By Jonathan Bowen
In what has been a very entertaining and interesting U20 Rugby World Championship group stage, the Irish team have managed to overcome challenging conditions and personal grief with the death of ex-U20 coach and Munster Rugby coach Greig Oliver in South Africa to secure a spot in the semi-final of the competition where they will meet South Africa.
Ireland started off the group stage with a wobble by drawing with England 34-34 in their opening game. It was a tight and hard-fought match where both teams secured the bonus point by scoring four tries a piece. Ireland should have won the game comfortably, but the English side had obviously learned its lessons from losing to them in Cork at the Six Nations tournament back in March this year. The English won the scrum and pack battles and with Sam Prendergast having a day with the boot he would rather forget, it was a tough day for the team, however Ireland exposed England’s weak defense and their ability to stop the wingers from attacking the line which in the end meant both teams shared the points.
Ireland’s next game was against Australia. In torrential rain, the Irish conceded an early try but their experience paid off in the end when they secured the win, 30-10, and the bonus point by scoring four tries in the match. It was a game Ireland had to win to stay in the hunt for a semi-final spot. The bonus point win meant a win in their match against Fiji should be enough to secure a semi final spot.
Ireland’s last pool game was against Fiji. Eleven changes were made to the team that lined up against Australia and with the announcement that Ireland U20’s player Jack Oliver’s father (Ex-U20 and Munster Assistant Coach) Greig Oliver had passed away in a tragic accident the day before the Fijian’s presented the Irish team a commentative jersey in honor of Greig prior to the kick off before preforming the Cibi. Ireland just needed to win the game and, in what was a very entertaining game, Ireland secured a comfortable 46-27 win earning them the bonus point and the win. England would go onto draw in their game against Australia which meant the Irish team had secured top spot in the group and a semi-final match against South Africa.
Ireland’s semi-final promises to be a tough match as the South Africans lost their group game to Italy, so this game is going to be tough and tight as both teams will want to secure a spot in the final. England will play France in the other semi-final. Both semi-finals can be watched live on World Rugby’s website or YouTube channel.
In other rugby news from Ireland this week it was announced that on February 3, 2024 Munster (URC champions in 2023) will play the New Zealand Canterbury Crusaders (7 times Super Rugby Champions) in an exhibition game with Parc Ui Chaoimh being favored to host the game with its extra capacity and its successful hosting of the Munster v South Africa A game last year.
Ex-Munster Head Coach Rob Penney will oversee the Crusaders and with John Ryan returning to Munster after his stint with the Chiefs in NZ it promises to be a memorable event. This match will no doubt kick off many discussions about more games to be played between the northern and southern hemisphere provincial teams or even a Rugby World Club Championship?
With the count down to the Rugby World Cup in France well under way, the Rugby Championship kicks off this weekend. This will be our first chance to see how and what the All Blacks, South African, Australian and Argentinian teams look like for this year. This promises to be an intriguing tournament as it is plausible that these teams will not need to play each other during the World Cup. The Australian team will be the one to watch as Eddie Jones since he has taken over the job as head coach has been all talk about Australia’s chances of winning, but can he deliver? That is the question.
Ian Foster and ex-Ireland Head Coach Joe Schmidt will be focusing the All Blacks on the task ahead as they build towards the Rugby World Cup. They will want to build momentum by going through the Rugby Championship unbeaten and proving they can be a threat at the World Cup.
Defending World Champions South Africa will be up for this challenge. Ex-Munster head Coach Rassie Erasmus will have his eye on the prize and expect him to play a lot of mind games during the competition as he looks to gain an edge over his competitors.
Argentina will be looking to get as much game time as possible during this period. I don’t expect them to be a threat to winning the competition, but they will be optimistic about their chances of pinching a win against Australia. Ex-Wallabies coach Michael Cheika will lead the Argentina team and will be looking to get one over current Wallabies’ coach Eddie Jones.
I will be covering this year’s tournament for The Irish Examiner USA so look out for my weekly articles on the progress of the tournament as we build towards the Rugby World Cup in France.
If you want to keep up to date with all the latest rugby news you can find me on Instagram @jb052006 or drop me an email at jonathan.joseph.bowen@gmail.com.