The attrition rate of the World Rugby U-20 Championship, with five games packed into 19 days, could be about to claim another victim with lock Cillian Gallagher doubtful to see out the tournament.
Ireland have lost a player a game so far, with prop Conor Kenny lasting just three minutes against Wales, while outhalf Bill Johnston went off just after half-time against New Zealand. Both suffered shoulder injuries and both went home and were replaced in the squad.
Now lock Gallagher, who was only added to the bench on Wednesday when captain James Ryan was not risked, is in a battle to stay involved.
He, too, suffered a shoulder injury which forced him to come off in the second-half of the 34-7 win over Georgia.
He underwent a scan on Thursday morning to determine whether or not he continue in the tournament, with Ireland set to meet Argentina in the semi-finals on Monday.
Monitor the situation
Gallagher’s Sligo clubmate
Matthew Cosgrove
has been placed on standby should he be required. Coach Nigel Carolan said they would monitor the situation before making a call.
His attention has now turned to Argentina as Ireland, beaten by England in their only semi-final appearance two years ago, bid to reach the final for the first time against either hosts England or South Africa.
“We’ll regroup, but certainly look forward with real interest at how things are going to turn out. We came here knowing that we can’t put out the same 15 every game,” he said.
“The attrition rate and the proximity of games means that we have to rotate the squad and we took a chance against Georgia. But we backed the players that we had and it’s great that those guys came up trumps and got the bonus point when it counted.”
