Worrying defeat on poor night for U20s

IRELAND U20S.............53 WALES U20S...................5

WALES U20s’ Six Nations campaign started in chastening fashion with as they were hammered by a relentless Ireland in Cork.

Byron Hayward’s side were firmly outclassed by the home side in every facet - struggling to get to grips with both the physicality of the home side and the interpretation of the officials on an evening when both wing Oli Andrew and lock Joe Peard spent time in the sin-bin.

Ireland’s eight tries at Musgrave Park ensured that they romped to a record victory over the Welsh in the U20s Six Nations – with elusive winger Chay Mullins catching the eye with an impressive brace as Ireland notched up 53 points with relative ease.

Matthew Devine, Mark Morrissey, Reuben Crothers, James McNabney, James McNabney and Ben Brownlee were the others in green jerseys who crossed the whitewash.

It took until the 76th minute for Wales to trouble the scorers - when Andrew crossed for a consolation try.

That mattered little on a sobering night for Welsh rugby.

Hayward’s side had no answers on the night, but the truth is that a 50-point defeat to open the tournament comes down to more than losing the breakdown or slipping off tackles.

The blame lays largely away from the 23 young men who pulled on their red jerseys and gave their all.

Quite simply, Cork witnessed the systemic failures of Welsh rugby in full effect. This match highlighted the concerning trend where Welsh rugby is heading in proper ‘hide behind the sofa’ fashion.

It was only a year ago that former Wales wing Nigel Walker, before he took up the job as the WRU’s performance director and before he handed the Wales players their jerseys ahead of the clash in Cork, questioned where we were heading.

“I would ask where is the performance strategy for the game in Wales? Let alone revisiting it, where is it?”

On the evidence at Musgrave Park, those questions are still pertinent ones.

There’s no escaping the cold, hard truth that this was a truly worrying night for the game in Wales.