If defence is about attitude and commitment to supplement technique then the Ireland squad have demonstrated those qualities in spades during their two victories to date in the Under-20 Six Nations Championship, a benchmark that they’ll have to reach again in Musgrave Park on Friday night when they host Italy.
They weren’t overly taxed in a 53-5 romp against Wales but showed remarkable resilience in edging to a 17-16 victory over France in Aix-en-Provence. The man charged with overseeing the system is former Ulster and Connacht openside flanker Willie Faloon, who has taken over as defence coach with the Irish U-2Os this season.
Ireland have conceded just two tries, one in each game so far, against sides that would have a significant edge in size, particularly up front.
Faloon said: “Coming into this championship we knew we would be up against teams that would be physically maybe more developed and we would have to rely on that character and the things that typically make Irish teams good. You know, the fight that we have for each other. I think they really show that at game time.
“We’ve probably scrambled very well. It would be good to back up [with] some continuous pressure; you know, build pressure and build pressure. I think that’s what we’re striving for as a group. We’ve shown really good things and made a few little mistakes so I suppose it’s just that building of pressure and stacking that up.”
The fact that there wasn’t much, if any, footage of the other teams to analyse prior to the tournament prioritised an internal focus. Faloon explained: “Even if we had all that information, seeing what other teams are doing, I think what you are doing is always a great place to start, and then you can bend or change what you want to do around your opposition.
“I think the fact that we didn’t have that distraction was pretty positive, we could really just focus on what we need to be good at. If you do that well, it’s up to the opposition to try and break you down.”
Italy’s 6-0 victory over England last time out, a first at this level, was an example of the strides they have made in age-grade rugby but Ireland were already well versed with some of this group having lost a pre-Christmas warm-up game 15-8 to the Italians.
Faloon admitted: “Italy play some lovely rugby and if they’re allowed to do that they’re a fantastic team with a really good set-piece. They’ve good players, good athletes right across the board.”
World Rugby confirmed that there would be no World Junior Championship again this year – the tournament is set to resume in 2023 – but there would be some regional events, the details of which are currently being worked out. The Ireland Under-20 team will be announced on Wednesday.
