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The 42 is the home of quality journalism for passionate Irish sports fans, bringing you closer to the stories that matter through insightful analysis and sharp sportswriting.
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IRELAND’S U20 SIX Nations campaign began in defeat to champions England in a drudging curtain-raiser at Virgin Media Park, Cork.
On a rainy, windy night on Leeside, England’s suffocative defence weathered a series of Irish storms and the pinpoint boot of Ben Coen did the rest of the damage as the visitors made a deserved winning start to their title defence.
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Substantial report of the match in fairness
England looked further on un their development…but how Ireland will rue the chances they missed when english were down to 13 players
@Sean: Review the populations.
Pity they couldn’t put on some more Leinster players. Seems to be the solution for the senior team
@FoxyBoiiYT: maybe if munster had invested more money in developing home grown players than buying in so many foreign recruits in the last 25 years they might be in a position to supply more than a handful of players to the national team
@FoxyBoiiYT: jaysus foxy, you are such a poxy phucker
@Sean: Maybe of Leinster spent even more money we might have won that game. Totes embarrassing for the goi’s
@FoxyBoiiYT: you should take a bit more sugar in your tea..your bitterness is coming through very strongly
@FoxyBoiiYT: Anti-Leinster bitterness out of every pore.
@FoxyBoiiYT: Pity the lady on commentary couldn’t get to know the scrum half’s name ,imagine the pride at being picked for your country only to be called “the 9″ by that wan.
@Sean: leinster had more imports in their final match day 23 in their heinken cup wins than ulster did in theirs or munster did in either of theirs. so there is only one team that dopes their squad to gain success and that is leinster. fund fact of the day for you.
@Gerry Campbell: women should not be commentating mens rugby at all.
@FoxyBoiiYT: it’s amazing the hatred for Leinster that Munster supporters have, ye all seem to forget that Munster players dominated the Irish team years ago when management actually invested in the team. Maybe if management poured more money into their team like Leinster does they’d have more Irish team players, nobody to blame but themselves!
Oh and before you say Leinster this, Leinster that, i’m a Leinster supporter and my two favourite players are actually on the Munster squad, so i’m not being biased.
@John Doe: where does the Munster money come from? Dublin?
It’s all a learning curve all them young players will be the better for the experience.
Could Virgin have picked a worse team of commentators?
That was, without doubt, the single, worst 80 minutes of rugby it was ever my misfortune to witness. A total dirgefest. Ireland’s inventivness destroyed by schoolboy errors. And England lacking any inventivness at all beyond ‘might is right so pass it to the big guy’. Just appalling rugby. And the 20 min red card is a dangerous and stupid development.
Useless shower, back to Blackrock with them
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: now now, many of them are St Michael’s!
The difference in development is chalk and cheese. Junior Kpoku has started 10 games for Racing this year including 2 in the Champions Cup. Pollock has started 8 games for Northampton all while the majority of the Irish U20s are playing AIL and provincial A games
Very poor game management from Ireland. You would have to question the coaching as the players seemed to be just going from side to side, no go forward, no inventiveness….
have your say