Monday, 21 June 2010

Scotland under-20 ended the IRB Junior World Championship seeded tenth in the world after losing the ninth-place playoff to Six Nations champions Ireland (53-23) at the Club Atletico Estudiantes in Argentina.
While Scotland managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over, individual defensive errors cost them dear as Ireland ran in three first-half tries and a pair of penalties.
A converted try and three penalties in response from Scotland meant that there was nine points in it at the break.
 
Unfortunately for Scotland Ireland’s clinical ability to cross the whitewash continued with another four tries to Scotland’s one to end the game in convincing form.
 
Scotland under-20 head coach, Eamon John, said: “We're really disappointed in that performance today.
 
“We played in patches and Ireland took their chances and got away from us so we're bitterly disappointed.
 
“We scored two good tries but we fell of tackles on occasion and if you do that at this level you’ll be punished.”
 
In a busy first-half Ireland scored 11 unanswered points in as many minutes, with two penalties from wing Simon Zebo and stand-off Noel Reid, before they scored an unconverted try from Andrew Conway. Scotland responded through the boot of stand-off Duncan Weir to make it 11-3.
 
Ireland then bagged two more tries either side of a second Weir penalty – Reid scoring and converting his own effort before adding the extras to Conway’s second of the match, 25-6.
 
Scotland then fought back through back-row Robert Harley who collected lineout ball on the 5m line and was driven over to score.
 
Weir’s boot kept Scotland in contention as he slotted the conversion and a second penalty before the break.
 
HALF TIME: 25-16
 
Despite their fruitful efforts to reduce the gap before the break, Scotland’s work was undone in ten minutes when Zebo and hooker Niall Annett both scored. Reid added the extras to each in a numerical killer blow for the Scots, 38-16.
 
Despite conceding, Scotland kept battling and were rewarded when captain Stuart McInally dribbled the ball well at the back of a scrum to crash in from short range.
 
Weir converted to the narrow the scores once more (38-23) however a pair of tries from Conway (to make his hat-trick) and scrum-half John Cooney (converted by Reid) closed out the match for an Irish win.
 
Try-scoring back-row Robert Harley said: “It was a game of real ups and downs for us out there. When we played rugby we played some really, really good rugby and scored a couple of great tries but the Irish were clinical and when they got half breaks they ended up with a try almost every time.”
 
FULL TIME: 52-23
 
Scotland team
Tom Brown; Callum MacBurnie, James Johnstone, Alex Dunbar, Michael Tait; Duncan Weir, Alex Black; Anthony Kent, Alun Walker, Nicky Little, David Denton, Grant Gilchrist, Robert Harley, Callum Stidston-Nott, Stuart McInally CAPTAIN
Substitutes
Adam Fedorciow (on for Walker), Colin Phillips (on for Little), Michael Fedo (on for Stidston-Nott), Robert McAlpine (on for McInally), Russell Weir (on for Black), Matthew Scott (on for Dunbar), Oliver Grove (on for Brown)
 
Saturday 5 June - Australia 58-13 Scotland, Estadio CA Colon, Santa Fe
Wednesday 9 June - South Africa 73-0 Scotland, Estadio CA Colon, Santa Fe

Sunday 13 June - Scotland 27-3 Tonga, Club Atletico Estudiantes, Parana

This article was posted on 21-Jun-2010, 21:57 by Hugh Barrow.