GARRYOWEN’S Brian Gleeson grabbed a brace of tries as Ireland easily posted a bonus point 47-27 win over Fiji at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
It brings his haul at the Championship to three, and he is amongst several players again eligible for this grade next season.
Evan O’Connell of UL Bohemian was also on the starting blocks, while Max Clein of Garryowen was introduced as a replacement.
In an outing in which the team wore black armbands in memory of Greig Oliver, Ireland were 26-12 ahead at the interval.
The outcome left Ireland on top of Pool B and with it direct entry into the semi-finals. Our opponents in Cape Town’s Athlone Sports Stadium next Sunday are host nation South Africa. Ireland have been installed as favourites to progress.
Kick-off is at 3.30pm and the fixture will be televised live by Virgin Media Two.
England and outright favourites France meet in the other semi-final, also on Sunday and at the same venue (6pm).
The final is pencilled-in for Friday July 14.
After Tuesday’s win, Ireland coach Richie Murphy told The42: “It’s a really strange day. I thought the guys did an incredible job. You could see how we were affected, though. Our accuracy was not where it would normally be,” he said.
“Greig was a great man, a friend of mine, and obviously Jack’s dad. Jack (a valuable squad member) wanted to come to the game today. He’s here with the boys, and the boys are looking after him as best they can.”
He added: “We had a lot of rotation in our group this week,” added Murphy. “For any coach, you want to be able to rotate your players while keeping the level of performance high.
“The heart and determination and resilience of the group shone through. We’re going into a semi-final now, and we’ll have to be a lot more accurate. But we’re delighted to be through to the semis, this is what we came for.”
