Under-20 Six Nations: Italy 15 Ireland 12
A dismal U-20 Six Nations campaign ended with a first ever loss to Italy in the competition as Ireland fell to a fourth defeat for the first time since the grade began 18 years ago.
Ireland could have few complaints about the outcome at Stadio Monigo. They conceded two tries while Italy had a man in the bin in the opening quarter and never managed to get on top of the home side who will have nine of this squad underage again next year.
It’s a fair drop for the Ireland under-20s, who only 12 months ago were pipped for a third Grand Slam in a row. But they were second best in the Treviso rain for most of this contest as they finished a campaign which has seen losses to England, Wales, France and now Italy.
Ireland had it all to do when they went in trailing 15-0 at the end of an opening half in which they failed to mount any threat inside the home 22.
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They also didn’t make the extra man count when Italian hooker Nicolo Corvasce was binned after three minutes for a high tackle on Ireland outhalf Tom Wood.
Indeed, it was the Italians, who had got off the mark with an early penalty from outhalf Pietro Celi, who struck for a brace of tries while down to 14 men.
The Irish lineout was in trouble before the break, coughing up four of their own balls, with Italy making them pay after seven minutes when they countered from deep for winger Alessandro Drago to supply a neat finish down the left despite the best efforts of Gene O’Leary-Kareem who had come across from the other wing.
The Italians pushed on from there and poor pillar defence in front of the posts was punished when temporary hooker replacement Alessio Caiolo-Serra dashed in for a converted try on 12 minutes.
Eleven handling errors undermined Ireland’s performance in the opening half and meant they did little with the 46 per cent possession accumulated.
Ireland got back in contention eight minutes after the restart. A penalty won in the scrum led to a five-metre lineout and when they got the set-piece correct, with lock Billy Corrigan collecting the throw, they drove for hooker Henry Walker to score.
Another yellow card for Italy, this time for flanker Anthony Miranda for killing the ball, gave Ireland another big advantage after 52 minutes and they struck just before the home side were restored to 15 men.
A penalty won on an Italian scrum, creating an attacking platform off a lineout down the right and with winger Charlie Molony making good ground before working it back across for Wood to cut through and score. Sam Wisniewski, on for injured fullback Daniel Green but switched to outhalf, added the conversion to reduce the margin to 15-12.
Ireland had plenty of possession to get in front in the final quarter as they minimised the errors and built the phases, but they struggled to find a way through.
Neil Doak’s side got one final chance with the clock in the red when Wisniewski found touch deep inside the 22 from halfway, but as Ireland tried to find a way through captain Éanna McCarthy knocked on and the chance was lost, Ireland slumping to a fourth defeat in the campaign and leaving them with a lot of work to do before they return to Treviso this summer for the U-20 World Championship.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 2 mins: Celi pen 3-0; 7: Drago try 8-0; 12: Caiolo-Serra try, Celi con 15-0; Half-time 15-0; 49: Walker try 15-5; 62: Wood try, Wisniewski con 15-12.
ITALY: G Pietramala; A Drago, F Zanandrea, E Todaro, M Faissal; P Celi, N Beni; C Brasini, N Michele Corvasce, B Vallesi; M Midena, T Redondi; A Miranda, N Casartelli, G Milano (capt).
Replacements: A Caiolo-Serra for Pietramala (4-13 mins), N Bolognini for Vallesi (23), S Pelliccioli for Brasini (47), Caiolo-Serra for Michele Corvasce, E Opoku-Gyamfi for Midena (both 53), R Fasti for Pietramala (56), C Bianchi for Milano (62), M Bellotto for Beni (65), R Ioannucci for Celi (73).
Yellow card: Michele Corvasce (3 mins), Miranda (52).
IRELAND: D Green; C Molony, C Mangan, E Smyth, G O’Leary-Kareem; T Wood, C Logan; B Bohan, H Walker, A Mullan; M Ronan, B Corrigan; D Walsh, M Foy, E McCarthy (capt).
Replacements: B Power for Walsh (40 mins), M Yarr for Walker, T McAllister for Mullan, C Kennelly for Ronan (all 53), P Moore for Bohan (57), S Wisniewski for Green (59), C Fahy for O’Leary-Kareem (68), C O’Connor for Logan (77).
Referee: K Furuse (Japan).
