It truly was a banner day for Irish rugby in England. First Andy Farrell's men held on for the nerviest 17-point victory you'll even see in Test rugby, as Ireland beat 14-man England 32-15 at Twickenham. Then at Barnet Cophall, the Ireland U20s - who are sponsored by PwC - secured a memorable 42-27 victory over their English counterparts.
The five-try win means Ireland are one victory away from a Grand Slam.
A huge W to make it four from four!#FutureIsGreen | #U20SixNations pic.twitter.com/EnIIazKicb
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) March 12, 2022
Ireland trailed by 10 in the game's first quarter and the game was level 17-all at halftime, but Richie Murphy's young men found another level in the second half.
A 67th minute wondertry from Aitzol King - one of two tries on the night for the Balbriggan RFC man, who started the game on the bench - was the icing on the cake.
Ireland U20s: Aitzol King wondertry
Aitzol King scored two tries after his introduction in Ireland’s 42-17 win over England U20s. The second was a serious bit of finishing https://t.co/wHS1EpKCt7 pic.twitter.com/dXhFadQDpi
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 12, 2022
The reverse angle shows that King did a phenomenal job getting the ball down before being tackled into touch.
What a finish from Aitzol King.#ENGvIRE #U20SixNations pic.twitter.com/JohEjBRAJi
— EK Rugby Analysis (@ek_rugby) March 12, 2022
King has been one of the stars of this campaign for Ireland. The Leinster academy player is actually a triplet. Balbriggan RFC PRO Caroline McFadden spoke about his background in rugby to the Fingal Independent after Ireland beat France.
“Aitzol and his triplet brothers Iker and Kealan have played with Balbriggan since they were minis. We have watched Aitzol grow and develop as a player over the years and are immensely proud of all that he has achieved: Leinster U18s and U19s and now playing for Ireland at U20s.
Ireland now only have to beat Scotland to secure a Grand Slam. The game will take place next Saturday at 5pm at Musgrave Park in Cork and be televised on Virgin Media. Ireland won the Grand Slam in the U20s Six Nations in 2019, with a team that featured Craig Casey and Josh Hodnett, and were on course for a Grand Slam in 2020 until covid interrupted. This year's team are aiming to achieve what only that 2019 team and the 2010 Ireland U20s did by winning the Grand Slam.
