John Fallon reports from Manchester
IRFU PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR David Nucifora said that the progress made by the Irish side in reaching the World Rugby U20 Championship final for the first time is a huge boost.
Nucifora, who flew from South Africa to attend Monday night’s 37-7 semi-final win over Argentina, said the success was down to the work of the coaching team headed by Nigel Carolan and the players.
“It’s fantastic, it’s fantastic for these boys. They put in a lot of work and they deserved that result they got and I am sure they are going to be looking forward to playing a World Cup final,” he said.
“We have seen ongoing improvements from the start of the Six Nations to where they are now both individually and collectively.
“Obviously the job that Nigel and the rest of the coaching staff has done to bring them together as a collective has been fantastic and they deserve a lot of credit as well. It’s been a really good effort. It’s great for Irish rugby to be represented at this level.”
He also attended the opening night win over Wales before travelling on to South Africa for the Tests against the Springboks.
And he noted how the senior players were paying close attention to the performances of the U20′s in Manchester.
“They have seen all of the games. There’s a good spirit within Irish Rugby and it really gets people excited back home for these guys,” he added.
“The more of these young fellas that we can get ready for this level, the sooner the better.
Nucifora said that playing in these sort of tournaments was a great stepping stone to senior rugby and he’s pleased with the rate of improvement in players individually and as a team as they prepare for Saturday’s final against England at the AJ Bell Stadium.
“Individually they have matured as players even in this short of period of time, that is what you see at this level. That is what you look for and that is what you hope for.
“You are learning from playing at a higher level of the game and you see some boys who have improved tremendously since the start of the Six Nations.
“They get it, they understand what is involved at competing at this high level of the game. That is why benchmarking ourselves at this age is really important, and players benefit enormously from it.”
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