British & Irish Lions
• British & Irish Lions tour Australia in 2013
Ireland Rugby
Ireland A into the Churchill Cup Final
The Irish A side made history today as they reached the Churchill Cup for the first time. This came as a result of their win over Georgia in what appeared to by a very physical performance by the Georgians. Ireland A had an emphatic victory over Georgia – storming away to a 40-5 win.
The team went on with nine changes to the outfit that beat Canada 30-19 during the week. It was quickly proved that the changes had worked by the effective manner in which the players moved as a pack. This in itself is an achievement given that there are seven Irish players who were introduced to international rugby for the first time during this tournament.
The first try came fifteen minutes into the game when the Irish took advantage of a Georgian fumble just when they looked set to score. Johne Murphy got hold of the ball and ran it through to score a great try. This set the scene for the rest of the game and the forty points came due to a combination of hard work by the Irish and their ability to maximise opportunities.
The decisive victory over Georgia following a win over Canada means that the team has gained in confidence and is all systems go for the titanic clash against the England Saxons this weekend. It promises to be a memorable final.
IRELAND ‘A’: Felix Jones (Old Belvedere/Leinster); Simon Keogh (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Fergus McFadden (UCD/Leinster), James Downey (Northampton Saints), Johne Murphy (Leicester); Niall O’Connor (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Frank Murphy (Buccaneers/Connacht); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Denis Fogarty (Cork Constitution/Munster), Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster), Trevor Hogan (Blackrock College/Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster), Neil Best (Northampton Saints), Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster), John Muldoon (Galwegians/Connacht) (capt).
Replacements used: Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) for O’Connor, Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster) for Ronan (both 50 mins), Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster) for Healy, Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht) for Fogarty, Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster) for F Murphy (all 62), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) for Best, Keith Matthews (Buccaneers/Connacht) for McFadden (both 71).
GEORGIA: Teimuraz Sokhadze (Unattached); George Elizbarashvili (Lokomotivi), Aleksander Todua (Lelo), Revaz Gigauri (Massy), Lekso Gugava (Lokomotivi Tbilisi); Merab Kvirikashvili (Massy), Giorgi Rokhvadze (AIA); David Dadunashvili (Perigaux), Jaba Bregvadze (Kochebi Tbilisi), Giorgi Jgenti (Oyonnax), Kakhaver Uchava (Costanca Farul), Giorgi Nemsadze (Domont), Grigol Labadze (Unattached) (capt), Simon Maisuradze (Clermont Auvergne), Zviad Maisuradze (Lokomotivi).
Replacements: Iuri Natriashvili (Farul Constanca), Zero Petriashvili (Lokomotivi), Vasil Kakovin (Universteti), Rati Urushadze (Enisei-STM), Lasha Malaguradze (Beziers), Davit Kacharava (Enisei-STM), David Losaberidze (AIA).
Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia)