Wales Under-20 team finishes seventh in IRB 2011 Junior World Championship – Rugby news
Following their humiliating defeat at the hands of the All Blacks Under-20s team, Wales have ended their tournament on a high note as they defeated their sporting rivals Ireland 38 – 24.
Both teams were playing in the seventh place play-off encounter in the International Rugby Board’s (IRB) 2011 Junior World Championship (JWC) at Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso on Sunday, June 26.
Wales Under-20s side finished second in their pool by winning two of their three round matches. All Blacks Under-20s side had a record breaking run and the highlight was their tremendous win over Wales, 92 – 0. This is the biggest winning margin in the history
of the JWC.
Additionally, the 92 points margin defeat is the heaviest in the history of the Welsh Rugby Union. Followed this, Wales Under-20s later lost their fifth place semi-final match to Fiji’s under 20s’ side 34 – 20 at Stadio Plebiscito, Padova on Wednesday, June
22.
Wales Under-20s head coach, Richard Webster, has praised the efforts of his team following their two surprising defeat in the tournament. Speaking at the end of the match he said, “Everything came together today and we produced a good all-round performance.
We kept the ball, built some good attacking play and cut down the error count.”
Webster added that he is pleased that the team has finished the tournament on a high note. He further added that the win over Ireland’s side will give the Wales’ fans something to cheer about.
Webster further added, “They played a very physical, intense brand of rugby, returning to some of the rugby they played in the Six Nations. They showed what they are capable of as players and as a team, but they need to show that in every game they play.”
Wales outscored Ireland five tries to three as they dominated the match from the start of the game. Wales’ Captain, Macauley Cook, has expressed his satisfaction over the performance of his team in the match. Cook further added, “I'm really proud of the
boys, they dug deep, after the loss to Fiji we needed pull together and pull out a performance.”
Victory over the 2011 under 20s RBS Six Nations runners up was a major boost for the Welsh side. However, Joe Lydon, Welsh Rugby Union head of rugby, publically announced a review of Wales rugby development structure and tournament performance after the
record setting defeat.
Besides victory over the Ireland Under-20s side, Wales defeated Argentina and host Italy in the pool matches of the tournament. Wales defeated Argentina 34 – 8 and Italy 56 – 6 at Padova and Treviso on June 10 and June 18 respectively.
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