IRELAND beat Georgia 35-7 yesterday in the U20 World Rugby championships to set up a semi-final encounter with high flying Argentina.
As the pool stages of the U20 World Rugby came to a close in Manchester, Ireland were looking to build on their superb win over New Zealand on Saturday by beating a spirited Georgian side, who went into a shock 7-0 lead after five minutes.
However, the game turned on its head when Ilia Spanderashvili was sent off for lashing out at Ireland’s Sean O’Connor, reducing the Georgian’s to 14 men.
Despite a battling performance from Georgia, tries from Hugo Keenan, Johnny McPhillips, Terry Kennedy and Andrew Porter eventually handed Ireland a convincing win, which helped the Wolfpups pip Argentina as second seeds on points difference.
Meanwhile, hosts England cemented their place in the semi-finals as first seeds with an impressive 17-13 victory over Australia.
Current holders New Zealand had looked like they would squeeze into the last four, after they won 18-17 in the dying moments of the game against Wales through a last minute penalty by Jordie Barret on Wednesday.
However, a spectacular bonus point win (40-31) by South Africa over France in Pool C left the Baby Blacks licking their wounds as they were knocked out before the semi-final phase for the first time in their history.
