THEY WERE FORCED to dig deep against stubborn opponents, but Ireland ultimately overcame Italy at Virgin Media Park this evening to record their first win of this year’s U20 Six Nations Championship.
Having suffered a comprehensive 50-21 defeat at the hands of defending champions France in the opening round of the tournament at Perpignan last weekend, Ireland were hoping to get their campaign up and running on home soil. The lead changed hands on a number of occasions, but with Christopher Barrett, Daniel Ryan, Derry Moloney and Josh Neill all registering tries, Andrew Browne’s side emerged with a bonus-point triumph.
On the scoresheet in the aforementioned French game, Munster half-backs Tom Wood and Barrett featured prominently during the early exchanges in the Cork venue.
After his side had established an early foothold inside the Italian half, Wood – son of former Ireland hooker Keith Wood – comfortably knocked over a third minute penalty from inside the ‘22’. This helped Ireland to settle and they subsequently bagged their maiden try of the game on 13 minutes.
Following superb build-up play from Moloney and Noah Byrne, Barrett raced over for his third try of the 2026 Championship. A successful Wood conversion moved Ireland into a 10-point lead, but despite a shaky start to the action, Italy eventually opened their account with a well-worked try from skipper Luca Rossi just past the first-quarter mark.
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The visitors proceeded to gain a stranglehold on possession in wake of this score, only for an excellent break by outside centre Rob Carney to get Ireland back on the front-foot in the 31st minute.
This edged the hosts to within striking distance of the Italian whitewash and after making an initial burst for the try-line, the aforementioned Byrne picked out Ryan for a five-pointer to the right of the posts.
While this left Ireland in a strong position on the scoreboard, their Italian counterparts ended the opening period in blistering fashion. Supplementing a converted try off a line-out maul from hooker Valerio Pelli – who previously spent time as a student at Cistercian College Roscrea, close to the Offaly-Tipperary border – out-half Francesco Braga knocked over a penalty on the stroke of half-time to offer Italy a slender 17-15 interval buffer.
Although the concession of 10 points on the bounce in the space of just six minutes was a blow for Ireland, they regained the initiative within the same timeframe upon the resumption.
Chasing down a delicate kick from Carney towards the right-corner, the pacy Moloney got his hands to the ball beyond the opposition whitewash for Ireland’s third try of the game.
A wayward bonus kick from Wood ensured Italy were just three points in arrears, however, and the sin-binning of Irish flanker Joe Finn on 51 minutes presented them with a numerical advantage for the remainder of the third-quarter.
They immediately made hay with a second try from Pelli, but before Garryowen back-row Finn could return to the field of play, Ireland had forced their way back into the driving seat.
Replacement hooker Rian Handley opted for a ‘tap and go’ off a close-range penalty and via a resulting pass from team skipper Sami Bishti, South African-born openside Neill powered over for his second try in as many games at this grade.
Moments after Ireland were restored to their full compliment, Italy lost their No 8 David Sette to a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Billy Hayes. Wood moved the home team eight points clear with a well-struck penalty in the absence of Sette, but Jacopo De Rossi finished off a line-out maul at the opposite end to ensure both teams would emerge from this encounter with a try bonus.
Italian pushed hard for a match-winning score in the closing moments of an enthralling affair, but Ireland secured a turnover penalty under enormous pressure that enabled them to squeeze over the line in the end.
Ireland scorers:
Tries – Christopher Barrett, Daniel Ryan, Derry Moloney, Josh Neill
Conversions – Tom Wood [2 from 4]
Penalties – Tom Wood [2 from 2]
Italy scorers:
Tries – Valerio Pelli 2, Luca Rossi, Jacopo De Rossi
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Conversions – Francesco Braga [2 from 4]
Penalties – Francesco Braga [1 from 1]
IRELAND: Noah Byrne; Derry Moloney, Rob Carney (Johnny O’Sullivan ’76), James O’Leary, Daniel Ryan; Tom Wood (Charlie O’Shea ’69), Christopher Barrett (James O’Dwyer ’69); Max Doyle (Christian Foley ’69), Lee Fitzpatrick (Rian Handley ’56), Sami Bishti (Blake McClean ’69); Dylan McNeice (Billy Hayes ‘6-’15 & ‘62), Sean Walsh; Joe Finn, Josh Neill, Diarmaid O’Connell (Ben Blaney ’51).
ITALY: Edoardo Vitale (Alessio Scaramazza.’66); Malik Faissal, Daniele Coluzzi (Thomas Del Sureto ’66), Riccardo Casarin, Luca Rossi; Francesco Braga, Alessandro Teodosio (Nikolaj Varottoj ’61); Christian Brasini (Giacomo Messori ’66), Valerio Pelli (Jacpop De Rossi ’66), Luca Trevisan (Leonard Tosi ’51); Simone Fardin, Enoch Opoku Gyamfi (Marco Spreafichi ’66); Antony Miranda, Carlo-Antonio Bianchi, David Sette (Jaheim Noel Wilson ’73).
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Ireland dig deep against Italy to earn first win of 2026 U20 Six Nations
Ireland 30
Italy 27
Daire Walsh reports from Virgin Media Park
THEY WERE FORCED to dig deep against stubborn opponents, but Ireland ultimately overcame Italy at Virgin Media Park this evening to record their first win of this year’s U20 Six Nations Championship.
Having suffered a comprehensive 50-21 defeat at the hands of defending champions France in the opening round of the tournament at Perpignan last weekend, Ireland were hoping to get their campaign up and running on home soil. The lead changed hands on a number of occasions, but with Christopher Barrett, Daniel Ryan, Derry Moloney and Josh Neill all registering tries, Andrew Browne’s side emerged with a bonus-point triumph.
On the scoresheet in the aforementioned French game, Munster half-backs Tom Wood and Barrett featured prominently during the early exchanges in the Cork venue.
After his side had established an early foothold inside the Italian half, Wood – son of former Ireland hooker Keith Wood – comfortably knocked over a third minute penalty from inside the ‘22’. This helped Ireland to settle and they subsequently bagged their maiden try of the game on 13 minutes.
Following superb build-up play from Moloney and Noah Byrne, Barrett raced over for his third try of the 2026 Championship. A successful Wood conversion moved Ireland into a 10-point lead, but despite a shaky start to the action, Italy eventually opened their account with a well-worked try from skipper Luca Rossi just past the first-quarter mark.
The visitors proceeded to gain a stranglehold on possession in wake of this score, only for an excellent break by outside centre Rob Carney to get Ireland back on the front-foot in the 31st minute.
This edged the hosts to within striking distance of the Italian whitewash and after making an initial burst for the try-line, the aforementioned Byrne picked out Ryan for a five-pointer to the right of the posts.
While this left Ireland in a strong position on the scoreboard, their Italian counterparts ended the opening period in blistering fashion. Supplementing a converted try off a line-out maul from hooker Valerio Pelli – who previously spent time as a student at Cistercian College Roscrea, close to the Offaly-Tipperary border – out-half Francesco Braga knocked over a penalty on the stroke of half-time to offer Italy a slender 17-15 interval buffer.
Although the concession of 10 points on the bounce in the space of just six minutes was a blow for Ireland, they regained the initiative within the same timeframe upon the resumption.
Chasing down a delicate kick from Carney towards the right-corner, the pacy Moloney got his hands to the ball beyond the opposition whitewash for Ireland’s third try of the game.
A wayward bonus kick from Wood ensured Italy were just three points in arrears, however, and the sin-binning of Irish flanker Joe Finn on 51 minutes presented them with a numerical advantage for the remainder of the third-quarter.
They immediately made hay with a second try from Pelli, but before Garryowen back-row Finn could return to the field of play, Ireland had forced their way back into the driving seat.
Replacement hooker Rian Handley opted for a ‘tap and go’ off a close-range penalty and via a resulting pass from team skipper Sami Bishti, South African-born openside Neill powered over for his second try in as many games at this grade.
Moments after Ireland were restored to their full compliment, Italy lost their No 8 David Sette to a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Billy Hayes. Wood moved the home team eight points clear with a well-struck penalty in the absence of Sette, but Jacopo De Rossi finished off a line-out maul at the opposite end to ensure both teams would emerge from this encounter with a try bonus.
Italian pushed hard for a match-winning score in the closing moments of an enthralling affair, but Ireland secured a turnover penalty under enormous pressure that enabled them to squeeze over the line in the end.
Ireland scorers:
Tries – Christopher Barrett, Daniel Ryan, Derry Moloney, Josh Neill
Conversions – Tom Wood [2 from 4]
Penalties – Tom Wood [2 from 2]
Italy scorers:
Tries – Valerio Pelli 2, Luca Rossi, Jacopo De Rossi
Conversions – Francesco Braga [2 from 4]
Penalties – Francesco Braga [1 from 1]
IRELAND: Noah Byrne; Derry Moloney, Rob Carney (Johnny O’Sullivan ’76), James O’Leary, Daniel Ryan; Tom Wood (Charlie O’Shea ’69), Christopher Barrett (James O’Dwyer ’69); Max Doyle (Christian Foley ’69), Lee Fitzpatrick (Rian Handley ’56), Sami Bishti (Blake McClean ’69); Dylan McNeice (Billy Hayes ‘6-’15 & ‘62), Sean Walsh; Joe Finn, Josh Neill, Diarmaid O’Connell (Ben Blaney ’51).
ITALY: Edoardo Vitale (Alessio Scaramazza.’66); Malik Faissal, Daniele Coluzzi (Thomas Del Sureto ’66), Riccardo Casarin, Luca Rossi; Francesco Braga, Alessandro Teodosio (Nikolaj Varottoj ’61); Christian Brasini (Giacomo Messori ’66), Valerio Pelli (Jacpop De Rossi ’66), Luca Trevisan (Leonard Tosi ’51); Simone Fardin, Enoch Opoku Gyamfi (Marco Spreafichi ’66); Antony Miranda, Carlo-Antonio Bianchi, David Sette (Jaheim Noel Wilson ’73).
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA).
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