IRISH RUGBY is in a very good place at the moment and that's an understatement.
The senior side won the Triple Crown this weekend with a comprehensive victory over Scotland in the Aviva and Richie Murphy's side demolished the Scottish U20 side 59-5 to secure their third Under-20 Six Nations Grand Slam this weekend.
IRELAND ARE GRAND SLAM CHAMPIONS ☘️#SixNationsU20 #IREvSCO pic.twitter.com/V3pMsx5Tnj
— Six Nations Under-20s (@SixNationsU20) March 20, 2022
The younger Irish side scored nine tries in the victory and also kept Scotland to a single score for the whole game.
Jack Boyle got proceedings underway when inside the opening five minutes he bundled over.
Fionn Gibbons, Jude Postlethwaite, James Culhane and Ben Carson shared out the tries in the first half to make it 33-0 before the break.
Ireland never relented and it was the same for the second half, when Matthew Devine picked off their next try in the 53rd minute after a lovely tip and run.
Jame Mccormick would get his chance to join the action with a try and substitute Tony Butler would convert two more.
Scotland got a consolation try late on when Ross McKnight bundled over, but that was short lived when Ireland's Josh Hanlon made it 50-5 soon after
Gibbons would get his second try of the game, his team's ninth and final one to end a dominant day for the Irish side.
Ireland Grand Slam Loading… pic.twitter.com/NN2kLihlr5
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) March 20, 2022
After the game Richie Murphy expressed his delight at his young side's achievement
“It is an incredible achievement. They have just come such a long way in such a short space of time. I’m absolutely delighted for them. They have worked really, really hard and they have become a very close-knit group, as you can see by how they play," he said.
“This morning when I looked at them during the walk-through, they were so switched on, so focused and there was distraction around the place; family coming to the hotel picking up tickets and stuff like that. But they really tuned in and tuned out when they had to. They were very relaxed but you just knew by them that they were focused on the job at hand."
“I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in a Grand Slam at senior level. It feels a little bit different when you’re the head coach than when you’re in the support role but it’s a special day for us and I’m delighted for our staff."
IRELAND U-20: Patrick Campbell (Young Munster RFC/Munster); Aitzol King (Clontarf FC/Leinster), Jude Postlethwaite (Banbridge RFC/Ulster), Ben Carson (Banbridge RFC/Ulster), Fionn Gibbons (UCD RFC/Leinster); Charlie Tector (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), Matthew Devine (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht); Jack Boyle (UCD RFC/Leinster), James McCormick (Ballymena RFC/Ulster), Rory McGuire (UCD RFC/Leinster), Conor O'Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster), Mark Morrissey (UCD RFC/Leinster), Lorcan McLoughlin (Queen's University Belfast RFC/Ulster), Reuben Crothers (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster) (capt), James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster).
Replacements used: Chay Mullins (Bristol Bears/IQ Rugby) for Campbell (36 mins), Ethan Coughlan (Shannon RFC/Munster) for Devine, Tony Butler (Garryowen FC/Munster) for Tector, Scott Wilson (Queen's University Belfast RFC/Ulster) for McGuire (all 55), Oisin Michel (Lansdowne FC/Leinster) for Boyle (57), Josh Hanlon (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster) for McCormick (59), Adam McNamee (Malone RFC/Ulster) for Morrissey, Diarmuid Mangan (UCD RFC/Leinster) for Culhane (both 61).
