RUGBY/Under-19 World Cup/Ireland 10 Australia 15:It was one of those occasions when fortune didn't favour the brave as Ireland rattled the defending champions to their back teeth only to come up marginally short. The Australians played just over half the match with 14 men after number eight Michael Uoka was sent off two minutes before the interval.
A crowd of 6,715 witnessed a brilliant contest at Ravenhill with the Irish side ultimately left to rue what might have been. It shouldn't detract from a spirited and tenacious Irish display that yielded a losing bonus point and involved every single player but particularly the pack, who outplayed their opponents for long periods.
The Irish tackling, particularly on the fringes in the opening half, was wonderfully aggressive, the commitment and bravery striking against a physically more powerful eight. The home side were facilitated by the Australians' desire in seeking out contact rather than space.
Indeed the visitors pursued the bludgeoning approach behind the scrum with outhalf Patrick McCabe invariably switching play back inside, a ploy that suited Ireland's tigerish defence. The exchanges threatened to boil over on a couple of occasions and eventually did in sensational fashion.
Australian number eight Uoka was sent off after 33 minutes for what appeared to be a swinging forearm to the head of an Irish player. Welsh referee James Jones had no hesitation in brandishing the red card, reducing the Aussies to 13 men as they already had scrumhalf Jeremy Sua in the sinbin.
At that point Ireland led 5-0, thanks to a superbly crafted try, primarily attributable to outhalf Scott Deasy's vision and perfect execution of a cross-kick and right wing Niall Morris's composure and neat step to score in the corner. Deasy, who had earlier narrowly missed a penalty, failed with the difficult conversion.
It was no more than the home side deserved as they had played the better rugby in the opening 35 minutes, offloading in the tackle for good yardage and forcing turnovers or penalties at ruck time. They also possessed the game's most balanced runner in centre Eoin O'Malley.
Ireland had one glorious chance to increase their lead just before half-time but livewire scrumhalf Kris Greene decided to go for the cross-kick deep inside the visitors' 22 rather than use numerical advantage.
Ireland suffered a double whammy after the interval losing secondrow Brian Cawley to the sinbin and then conceding a well-worked try to the Australian left wing Andrew Barrett.
Rowan Kellam, who had just missed a penalty, converted superbly from the touchline to nudge his side 7-5 in front.
The physical toll was beginning to tell on the home side as they started to fall off tackles and the Aussie ball carriers started to make inroads.
When the Irish were penalised for offside on their own 22, the Aussies punted to touch, won the lineout and then spun it wide to send Barrett in for a second try in the same corner.
The signs were ominous for Ireland as their execution become more rushed and frantic, and they kicked away possession when they needed to keep it and make the 14-man opposing team work harder to get it back.
One quality this young Irish team doesn't lack though is character, and just when it seemed as if the game was ebbing away they roared back into the contest, culminating in a try for replacement hooker Michael Sherry after they had kicked a penalty to touch in the corner. O'Malley's touchline conversion fell marginally short.
A couple of Irish errors allowed Australia to get a foothold in the home 22 and having spurned one shot at goal, Kellam duly posted a second opportunity in injury time.
It was a cruel conclusion to a monumental Irish effort.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 16 mins: Morris try, 5-0. 40: Barrett try, Kellam con, 5-7; 45: Barrett try, 5-12; 64: Sherry try, 10-12; 71: Kellam pen, 10-15.
IRELAND: A Craig (Instonians); N Morris (Blackrock), E O'Malley (UCD), C Cleary (St Michael's), P Brophy (St Michael's); S Deasy (PBC Cork), K Greene (St Mary's); P Karayiannis (RBAI/QUB), S Douglas (Ballymena), M Nelson (Ballynahinch); B Cawley (UCD), I Nagle (Glenstal Abbey); K Essex (CBC, Cork/UCC), R Reilly (St Michael's), P Ryan (Blackrock, capt). Replacements: D Foley (UL Bohemian) for Cawley (50 mins); M Sherry (Ard Scoil Rís/Garryowen) for Douglas (58 mins); J Harris-Wright (Blackrock) for Essex (58 mins); J Smith (Ballymena) for Deasy (58 mins); P Mallon (St Michael's) for Reilly (59 mins).
AUSTRALIA: P Betham; A Mafi, R Kellam, B Gillespie (capt), A Barrett; P McCabe, J Su'a; T Faulkner, J Hanson, D Palmer; R Simmons, S Wykes; B McCallam, R Maa, M Uoka. Replacements: B Daley for Palmer (52 mins); J Ryan for Sua (63 mins).
Referee: J Jones (Wales).
