battle of the top two at Cardiff Arms Park.

Bullish England overpowered Ireland 24-15 to take a giant leap towards claiming a Six Nations Under-20s Grand Slam in the battle of the top two at Cardiff Arms Park.

Alan Dickens’ side are chasing their first title since 2017 and just Wales and Italy stand in their way after they extended their perfect start to the 2021 campaign with a hard-fought victory over 2019 winners Ireland.

Flanker Ewan Richards’ double plus scores for Sam Riley and Nahum Merigan saw off a brave Irish effort in the final game of Thursday’s triple-header.

Ireland crossed through lock Alex Soroka but suffered their first defeat of the Championship after bonus point triumphs against Scotland and Wales.

ENGLAND EDGE TIGHT FIRST HALF

The intensity was sky high from the off with both sides looking to maintain their 100% starts with neither willing to give an inch, as small errors and penalties broke up any momentum.

Ireland blinked first as England piled men into an attacking maul five metres out before No.8 Nahum Merigan stretched out to break the deadlock.

Fly-half Fin Smith converted from the touchline to put England 7-0 up approaching the end of the first quarter.

Ireland’s skipper and No.8 Alex Kendellen showed why he is so highly thought of with one particularly bruising carry through the middle of the English 22.

England came again at maul time but Richie Murphy’s defending 2019 champions had learnt their lesson, holding up the English drive to win a scrum turnover.

Physicality on both sides was by no means lacking and Gloucester’s Jack Clement embodied the full blooded English defence with an emphatic dump tackle on Irish inside centre Cathal Forde after 30 minutes.

Stunning Italy shock Scotland in Round 3

As the half drew to a close, England’s power game started to tell and when Irish winger Chris Cosgrave strayed offside close to the line he was sent to the sin bin with his team previously warned about infringing.

England got their wires crossed as they attempted to bulldoze over from another maul and 14-man Ireland hung on until the break.

IRISH GRIP ON TITLE SLIPS

Ireland’s matchwinner in Round 2 Nathan Doak got them on the board with a penalty early in the second period, having missed a long range effort just three minutes into the match.

But England hit back in some style with Worcester Warriors fly-half Smith showing why he has been mixing it in the Premiership with a lovely pass that found the impressive Arthur Relton in space.

French flair too much for Wales to handle in Round 3

The Exeter Chiefs man sent the ball through the hands and it eventually found flanker Richards who made the most of the overlap to crash over in the corner.

After England’s victory over Germany at Euro 2020, Richards showed off his own footballing skills to take advantage of a loose ball by grubbering through and dotting down for his second try in less than ten minutes that crucially stretched the lead to two converted tries.

Ireland were handed a path back into the game when Merigan caught Kendellen’s head with his shoulder and was shown yellow.

Kendellen sprinted off for an HIA but his team handled things just fine without him, kicking to the corner and mauling over from 20 metres out with second row Soroka the man with the final touch.

Doak kicked the conversion to make it a one score game and set up an enthralling final quarter.

England captain Jack van Poortvliet showed all his experience with a brilliant kick into the space behind Ireland to keep the men in green camped in their own 22.

And the territory paid off when Ireland infringed and try machine Riley piled over from yet another maul for his fourth of the campaign to re-establish England’s 14-point lead.

Ireland threw barrage after barrage at the English line and finally prevailed five minutes from time when replacement Eoin de Buitlear powered over from close range but it proved to be merely a consolation.

Tempers flared at the end of the game with Daniel Okeke yellow carded as Ireland’s 10-game winning streak came to an end.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

England’s Jack Clement epitomised the colossal physicality shown by his side with ferocious carries and even bigger tackles in defence.

The back rower was everywhere on the pitch and a permanent nuisance at the breakdown for Ireland.