Easterby: The Performance Showed Their Pride In Wearing An Irish Jersey Again

Easterby’s youngsters matched the 2022 squad’s clean sweep by winning all three matches in Bloemfontein, including last night’s Toyota Challenge clash which saw them come from behind to beat the Toyota Cheetahs 33-24.

Captained by James Culhane, the 2022 Under-20 Six Nations Player of the Championship, Emerging Ireland trailed the Cheetahs on three occasions, but finished the game strongly with tries from replacements Matthew Devine and Danny Sheahan.

Speaking in the aftermath, head coach Easterby said: “Happy with so much of that game, but we knew it wasn’t going to be easy up against a really physical Cheetahs team who brought a lot of pressure with their linespeed, especially in the first half.

“They’ve got the ability to score from anywhere, as they showed late on, so just delighted for the lads. Throughout the couple of weeks together that we’ve had, they’ve worked their asses off.

“I don’t think the result at the end would have changed the view of how we’ve worked throughout this trip. But it just shows you the guts and the bravery and the determination that these young lads have.

“To stay in the game and get the result at the end was a real credit to them and the work that they’ve put in over the past couple of weeks.”

Having overcome the Airlink Pumas (36-24) and Western Force (29-24) in the last week and with another tight turnaround to contend with, the final Emerging Ireland selection showed 11 personnel changes, and youth was very much to the fore.

The average age of the matchday squad was just 21, the youngest being loosehead prop Alex Usanov who only turned 19 in July. Seven of his Ireland U-20 team-mates from last season also got a chance to test themselves against the Cheetahs, who were recent Currie Cup semi-finalists.

Frans Steyn’s side had the better of the first half, with two of their three tries coming from powerful lineout mauls, but the tourists, who were 17-7 behind at one stage, failed to panic, and were able to go up a gear or two at key stages to claim a deserved victory.

“Just real credit to them, the way they’ve worked,” reflected Easterby. “It’s three games in seven, eight days, it’s a tough schedule, and they’ve just worked so incredibly hard to connect to what we’re trying to do as a team, to connect to each other.

You can see in the performance, like it wasn’t perfect, and the Cheetahs were well in that game, and at times we were down. But we didn’t lose sight of what has made it a good team across the last few weeks.

“We played the game in the right way. That’s how a game should be played, in terms of just that intent to go and play and attack.

“It was physical, it was frustrating at times but that’s the game. Credit to the players for staying in it and coming out the other end with what was a brilliant result.”

Hugh Gavin’s incisive carrying and defensive work-rate saw him picked out as the player-of-the-match, and the Salthill man was often at the heart of the most fluid Irish attacks. He worked well with playmaker Sam Prendergast, who made his third start of the tour.

Up front, Emerging Ireland battled against a vastly-experienced and beefier Cheetahs front row, and Gavin’s Connacht colleague, Jack Aungier, had an important role in the scrums, alongside two relative greenhorns, before Ulster’s Scott Wilson saw out the final quarter.

Props Alex Usanov and Aungier also showed their offloading ability in the build-up to Alex Soroka’s try. It was that attacking intent, combined with Culhane’s on-field leadership, and the timely impact of the bench, that ensured a memorable finish to the tour.

Easterby, Ireland’s interim head coach from December 1, commented: “The Cheetahs brought a great deal of pressure in that first half, in particular. They were hard at the ruck, which made it difficult to keep hold of our own ball at times.

“We felt like in the first half when we did get opportunities and we kept hold of the ball that we could stress them and when we did break them, we just didn’t do that consistently enough.

“I think at 24-19, when we went down with only 10 minutes to go, (we) found a way to get back in. Credit to James and Alex (Kendellen) who have led this group incredibly well.

“It just showed the guts and the bravery that this group have. It’s going to be bright futures, I’m sure, in green jerseys for many of them.”

Jack Crowley, Cian Prendergast, Joe McCarthy, Tom Stewart, Calvin Nash, and Jamie Osborne all won their first Ireland senior caps on the back of touring with Emerging Ireland two years ago.

A shoulder injury saw Ciarán Frawley miss that 2022 tour, but he has also gone on to make six Test appearances to date, including his late match-winning exploits against South Africa in the summer series.

Easterby spoke before Emerging Ireland’s return to Bloemfontein about how important these trips are in terms of bridging the gap between players lining out for the Ireland Under-20s and the next time they get to wear a green jersey.

With ‘A’ games ‘few and far between’, the Emerging Ireland campaigns, and the fixtures against the Māori All Blacks during the 2022 senior tour, offer huge value for the players and coaches alike, especially with plenty of collaboration with the provinces to ensure it a ‘win-win’ situation for all.

That synergy between the national and provincial set-ups saw Gus McCarthy, Sean O’Brien, and Jude Postlethwaite released back to their respective provinces, ahead of round 4 of the BKT United Rugby Championship this weekend.

“These tours, I have to say, it’s difficult to manage them because of the timing of them,” explained Easterby. “But the provinces have been brilliant, and the discussions that we’ve had with Faz (Andy Farrell) and the coaches, myself and the coaches, Humphs (David Humphreys) and the coaches.

“Over a period of time it’s evolved to bring as many players that we could, that we wanted to take on this trip, and there’s a proven pathway from the last tour two years ago.

I have no doubt that players from this group will be capped across the next two years. It’s something that we’re really fortunate that we get the chance to do.

“A lot of countries don’t get that opportunity, and we’re afforded that and we’re able to build connections, get to know people, understand what makes them tick, and then watch them play like they did tonight.

“It’s just the feeling of wearing an Irish jersey again, which for some of them hasn’t happened for a few years from the 20s. I think it showed in the performance, the pride of that.”