ALTHOUGH outclassed by France in last night’s World Rugby Under-20 Championship Final at Cape Town’s Athlone Stadium, several impressive performances were delivered from Ireland through individuals such as Garryowen’s Brian Gleeson and Ruadhán Quinn of Old Crescent.
Grand Slam winners Ireland lost 50-14 to a truly brilliant French team, most of whom have already competed in the Top 14.
Still, Ireland finish with World Championship silver, matching our best ever finish at the global show–piece from 2016. Out of ten games, Ireland won eight, drew one and lost one, scoring 395 points and 55 tries in total.
Captain Gus McCarthy reflected: “It’s been an incredible season. It just didn’t finish the way we wanted it to. If you’d told me at the start of the season that I’d captain a team to a Grand Slam and a World Cup final, I wouldn’t have believed you.
“I didn’t know all the lads when we started in October but we’ve all become brothers, we’re such a tight squad. It’s just really disappointing how it finished. But, this season as a whole has been incredible.”
