Cork Finale Awaits Ireland Under-20s After Record-Breaking Win

The Ireland Under-20s (sponsored by PwC) set new U-20 Six Nations records for the most points in a match and biggest winning margin by hammering Scotland 82-7 at Scotstoun Stadium.

UNDER-20 SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 4:

Friday, March 10 –

SCOTLAND UNDER-20s 7 IRELAND UNDER-20s 82, Scotstoun Stadium
Scorers: Scotland: Try: Corey Tait; Con: Luke Townsend
Ireland: Tries: Andrew Osborne, Fiachna Barrett, Gus McCarthy, Ruadhán Quinn 3, Fintan Gunne, James McNabney, Diarmuid Mangan, Danny Sheahan, Rory Telfer, Oscar Cawley; Cons: Sam Prendergast 7, Matthew Lynch 4
HT: Scotland 0 Ireland 47

Ruadhán Quinn reeled off a hat-trick of tries in a player-of-the-match performance, as Richie Murphy’s impressive youngsters hit top spot ahead of the final round on St. Patrick’s weekend.

Hosting England, who lost 42-7 to France, at a sold-out Musgrave Park next Sunday (kick-off 5pm), Ireland will aim for an unprecedented second successive U-20 Grand Slam. They now lead the way on 19 points, followed by France (16) and England (15).

Murphy’s side swept into a 47-0 half-time lead in Glasgow, debutant Andrew Osborne setting them on their way and Fiachna Barrett, captain Gus McCarthy, Quinn (2), Fintan Gunne and James McNabney all following him over the whitewash.

Ireland went on to eclipse the Championship’s record victories – England’s 74-3 triumph over Italy from 2011 and France’s 78-12 success against Italy from 2018 – with 12 tries in all, matching France’s haul from five years ago.

Out-half Sam Prendergast, the 2023 U-20 Six Nations top scorer, took his season’s tally to 63 points with seven conversions. Ireland’s only defensive blip was the leaking of an early second half try to Scotland’s Corey Tait.

The visitors responded with converted efforts from Quinn and replacements Diarmuid Mangan, Danny Sheahan, Rory Telfer and Oscar Cawley, the final three scores coming after Scottish lock Jake Parkinson was sent off for a high tackle.

Inside two-and-a-half minutes, Ireland had their first try on the board. Hugh Cooney burst onto Prendergast’s inviting grubber kick past halfway, linking with Quinn who fed Osborne to score from his first touch at this level.

Prendergast converted and also added the extras to prop Barrett’s sixth-minute effort, the Mayo native barging over after Prendergast had put Quinn and George Hadden into narrow gaps inside the Scottish 22.

A scrum penalty launched Ireland forward soon after, and although their first lineout maul did not work out, McCarthy was unstoppable from the next drive as he broke off to ground the ball despite Luke Townsend’s challenge.

A sweeping attack involving Henry McErlean, John Devine and Gunne had Scotland scrambling back inside their own 22, Ireland’s scrum forcing another penalty before Barrett’s reverse pass from a tapped penalty sent Quinn hurtling over for a 20th-minute bonus point try.

Scotland exerted some pressure in attack as the game’s fast pace continued, yet Devine and Cooney both showed their sharpness at the breakdown. Prendergast went on a weaving run from deep before his half-back partner Gunne was charged down.

Back on the front foot, Hadden carried powerfully past the gain-line and McErlean sent Devine through a big hole on the Scottish 10-metre line. He sucked in Dan King before releasing Gunne for a simple finish under the posts.

Quinn was over for his second try of the night in the 34th minute, the attack sparked by full-back McErlean’s counter from a kick and Prendergast’s ability to release his skipper into space. It ended with two smart offloads from Conor O’Tighearnaigh and Barrett to put the flanker over.

Prendergast tagged on his sixth successful conversion, leaving Scotland 42 points adrift as they regrouped amid a long stoppage due to injured scrum half Finlay Burgess unfortunately having to be stretchered off.

Murphy’s charges ended a one-sided first half with a seventh try, McNabney making Scotland pay for failing to find touch. Gunne had brilliantly broken out wide before that, and the Irish forwards made sure they got over from a series of pick-and-goes.

Ireland leaked a trio of penalties early on the resumption, allowing Scotland to build for a much-needed score. Hooker Tait got his darts right in the lineout before picking up from a ruck to pull back seven points.

Freshly introduced from the bench, big lock Mangan used a one-handed Prendergast offload to tear through on a fantastic 40-metre run-in. Charlie Clare was unable to prevent the grounding and Prendergast’s conversion had Ireland leading 54-7.

The scoring briefly dried up with Ireland unable to profit from an Evan O’Connell break, but territorially they remained on top. Hugh Gavin ran out of room when trying to get on the end of a Matthew Lynch cross-field kick.

Sheahan scooped up two loose Scottish lineouts and following a strong spell of collective carrying, Paddy McCarthy was stopped just short from a tapped penalty. Quinn was able to lunge over from the ruck, with Prendergast’s replacement Lynch converting.

Scotland were then reduced the 14 men after Parkinson’s head-on-head tackle on O’Connell. The resulting lineout drive propelled Sheahan over for a deserved 70th-minute score, converted by Lynch for a 68-7 scoreline.

Lively replacement Liam Molony had a try ruled out for a foot in touch from Telfer, but the latter scored just two minutes later, a Cawley pass allowing him to cut in past Clare and dot down out wide on the left.

Lynch nailed a terrific conversion from beside the touchline and also topped over Cawley’s final try. Kerr Yule got a hand to a McErlean offload, but the Naas clubman dinked the loose ball through to get on the scoresheet.

TIME LINE: 2 minutes – Ireland try: Andrew Osborne – 0-5; conversion: Sam Prendergast – 0-7; 6 mins – Ireland try: Fiachna Barrett – 0-12; conversion: Sam Prendergast – 0-14; 15 mins – Ireland try: Gus McCarthy – 0-19; conversion: Sam Prendergast – 0-21; 20 mins – Ireland try: Ruadhán Quinn – 0-26; conversion: Sam Prendergast – 0-28; 30 mins – Ireland try: Fintan Gunne – 0-33; conversion: Sam Prendergast – 0-35; 34 mins – Ireland try: Ruadhán Quinn – 0-40; conversion: Sam Prendergast – 0-42; 40+1 mins – Ireland try: James McNabney – 0-47; conversion: missed by Sam Prendergast – 0-47; Half-time – Scotland 0 Ireland 47; 46 mins – Scotland try: Corey Tait – 5-47; conversion: Luke Townsend – 7-47; 51 mins – Ireland try: Diarmuid Mangan – 7-52; conversion: Sam Prendergast – 7-54; 64 mins – Ireland try: Ruadhán Quinn – 7-59; conversion: Matthew Lynch – 7-61; 68 mins – Scotland red card: Jake Parkinson; 70 mins – Ireland try: Danny Sheahan – 7-66; conversion: Matthew Lynch – 7-68; 75 mins – Ireland try: Rory Telfer – 7-73; conversion: Matthew Lynch – 7-75; 78 mins – Ireland try: Oscar Cawley – 7-80; conversion: Matthew Lynch – 7-82; Full-time – Scotland 7 Ireland 82

SCOTLAND U-20: Dan King (Heriot’s Rugby); Logan Jarvie (Stirling Wolves/Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Munn (Boroughmuir Bears/Glasgow Warriors) (co-capt), Kerr Yule (Glasgow Hawks), Geordie Gwynn (Ealing Trailfinders/Brunel University); Luke Townsend (Melrose RFC), Finlay Burgess (Stirling Wolves/Glasgow Warriors); Craig Davidson (Watsonians), Corey Tait (Boroughmuir Bears), Moby Ogunlaja (Glasgow Hawks), Jake Parkinson (Ealing Trailfinders/Brunel University), Harris McLeod (Stirling Wolves/Glasgow Warriors), Liam McConnell (Boroughmuir Bears/Edinburgh Rugby) (co-capt), Rudi Brown (Southern Knights/Edinburgh Rugby), Jonny Morris (GHA RFC).

Replacements used: Charlie Clare (Harlequins/Surrey University) for Burgess (35 mins), Sam Derrick (Southern Knights) for Morris (half-time), Robbie Deans (Watsonians/Edinburgh Rugby) for Ogunlaja, Ben Salmon (Stirling Wolves/Glasgow Warriors) for Jarvie (both 51), Ruaraidh Hart (Glasgow Hawks) for McLeod, Andy McLean (Glasgow Hawks) for King (both 54), Elliot Young (Exeter University/Exeter Chiefs) for Tait, Max Surry (Cardiff Met University) for Davidson (both 66).

IRELAND U-20: Henry McErlean (Terenure College RFC/Leinster); Andrew Osborne (Naas RFC/Leinster), Hugh Cooney (Clontarf FC/Leinster), John Devine (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht); Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), Fintan Gunne (Terenure College RFC/Leinster); George Hadden (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Gus McCarthy (UCD RFC/Leinster) (capt), Fiachna Barrett (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), Evan O’Connell (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster), James McNabney (Ballymena RFC/Ulster), Ruadhán Quinn (Old Crescent RFC/Munster), Brian Gleeson (Garryowen FC/Munster).

Replacements used: Danny Sheahan (UCC RFC/Munster) for G McCarthy, George Morris (Lansdowne FC/Leinster) for Hadden, Paddy McCarthy (Dublin University FC/Leinster) for Barrett, Diarmuid Mangan (UCD RFC/Leinster) for O’Tighearnaigh (all 50 mins), Matthew Lynch (Dublin University FC/Leinster) for Prendergast (52), Oscar Cawley (Naas RFC/Leinster) for Gunne, Rory Telfer (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster) (both 60), Liam Molony (Dublin University FC/Leinster) for Gleeson (66), O’Tighearnaigh for O’Connell (70).

Referee: Takehito Namekawa (Japan)