Ireland Under-18s crashed to their first defeat in the final game of the Four Nations Tournament at Pontypridd. Colin Murphy of Belvedere College and RBAI's James McCullough both went over for late tries as Ireland rallied in the final seven minutes.
England had brushed Ireland aside with four earlier tries and 18 points from the boot of Marcus Jackson.
St Munchin's hooker Gerard Slattery kept Ireland in touch with three first-half penalties only for horrendous defensive lapses to gift crucial tries either side of half-time.
IRELAND: D Lavery; S Monahan, A Wynne, I Whitten, C Murphy; I Keatley, S Cranley (D Drake 64); D Millard (D Mahoney 64), G Flattery (S Douglas 52), R Sweeney (J McCullough 64), J Graham, N Keogh (J Hogan 52), K Sheehan, S O'Brien (capt) (T O'Donnell 66), D Fenlon (D Johnston 67). Tries: C Murphy, J McCullough; Pens: G Flattery (3).
ENGLAND: A Tait; O Dodge, G Hughes (capt), J Turner-Hall, N Canty (M Odejobi 52); M Jackson, R Springall; J Mullan, A Bray (J Page 56), J Forster (A Lewis 56), C Gardiner (S Eborall 64), S Pitfield, S McDonald (H Ellis 40), A Shaw (T Visser 73), J Miller (R Gill 26). Tries: J Miller, J Turner-Hall, O Dodge, M Odejobi; Pens: M Jackson (4); Cons: M Jackson (3).
Halftime: England 23 Ireland 9.
Referee: A Hepburn (Scotland)
