Ulster Players Make an Impact in Irish Schools' U18 Five Nations Festival

WALES UNDER-18 24 - 18 IRELAND UNDER-18 SCHOOLS
The Ireland Under-18 Schools team (sponsored by Pricewaterhouse Coopers)almost came back from the dead to stun hosts Wales in the opening match of the Under-18 Five Nations Festival at Llandovery RFC on Friday 2nd April.

From the start, Wales, looking nervous, knocked on and were subsequently penalised for turning in at the scrum. It was an immediate opportunity Ireland out-half Paddy Jackson tucked between the posts. However, the Welsh, who changed their entire front row from the recent defeat to England, were moving Ireland backwards at a rate of knots. It did little for the confidence of Terry McMaster's young side. There appeared to be compensation for the visitors as Wales encountered problems in the lineout, the first two balls lost amid a flurry of hands. The home side's out-half Matthew Morgan opted for position rather than points from a kickable penalty, perhaps on the back of an early miss at the posts. Lock Luke Hamilton gathered it in and got around to have a pop at the line only to spill it forward.

It mattered little as their scrum moved to establish the platform to put centre George North smashing through the Irish defence from ten metres. Morgan converted for a 7-3 lead in the 15th minute. It was starting to look ominous for the Irish, the disparity in power as obvious as the first quarter territorial domination. It needed a crunching tackle from left winger Sam Coghlan Murray to prevent further gains down the right. The old pick-and-go was their best friend on the churned-up surface. Even then, the collisions were all made on Welsh terms as the back row of Owen Sheppeard, Thomas Young and Baker piled through the point of contact. When Ireland centre JJ Hanrahan lost the ball forward near his own line, Wales looked odds-on to cross on the right only for Wales senior international Tom Prydie to repeat Hanrahan's error with no more than three metres to go.

It mattered little. Unbelievably, referee Luke Pearce brought play back for a previous penalty award. Wales loosehead prop Rob Evans tapped and plunged for the line. Morgan was never going to miss the conversion for a 14-3 advantage at the break.

The second half started like the first with Wales conceding a chance to Jackson, this time at the ruck. It was also from much further out. Jackson was right and short from 44 metres with the backing of a considerable wind. Suddenly, out of the blue, Wales lost their discipline on more than one occasion for a loss of yards and Jackson reduced the leeway with his second penalty in the 44th minute. There were further signs of an Irish revival, with Jackson looking to make the ball do the work going for distance over subtlety with the boot. It did not prevent Wales from going on the counter, and left winger Eli Walker was stopped short by an excellent tackle from full-back Charlie Simpson.

Just when it seemed a delicious punt into the right corner had put Ireland deep inside the 22, Walker electrified the crowd with a 70-metre counter that eventually led to North surging over on the right. Morgan kicked the extras. Then, Ireland finally found their feet and hands, Jackson and Hanrahan combining to send prop Rory Harrison to the posts. Jackson's conversion narrowed the gap to 21-13 on the hour mark. It was not just a consolation. The Irish came again at pace down the right, showing all the signs of growing confidence.

It was a pair of swift transfers from Coghlan Murray and Simpson that gave replacement Mark Corballis just enough room to ground the ball in the right corner, and a determined Ireland were just three points away. However, Wales got back on the attack for replacement Joseff Griffin to strike a penalty in the 64th minute, stretching the distance to six points. It was just about enough. Scrum half Luke McGrath got a glimpse of a hole that closed just in time as Ireland lost out despite a spirited comeback.

Scorers- Wales: Tries: George North 2, Rob Evans, Cons: Matthew Morgan 3; Pen: Joseff Griffin
Ireland: Tries: Rory Harrison, Mark Corballis; Con: Paddy Jackson; Pens: Paddy Jackson 2

IRELAND UNDER-18 SCHOOLS 17-41 ENGLAND UNDER-18
The Ireland Under-18 Schools' side (sponsored by Pricewaterhouse Coopers) put in another spirited display but opponents, England proved too strong in Ireland's second match of the U-18 Five Nationsl Festival tie at Llandovery RFC.
It never pays to play the poor mouth these days. Ireland has learned to thrive in an environment where their resources are a fraction of those enjoyed by the larger nations.

However, the sheer physical size and volume of the players on offer to England made this a boys-versus-men encounter.
The Irish pack was working against a 55 kilos concession in weight - that is 17 stones in old money. This included the presence of 127 kilos, or 20 stones, blindside flanker in Billy Vunipola. England were driven by the internal goal to achieve an Under-18 Grand Slam, having already beaten France (33-16), Italy (28-12), Wales (43-22) and Scotland (29-9) this season, as well as a 30-28 victory over Australian Schools in December.

Immediately, lock Shane Buckley was pinged for going off his feet at the first ruck. England out-half George Ford, the son of former Ireland defence coach Mike Ford, booted it home for a first minute lead. Straight away, swift lineout ball from Conor Gilsenan at the tail and Paddy Jackson's strong line onto the ball drew a penalty for hands in the ruck by openside flanker Chris Walker. Jackson tied it up from in front of the posts. Then, Ford's inch perfect diagonal kick forced a lineout from which hooker Koree Britton eventually barrelled to the line for Ford to convert in the sixth minute. Still, the signals were so much better for Ireland than in the first game against Wales. The Irish scavenged manically at the breakdown.

Full-back Ross Jones countered from a poor clearance at the end of which out-half Cathal Marsh stroked over a drop goal.
The danger for Ireland came when England were able to get a foothold in their half and go through their well-practiced moves. From one, the back-line opened the door for left winger Charlie Walker to be the extra man out wide for their second try and a 15-6 advantage. When Irish captain Niall Scannell was jerked back after coming through the middle of a ruck to hack the ball on, Jackson nailed his third penalty in the 26th minute.

The swarming Irish were there to earn a penalty for holding on when England full-back Ben Ransom tried to run from deep. Jackson was on the mark from the right on the half-hour mark. If Ireland could hold out until the break they would be in good nick, even into the teeth of the wind. But this was a scenario that unfortunately did not play out. A wheeled scrum led to lost ball and an England lineout five metres out. They were able to engineer a drive for number 7 Walker to touch down to make it 20-12 at the interval. Out-half Marsh's perfect pass set Ireland alight, Sam Coghlan Murray beating his man only to go himself instead of making use of the unopposed Mark Corballis. It was so near and yet so far.

They came again. The handling was a delight. The Irish were oozing football, keeping it simple, moving the ball away from England's heavy hitters and into the open spaces. They just needed a try. It did not come. Ford's precise kick forced Ireland into the concession of a lineout close to their line. When the catch and drive did notwork, the out-half's side door pass was taken home by centre Elliot Daly. Ford's conversion made it 27-12 in the 50th minute.

It was starting to look one-sided. Ford got the better of his opposite number Marsh for their fifth try which he also converted.
Then, full-back Ben Ransom had the wheels to take advantage of a slip in concentration from the Irish, with Ford again adding the extras. Encouragingly, the Irish never stopped dipping their shoulders into the tackle and they got a semblance of reward for their application when Coghlan Murray sparked a last-minute attack. Replacement JJ Hanrahan's accurate diagonal kick was caught and touched down by skipper Scannell to end the match on a positive note.

Scorers- Ireland: Try: Niall Scannell; Pens: Paddy Jackson 3; Drop: Cathal Marsh
Wales: Tries: Koree Britton, Charlie Walker, Chris Walker, Elliot Daly, George Ford, Ben Ransom; Cons: George Ford 4; Pen: George Ford

IRELAND UNDER-18 SCHOOLS 28-24 SCOTLAND UNDER-18
The Ireland Under-18 Schools team, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, overcame a 17-9 half-time deficit to beat their Scottish counterparts in their final match of the U-18 Five Nations Festival at Llandovery RFC in West Wales.

It would be fair to say Ireland frontloaded their first choice players for the gigantic challenges posed by Wales and England in the first two matches. Scotland, on the other hand, saved their best for last, the midweek stroll against Italy allowing their management to rest players ahead of an encounter they would have targeted in the same way that the Irish prepared for them. This juggling of resources on both sides - a competition rule dictates that every squad player must start at least one match - made the Scots slight favourites.

Ireland captain Niall Scannell joined Sam Coghlan Murray and Paddy Jackson in starting all three matches. But, the Cork front rower also managed the unique achievement of starting in all three positions from one to three. It was a frantic start, patterns and structure going out the window as mistakes ruled the opening minutes. Eventually, a lofted ball was taken by Ireland's Ross Jones only for the full-back to become isolated on the counter. He held on too long on the ground and Scotland's Mark Bennett made it 3-0 from a 30-metre penalty in the fourth minute. Straight away, Bennett doubled the deficit for the Irish when he struck from halfway on account of an offside.

Skipper Scannell and lock Yasin Browne got on the ball from the restart. Scotland showed they were not in full control of their defence either by needlessly conceding a penalty which centre Paddy Jackson kicked. Then, centre Bennett twice beat the first man up to give Scotland momentum and out-half Harry Leonard faked a long pass left, darting inside the Irish defence to make it 11-3 in the 19th minute. Once again, Ireland's reply was swift, out-half Ritchie McMaster working off a solid platform to land a drop goal from straight in front of the posts.

Bennett was back at it again, sending replacement Mitch Eadie through the middle to draw a penalty from the scrambling Irish cover and then kicking the ensuing penalty for a 14-6 gap by the 25th minute.
The Irish just lacked sparkle. Still, blindside flanker Ben Johnstone could not resist the temptation to play the ball off his feet. Jackson kept Ireland in touch from left of the posts, before Bennett blasted over when Conor Gilsenan strayed offside at a lineout to make it 17-9 at the break.

Ireland showed greater intensity on the resumption. They were helped by a couple of canny introductions from the bench in Luke McGrath, JJ Hanrahan and Aaron Conneely. Winger Coghlan Murray carved up the midfield for replacement Peter Nelson to score with his first touch. Jackson added the extras in the 40th minute. Suddenly, the Irish were moving the ball out of the tackle, fixing defenders and creating space. A Jackson half-break was all that was needed for Coghlan Murray to steam onto a flat pass for Ireland's second converted try, four minutes later, for a 23-17 turnaround.

A period of high pace rugby concluded with Coghlan Murray streaking clear to get in behind the cover and full-back Jones showing great strength and commitment to make it into the right corner. Jackson's conversion came back off the upright.
Scotland snatched a late consolation try through out-half Leonard, who also knocked over the conversion in injury-time, but Ireland held on to claim a morale-boosting win.

Scorers- Ireland: Tries: Sam Coghlan Murray, Peter Nelson, Ross Jones; Cons: Paddy Jackson 2; Pens: Paddy Jackson 2; Drop: Ritchie McMaster
Scotland: Tries: Harry Leonard 2; Con: Harry Leonard; Pens: Mark Bennett 4

IRELAND UNDER 18 SQUAD AS FOLLOWS:

Charlie Simpson (Ballymena Academy)
Stephen Macauley (Clongowes Wood College)
Peter Nelson (Royal School Dungannon)
JJ Hanrahan (Rockwell College)
Sam Coghlan Murray (Newbridge College)
Paddy Jackson (Methodist College)
Luke McGrath (St. Michael's College)
Rory Harrison (Methodist College)
James Rael (Castletroy Community College)
Niall Scannell (Presentation Brothers College, Cork) (capt)
Yasin Browne (Christian Brothers College, Cork)
Shane Buckley (Rockwell College)
Adam Clarkin (Terenure College)
Aaron Conneely (Colaiste Iognaid)
Daniel Qualter (Sligo Grammar School)
Eoghan Cross (Crescent Community College)
Conor Gilsenan (Clongowes Wood College)
Jack Conan (St. Gerard's School)
Kyle McCall (Wallace High School)
Des Merrey (The King's Hospital)
Peter Reilly (Castleknock College)
Harry Doyle (Royal School Armagh)
Mark Corballis (St. Michael's College)
Aaron Thomas (Castleknock College)
Cathal Marsh (St. Michael's College)
Ritchie McMaster (Coleraine Academical Institution)
Garret O'Suilleabhain (Clongowes Wood College)

Ireland Under-18 Schools' Management:
Terry McMaster - Coach
Kenneth Hooks - Assistant Coach
Gabriel Fulcher - Assistant Coach
Lorcan Balfe - Manager
Ozzie Fogarty - Doctor
David Lyons - Physio
Chris Shields - Fitness Advisor
Matthew Maguire - Team Assistant