Ireland U20s undone by clinical France in World U20 Championship final

THE Ireland U20s came up short in their bid to secure a first ever World U20 Championship title when losing out to a clinical France U20 side 50-14 in their decider played at Athlone Sports Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa on Friday evening.

Ireland had trailed by just three points, 14-17, at half-time in the decider.

However, in the second half an impressive French side powered their way to third successive World U-20 title with a ruthless attacking performance, scoring five of their seven tries after the restart.

Seeking to add a first World U20 championship to their back-to-back U-20 Six Nations Grand Slams won earlier in the year, the Ireland U-20s hit the front in the fourth minute through Fintan Gunne's well-taken try.

Ireland had a second try when John Devine crashed over, replying to a Mathis Ferté effort to lead 14-10. However, Lino Julien edged the French back in front and some late pressure saw Paddy McCarthy sin-binned for pulling down a maul.

Richie Murphy's youngsters fought hard to be only three points in arrears at half-time. However, France made the most of their numerical advantage after the restart with Pierre Jouvin and Nicolas Depoortere dotting down in quick succession.

Suddenly, Ireland had a 17-point deficit to overcome. A combination of a creaking line-out and the concession of some costly penalties and turnovers hindered Ireland's hopes of launching an unlikely comeback.

The short turnaround in games appeared to catch up with them too, while a physically imposing French side remained full of running. A 12-minute flurry saw the pre-match favourites pick up three more tries, with Ferté, skipper Lenni Nouchi and Léo Drouet adding a late gloss.

IRELAND U-20: Henry McErlean (Terenure College RFC/Leinster); Andrew Osborne (Naas RFC/Leinster), Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), John Devine (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht), James Nicholson (UCD RFC/Leinster); Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne FC/Leinster), Fintan Gunne (Terenure College RFC/Leinster); Paddy McCarthy (Dublin University FC/Leinster), Gus McCarthy (UCD RFC/Leinster) (capt), Ronan Foxe (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Diarmuid Mangan (UCD RFC/Leinster), Conor O'Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster), James McNabney (Ballymena RFC/Ulster), Ruadhan Quinn (Old Crescent RFC/Munster), Brian Gleeson (Garryowen FC/Munster). Replacements used: Evan O'Connell (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster) for Mangan, Sam Berman (Dublin University FC/Leinster) for Gavin (both 49 mins), Charlie Irvine (Queen's University Belfast RFC/Ulster) for O'Tighearnaigh (51), Fiachna Barrett (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht) for Foxe (57), Matthew Lynch (Dublin University FC/Leinster) for Osborne, George Hadden (Clontarf FC/Leinster) for P McCarthy (both 66), Oscar Cawley (Naas RFC/Leinster) for Gunne, Max Clein (Garryowen FC/Munster) for Gleeson (both 72).