Match Reaction: Ireland U-21 34 Italy U-21 9

Click here for match reaction from the Ireland Under-21s’ 6 Nations win against Italy U-21 at Dubarry Park in Athlone on Friday night.

…Ireland Under-21 coach Mark McDermott talks to his players…

IRELAND UNDER-21 COACH MARK MCDERMOTT:

– ON IRELAND’S PERFORMANCE –

“It was a result and that’s all we’ll put it down as. It was about 25% of the performance we put in in our last game against Leinster ‘A’.

“We had a nervy start – we’d 16 new caps out there tonight. But the main priority was to get the victory, and we got it and there’s a lot on the drawing board for us to work on for next week (v France).

“One of the positives was that we got opportunities and we scored from those opportunities. There were three or four other opportunities that we should have put away, but at least, it shows we have scoring ability. It’s a first win – happy days – but we’ll have to crank it up a little bit for France.”

– ON AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT –

“We’ve a few areas to improve on – our scrummaging, our ball presentation at the breakdown. And on the defensive side, our line speed and our ability to win the collisons.”

IRELAND FLANKER AND MAN OF THE MATCH ROSS NOONAN:

– ON PLAYING IN FRONT OF THE TV CAMERAS AT DUBARRY PARK –

“It was one of the biggest games that the lads, myself included, have probably played in. It was a huge honour and hopefully we can build on this performance over the next few weeks.”

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