The Ireland Under-20s played their way right back into contention in Pool B of the IRB Junior World Championship with a bonus point win over last year's runners-up Wales. Mike Ruddock's young team beat Wales 35-21 in Pukekohe despite having Peter Dooley and Alex Wootton sin-binned either side of half-time. The key to Ireland's first victory in New Zealand was a stunning start which saw Dooley's front row colleague Rory Burke and centre Garry Ringrose both cross the whitewash inside 11 minutes. Wales' powerful scrum helped them close the gap to 17-14 by half-time, a late penalty try coming after Dooley was carded.
Ireland were down to 13 men when winger Wootton saw yellow for a clumsy challenge on Welsh out-half Angus O'Brien and the young Dragons duly took advantage as number 8 James Benjamin scored from an advancing scrum. O'Brien converted for a 21-17 lead but Wales failed to score over the remaining 33 minutes as Ireland seized the initiative again and were rewarded for playing much the brighter rugby. Intelligent angles of running from the excellent Ringrose and Ciaran Gaffney, allied to a huge collective shift from the forwards, kept them on the front foot and the defensive workload took its toll on the Welsh.
Ringrose stood out in the number 13 jersey, ably assisted by Dan Goggin, and he completed his brace of tries by stretching over in the 51st minute with out-half Byrne adding the extras. Now back in front, Jack O'Donoghue and his team-mates continued to take the game to their opponents - importantly hanging on to a territorial advantage as the final quarter approached. A second Byrne penalty widened the margin to 27-21, although he was then off target after Wales centre Jack Dixon was sin-binned for a tip tackle on Gaffney. The Welsh remained within a converted score until they were caught offside from an Afon Bagshaw kick and Byrne nailed the three-pointer on this occasion, taking his own tally to 15 points. A bonus point try seemed unlikely at this late stage as Ireland focused on seeing out a bruising win, but their bubbling ambition earned them a full five-point return in the dying minutes. Brilliant hands on the Welsh 22, including a deft pass from Ringrose, allowed Gaffney put full-back Cian Kelleher over in the right corner. A superb finish to a memorable night for Ruddock's charges.
The result puts Ireland second in the pool and gives them a shot at reaching the semi-finals. They face Fiji next Tuesday, hoping for another bonus point success and also a favourable outcome from the France-Wales clash.
