Ireland U20s 24-18 Georgia U20s
GELA APRASIDZE SCORED one of the tries of the tournament but Ireland did enough to withstand a brave Georgian performance and end the U20 Championship with a consolation win in the ninth/tenth-place playoff.
A disappointing few weeks for Peter Malone’s side looked set to get worse as they lost wing Calvin Nash to a suspected shoulder injury just six minutes in and then trailed 10-7 at the break, Alan Tynan’s 20th-minute try cancelled out by Guram Gogichashvili.
Caelan Sweetman-Doris and captain Paul Boyle settled any Irish nerves with tries inside the opening 10 minutes after the restart, both converted by Conor Dean for a 21-10 lead.
But scrum-half Aprasidze responded for the hosts with a scintillating try, beating three Irish defenders with a jinking run that started inside his own half, and when he added a penalty on the hour mark, Ireland’s advantage was cut to a nervy three points.
That was the signal for Malone to freshen up his pack, bringing Joseph Conway, Greg McGrath and Jack Regan off the bench.
The reinforced scrum pressure earned Ireland’s final penalty, Dean converting to close out a six-point win.
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