The pressure is on in Béziers as Ireland and Japan kick off the final day of the World Rugby Under-20 Championship knowing that defeat will see them relegated to the World Rugby U-20 Trophy in 2019.
2018 WORLD RUGBY UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP – 11TH-12TH PLACE PLAY-OFF: Sunday, June 17
IRELAND UNDER-20s v JAPAN UNDER-20s, Stade de la Méditerranée, Béziers, 11am local time/10am Irish time (live eir Sport 2/World Rugby live streaming in certain countries)
Team News: Head coach Noel McNamara has named the Ireland Under-20 team (sponsored by PwC) to play Japan in Sunday’s World Rugby U-20 Championship 11th-12th place play-off in Béziers. Ireland won a warm-up match between the teams in Dublin last month, scoring seven tries in 43-19 success.
There are six changes to the side from Tuesday’s defeat to Scotland, with Dublin University hooker Dan Sheehan making his first Ireland U-20 start, flanked by the heavily-involved Jordan Duggan and Jack Aungier in the front row.
It is an all-Leinster front five with Cormac Daly joining Jack Dunne in the second row, while Garryowen’s Jack Daly, a try-scoring replacement against the Scots, makes his first start in a back row that is completed by Matthew Agnew and captain Caelan Doris.
Ulster Academy scrum half Jonny Stewart is set for his 19th Ireland U-20 cap, lining out at half-back alongside Harry Byrne who is the leading Irish scorer at the tournament with 23 points (including two tries against France and Scotland).
Peter Sylvester and Sean O’Brien pair up again in the centre, James Hume and Tommy O’Brien fill the wing berths and Hume’s Banbridge and Ulster colleague Michael Lowry, a recent injury call-up to the squad, will make his Ireland U-20 debut from full-back.
Some of Ireland’s changes are injury-enforced with Diarmuid Barron, Aaron Hall and Michael Silvester all ruled out through injury. The three players have returned home and Corinthians and Connacht hooker Dylan Tierney – a potential debutant on the bench tomorrow – has replaced Barron in the extended squad.
Sunday morning’s match will be broadcast live on eir Sport 2 in the Republic of Ireland and online in non-geo blocked locations via World Rugby’s Facebook page and website. For more information on the tournament, click here.
Meanwhile, Japan, who lost this play-off in 2016 but bounced back at the first opportunity after winning last year’s U-20 Trophy in Uruguay, nearly avoided this high-pressured match after holding a 22-12 lead against Georgia in the ninth place semi-final, but the Junior Lelos completed a late comeback to break Japanese hearts.
Consistency of selection has been the name of the game for Japan during this tournament and head coach Satoru Endo has made just two changes to his starting side. They have lost to New Zealand (67-0), Australia (54-19), Wales (18-17) and Georgia (24-22) so far.
Loosehead prop Yusuke Yamada is preferred to Gakuto Ishida in the front row with Atora Hondo, whose sister Ammi represented Japan at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games in skiing, coming in at scrum half to replace Shinobu Fujiwara.
A number of Japanese players helped their Under-19 team earn a famous 40-24 win over the Ireland U-19s at Energia Park in Donnybrook in March. Strong-carrying number 8 Asipeli Moala, a player to watch out for, crossed for a hat-trick of tries that day.
Tickets for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship, which showcases the future stars of world rugby, are on sale via www.ffr.fr, www.ticketmaster.fr and www.francebillet.com with prices reflecting the FFR’s ambition to attract new fans to the sport. Tickets for the finals day range from €;15 to €;35.
World Rugby U-20 Championship Results/Fixtures
World Rugby U-20 Championship Broadcast Information
IRELAND U-20: Michael Lowry (Banbridge/Ulster); James Hume (Banbridge/Ulster), Sean O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster), Peter Sylvester (UCC/Munster), Tommy O’Brien (UCD/Leinster); Harry Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Jonny Stewart (Queen’s University/Ulster); Jordan Duggan (Naas/Leinster), Dan Sheehan (Dublin University/Leinster), Jack Aungier (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Cormac Daly (Clontarf/Leinster), Jack Dunne (Dublin University/Leinster), Jack Daly (Garryowen/Munster), Matthew Agnew (Ballymena/Ulster), Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt).
Replacements: Dylan Tierney (Corinthians/Connacht), Jakub Wojtkowicz (Sligo/Connacht), Joe Byrne (Dublin University/Leinster), Charlie Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Joe Dunleavy (Malone/Ulster), Hugh O’Sullivan (Clontarf/Leinster), Conor Dean (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Tom Roche (Lansdowne/Leinster).
JAPAN U-20: Kyohei Yamasawa (Meiji University); Halatoa Vailea (Nippon Sport Science University), Sioeli Vakalahi (Fukuoka Institute of Technology), Yuto Mori (Meiji University), Siosaia Fifita (Tenri University); Hiroto Mamada (Chuo University), Atora Hondo (Nippon Sport Science University); Yusuke Yamada (Toyota Industries Shuttles), Miyu Arai (Tokai University), Rento Tsukayama (Ryutsu Keizai University), Kanji Shimokawa (Waseda University), Ryuga Hashimoto (Meiji University), Kai Yamamoto (Keio University), Hisanobu Okayama (Tenri University) (capt), Asipeli Moala (Tenri University).
Replacements: Yuichiro Taniguchi (Tenri University), Gakuto Ishida (Senshu University), Shohei Oyama (Keio University), Kaito Aibe (Keio University), Shota Fukui (Panasonic Wild Knights), Shinobu Fujiwara (Tenri University), Itsuki Kodama (Meiji University), Yu Saruta (Meiji University).
Referee: Karl Dickson England)
Assistant Referees: Dan Jones (Wales), Damon Murphy (Australia)
Television Match Official: Graham Hughes (England)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ireland U-20s to win: 2/9; Draw: 22/1; Japan U-20s to win: 10/3
Pre-Match Quotes – Noel McNamara (Ireland U-20s): “This isn’t a position we imagined we’d be in, but we know how important it’s going to be to get the win tomorrow. Japan showed on Tuesday that they are a tough outfit.
“It took a late Georgia try to beat the Japanese side in midweek, so we are aware of the threats they pose. There’s a huge amount on the line tomorrow and everyone involved is fully focused on getting the result.”
Pre-Match Links –
World Rugby Under-20 Championship: Finals Preview
Under-20 Players Unite To ‘Keep Rugby Clean’
Previous Meetings –
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