Ireland U-18 Schools Side Outlast England In Nine-Try Thriller

Luke Kelly and Daniel Murphy emerged as late heroes for the Ireland Under-18 Schools team (sponsored by PwC), as they got their U-18 Men’s Six Nations Festival run off to a strong start with a 36-31 win over England. Watch the full match back on irishrugby+.

UNDER-18 MEN’S SIX NATIONS FESTIVAL – ROUND 1:

Friday, April 3 –

ENGLAND UNDER-18s 31 IRELAND UNDER-18 SCHOOLS 36, Stade Louis Darragon, Vichy
Scorers: England U-18s: Tries: Charlie Tamani, Caspar Reeves 2, Oli Hewitt; Cons: Zac Jones 4; Pen: Max Hooper
Ireland U-18s: Tries: Matthew McCarthy, Xabi Scanlan, Alex Moloney, Luke Kelly 2; Cons: Luke Coffey 2, Daniel Murphy 2; Pen: Luke Coffey
HT: England Under-18s 14 Ireland Under-18 Schools 10

Michael Hodge’s youngsters showed immense character and no little skill to come from behind three times in Vichy, eventually edging out England thanks to Kelly’s terrific 69th-minute try, which Murphy coolly converted from near the touchline.

Newbridge College flyer Kelly was the best of an impactful Irish bench, bagging a brace of scores out wide, while Matthew McCarthy, Xabi Scanlan, and impressive PBC Cork centre Alex Moloney also claimed tries.

McCarthy’s well-taken 22nd-minute score, coupled with five points from the boot of captain Luke Coffey, saw a resilient Ireland recover from a 11-point deficit to leave just four points in it at half-time.

Wingers Charlie Tamani and Caspar Reeves both crossed early on for England, who ended the first half with lock Fin Charles in the sin bin. Castletroy College number 8 Scanlan struck from a maul to give Ireland a brief lead, five minutes after the restart.

Seven-pointers from Reeves (42 minutes) and Oli Hewitt (44) put England in a strong position at 28-17 up, and although Moloney and Kelly both touched down in response, a long-range Max Hooper penalty made it 31-29 to Jonathan Pendlebury’s side.

However, this hugely entertaining festival opener had one final twist. A first-phase attack off a lineout saw Kelly’s acceleration unlock the defence and he hared over in the right corner before Murphy’s right boot sealed a five-point winning margin.

The memorable finish means Ireland have beaten England at senior Men’s, Under-20 and Under-18 level this year. Today’s result is another fillip for the IRFU’s Under-18 pathways after wins for the U-18 Schools team against England in both 2024 (42-28 in Cape Town) and 2025 (22-17 in Cork).

Italy and tournament hosts France also produced winning performances on the opening day, beating Spain (52-33) and Georgia (49-22), respectively. Ireland will play Spain next on Tuesday evening (kick-off 5.30pm Irish time), before facing France the following Saturday.

Michael Smyth made the game’s first incision, fastening onto Charlie O’Connor’s clever cross-field kick. Coffey provided the support, taking play into the opposition 22 but England countered in superb fashion from a knock-on.

Northampton Saints prospect Tamani was invited to have a cut, just eight metres out from his own try-line, and he delivered a stunning second-minute try. He shrugged off Murphy’s challenge near halfway and evaded O’Connor’s tap tackle to dive in behind the posts.

Tom Murray got his hand to an English lineout shortly afterwards, leading to a kick chase initiated by Scanlan. A couple of penalties took Ireland within try-scoring range, but a mistimed lineout allowed the white shirts to reclaim lost ground through the pacy Reeves.

Coffey made it 7-3 with a well-struck ninth-minute penalty from over 40 metres out, rewarding Herbie Boyle’s scrummaging efforts. As England chased a fast response, their captain Declan Treacey knocked on in a tackle from Scanlan.

Nonetheless, they forced a penalty from the resulting scrum, their forwards also making inroads off a maul inside Ireland’s 22. The pressure built, and Zac Jones slung out a long skip pass for Reeves to go over, with the out-half adding his second conversion.

That left Ireland trailing 14-3 with 16 minutes on the clock, but there were no signs of panic. Murray securing lineout ball both times following two penalties, and hooker Harry Heagney was inches away from scoring, as Tamani just managed to hold up him.

Hodge’s charges kept pressing, and a deft O’Connor kick led to Hewitt fumbling right on the English try-line. Rhys Keogh and Moloney took advantage before Murphy neatly tidied up a pass that had gone to ground, sucking in two defenders and providing a precise assist for McCarthy to raid over from the right wing.

Following Coffey’s curling conversion to make it a four-point game, a well-earned scrum penalty got Ireland on the move again. Keogh’s pace beat both Hewitt and Reeves on the standside, but he was unfortunately unable to connect with McCarthy on his inside, and a gilt-edged chance was lost.

Another opportunity was missed approaching the interval. Phil Lynch’s tackle-breaking run had England under pressure, and they lost Charles to a yellow card for infringing close to his posts. Crucially, number 8 Scanlan mistimed his tapping of a penalty, giving the opposition a relieving scrum.

Coláiste Éinde’s Dara Walsh dug in at the breakdown to force an early second-half penalty. Ireland turned down a shot at the posts, and the decision paid off when a bout of pressure resulted in Scanlan plunging over from a six-metre drive. Coffey’s left boot gave his team a 17-14 lead.

England hit back with a high-quality try, a series of crisp offloads releasing Reeves who got past Murphy’s attempted tackle to complete his brace. Jones converted and also added the extras to a swashbuckling score finished off by Hewitt, who dummied a pass to make it over the whitewash.

There were still 25 minutes left to play, and Ireland regrouped to immediately get back on the attack. Fresh on from the bench, Rian MacFarlane O’Shea got his legs pumping in a strong carry, and O’Connor picked out McCarthy with a cross-field kick.

With England on the defensive inside their own 22, play moved back towards the left side where Moloney’s excellent arcing run took him around Will Bayston. His strength saw him absorb a tackle from Reeves and take him with him over the try-line for a momentum-shifting score.

Keogh threatened soon after, invited forward by O’Connor’s smart break past halfway. Ireland mantained a territorial hold, aided by Hewitt kicking out on the full, and introduced five more players at the 55-minute mark, including a new front row.

A Johnny Woods touchfinder, coupled with a Murray lineout steal, proved crucial in the build-up to Kelly’s first try. He displayed his finishing skills by beating two defenders for the left corner, having been fed by Moloney after O’Connor had whipped the ball out to the left at pace.

From close to the left touchline, full-back Murphy drew the conversion over with aplomb for a 29-28 scoreline. The high quality of goalkicking continued when replacement Hooper slotted over a 62nd-minute penalty to nudge England back in front.

Lynch responded by disrupting an English lineout, setting up an Irish scrum on halfway, and MacFarlane O’Shea was first to O’Connor’s kick over the top. Woods and McCarthy both made it up into the opposition 22, before Murphy’s dangled kick out to the right beat everyone into touch.

Although England survived after Lynch had stolen a close-in lineout, and a Moloney kick through did not work out, Ireland’s persistence eventually paid off. Sonny Goode’s clearance took play back towards halfway, but the lineout provided the platform for Kelly’s magical match winner.

Quick ball was transferred into midfield where O’Connor’s short pass put Kelly darting away from two defenders. As the try-line came into view, he surged towards the right corner, evading the clutches of Archie Guyver to gleefully dot down.

Pres ace Murphy came up trumps again with a top class conversion, this time from tight to the right touchline, and it was his booming 50:22 kick, in the final play, which closed out a very encouraging victory for Ireland’s class of 2026.

TIME LINE: 2 minutes – England Under-18s try: Charlie Tamani – 5-0; conversion: Zac Jones – 7-0; 9 mins – Ireland Under-18 Schools penalty: Luke Coffey – 7-3; 15 mins – England Under-18s try: Caspar Reeves – 12-3; conversion: Zac Jones – 14-3; 22 mins – Ireland Under-18 Schools try: Matthew McCarthy – 14-8; conversion: Luke Coffey – 14-10; 30 mins – England Under-18s yellow card: Fin Charles; Half-time – England Under-18s 14 Ireland Under-18 Schools 10; 40 mins – Ireland Under-18 Schools try: Xabi Scanlan – 14-15; conversion: Luke Coffey – 14-17; 42 mins – England Under-18s try: Caspar Reeves – 19-17; conversion: Zac Jones – 21-17; 44 mins – England Under-18s try: Oli Hewitt – 26-17; conversion: Zac Jones – 28-17; 49 mins – Ireland Under-18 Schools try: Alex Moloney – 28-22; conversion: missed by – 28-22; 58 mins – Ireland Under-18 Schools try: Luke Kelly – 28-27; conversion: Daniel Murphy – 28-29; 62 mins – England Under-18s penalty: Max Hooper – 31-29; 69 mins – Ireland Under-18 Schools try: Luke Kelly – 31-34; conversion: Daniel Murphy – 31-36; Full-time – England Under-18s 31 Ireland Under-18 Schools 36

ENGLAND U-18: Oli Hewitt (Gloucester Rugby); Caspar Reeves (Bristol Bears), Charlie Bosanko (Exeter Chiefs), Declan Treacey (Bath Rugby) (capt), Charlie Tamani (Northampton Saints); Zac Jones (Saracens), Will Bayston (Sale Sharks); Aiden Reid (Northampton Saints), Tiane Elone (Saracens), Ben Smith (Yorkshire Academy), Fin Charles (Leicester Tigers), Jeremy Keys (Exeter Chiefs), Kwame Bekoe (Leicester Tigers), Jack Lewis (Northampton Saints), Ben Allen (Bath Rugby).

Replacements: Casper Wheeler (Bristol Bears), Hendro Hattingh (Sale Sharks), Seva Batikora (Leicester Tigers), Kaiden Watson (Harlequins), Harry Westlake (Exeter Chiefs), Henry Johnson (Leicester Tigers), Sonny Goode (Northampton Saints), Max Hooper (Bath Rugby), Will Moore (Bristol Bears), Rio Bennett (Saracens), Archie Guyver (Exeter Chiefs).

IRELAND U-18 SCHOOLS: Daniel Murphy (Presentation Brothers College, Cork/Munster Rugby); Matthew McCarthy (St. Michael’s College/Leinster Rugby), Alex Moloney (Presentation Brothers College, Cork/Munster Rugby), Joshua Grant (Clongowes Wood College/Leinster Rugby), Rhys Keogh (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby); Charlie O’Connor (RBAI/Ulster Rugby), Luke Coffey (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby) (capt); Herbie Boyle (St. Michael’s College/Leinster Rugby), Harry Heagney (Glenstal Abbey School/Clontarf FC/Leinster Rugby), David Kenny (St. Mary’s College/Leinster Rugby), Tom Murray (Presentation Brothers College, Cork/Munster Rugby), Phil Lynch (St. Michael’s College/Leinster Rugby), Dara Walsh (Coláiste Éinde/Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht Rugby), Michael Smyth (Terenure College/Leinster Rugby), Xabi Scanlan (Castletroy College/Munster Rugby).

Replacements: Brion Donagh (Newbridge College/Leinster Rugby), Lewis Robinson (Regent House School/Ulster Rugby), Alex Stinson (Royal School Armagh/Ulster Rugby), James Whitty (St. Mary’s College/Leinster Rugby), Rian MacFarlane O’Shea (Presentation Brothers College, Cork/Munster Rugby), Johnny Woods (Wesley College/Leinster Rugby), Paddy Scally (Blackrock College/Leinster Rugby), Ryan McCormack (Ardscoil Rís Limerick/Munster Rugby), Luke Kelly (Newbridge College/Leinster Rugby), Thibault Campbell (Wesley College/Leinster Rugby), Finn Brennan (Kilkenny College/Leinster Rugby).

Referee: Pierre Camus (FFR)