The Scotsman reports

By Alan Lorimer
in Rovigo
Scotland will play Tonga in the fourth round of the Junior World Championship on Wednesday after losing to Ireland on Saturday by a 17-point margin that cruelly misrepresented the closeness of the game.
With seven minutes of match time remaining Scotland had the game in their sights when they trailed Ireland by just three points. But as against both England and South Africa, Scotland leaked scores in the final few minutes of the game to finish losers by a massive gap.

Scotland coach Peter Wright could barely disguise his disappointment when he said: "For 70 minutes we were in the game. We dominated the first half but didn't trouble the scoreboard, we started well in the second half and with ten minutes to go with the score at 9-6 we were looking at a possible win.

"Ireland showed their class late in the game but to have three tries scored against us is disappointing. But that's where we are right now at this level. 

''I think that a 15-6 scoreline might have been a fairer reflection," concluded the former Scotland and Lions prop. On a warm night at the Stadio Battaglini in Rovigo, Scotland always had to battle hard to contain the heavier and stronger Irish pack behind which a lively set of backs always threatened. If there was a likely explanation for the leakage of 21 points in the final seven minutes then it was perhaps down to the intensity and energy that Scotland had put into the game up to that stage.

Ireland were seeded above Scotland, they had beaten the Scots in the Six Nations (at Inverness), they had seriously challenged both South Africa and England and they had strengthened their squad with the inclusion of several Celtic League players. It was therefore not surprising that they came away with victory, which gave the Irish a place in the middle group and a second meeting with South Africa.

Frustratingly Scotland are not far away from matching teams like Ireland but it is the lack sufficient players with experience of top-level rugby that is the telling factor. However a number of players have improved significantly, notably the Stirling scrum-half Sean Kennedy and the Loughborough University loosehead Alex Allan. 

Scotland's second row of Rob McAlpine and Mitch Todd together with No 8 James Tyas also earned plaudits for all-round performances.

Two penalties by Duncan Weir to three by Paddy Jackson had kept Scotland in sight of victory before the calamitous finale that had all the hallmarks of a tragic opera.

Tries by wing Andrew Conroy, Luke Marshall and David Doyle, all converted, blew Scotland's chances away, a converted try on the whistle by Danny Gilmour being scant consolation.

Scorers: Scotland Under-20: Try: Gilmour. Con: Edwards. Pens: Weir 2. Ireland Under-20: Tries: Conway, Marshall, Doyle. Cons: Jackson, McKinney 2. Pens: Jackson 3.

Scotland Under-20s: G Bryce (Heriot's); S Atkin (Edinburgh Accies), M Bennett (Ayr), D Gilmour (Stirling County), K Gossman (Glasgow Hawks); D Weir (Glasgow, capt), S Kennedy (Stirling County); A Allan (Loughborough University), D Cherry (Team Northumbria), C Phillips (Stewart's-Melville), Mitch Todd (Nottingham), Robert McAlpine (West of Scotland), M Eadie (Filton College), H Watson (Leicester Tigers), James Tyas (Bath). Subs: R Ferguson (Melrose), G Hunter (Glasgow Hawks), R Hislop (Edinburgh), J Swanson (Boroughmuir), J Stevenson (Westcombe Park), S Edwards (Stirling County), A Spence (Heriot's).

Ireland Under-20s: T O'Halloran (Galwegians/Connacht); A Conway (Blackrock/Leinster), B Macken (Blackrock/Leinster), L Marshall (Ballymena/Ulster), A Boyle (UCD/Leinster); P Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster), K Marmion (UWIC/Exile); J Tracy (UCD/ Leinster), N Annett (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster, capt), T Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), M Kearney (Clontarf/Leinster), I Henderson (Queen's University/Ulster), E McKeon (Galwegians/Connacht), D Gallagher (Dublin University/Ulster), J Murphy (Lansdowne/Leinster). Subs: D Doyle (UCD/Leinster), C Carey (Ballymena/Ulster), D Qualter (Buccaneers/ Connacht), S Buckley (Garryowen/Munster), P du Toit UCD/Leinster), J McKinney (Queen's University/Ulster), C Gilroy (Dungannon/Ulster).

This article was posted on 20-Jun-2011, 06:16 by Hugh Barrow.