British & Irish Lions
• British & Irish Lions tour Australia in 2013
Ireland Rugby
Ireland U20 finish pool stages of IRB competition
The Ireland U20 team is currently taking part in the IRB Toshiba Junior World Championship being held in Japan. The tournament has been an eye-opener for many of the players as this is their first experience of international rugby. The Irish officials present in Japan have stated that they were impressed with the level of depth that the country will have in terms of its rugby going forward.
Today saw the team complete the pool stages of the competition with a win against Uruguay. This South American team is new to the tournament and were essentially an unknown entity, match experience showed the Irish to be superior to their competition and this was their second win in the pool stages.
The humidity posed quite a challenge to the Irish and there were fears that this could serve to undermine their performance. But all worries were put to rest by 22 minutes into the game when the first try was scored by Jonny Shiels. This was to be the first of seven in a thoroughly impressive performance. Jonny Shiels went on to score a second try, while Andrew Burke, David McGregor and Michael Keating also added their names to the score sheet.
The entire game was just one of Irish domination and the U20 side eventually went on to defeat Uruguay by 45 – 0. This win means that Ireland is to face Wales in the first of their play off games. This is no doubt going to be a tough match but for now the Irish will have a bit of time to savour this great victory