Tonight is the night, the Ireland U20s take on Scotland at 7 pm this evening with Richie Murphy's men vying to win the 2024 U20s Six Nations and make it an iconic three consecutive Championship wins for the youngsters.
While they'll need some help from France, Ireland's comeback last weekend has given them a brilliant chance of retaining the title. We've all the info on what needs to happen to see Ireland lift the trophy in Cork right here.
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The Ireland U20s remain undefeated in the Six Nations since July 2021, with the only blemish on their record coming last Friday night when they made a valiant comeback to salvage a draw against England. While the draw ruled out the potential for a record-breaking three consecutive Grand Slams, the result has left Ireland with every chance of lifting the trophy tonight should they beat Scotland.
FULL-TIME
Ireland snatch a 32-32 draw with the last play of the game as Luke Murphy forces his way over.
What a game of rugby
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What Ireland need to win the 2024 U20s Six Nations
While last week's draw means Ireland have lost control of their own fate heading into tonight, a quick glance at the table shows that the record-breaking quest is far from over. Ireland trail table leaders England by a single point and a bit of help from the French should be plenty to keep the championship in Cork. France have named a particularly strong side which should help Ireland's chances as well.
If Ireland win:
Should Ireland beat Scotland with a bonus point win and England win but fail to gain a bonus point against France both sides will be level on 22 points. This means the Championship will be decided on points difference with England currently ahead by 17. However, Ireland should be in a stronger position to build their points compared to England, considering Scotland sit on -69 points while England must travel to third place France.
Should both the Ireland U20s and England win with bonus points, England will finish a single point ahead of Ireland and claim the 2024 Six Nations.
Should Ireland win but fail to gain the bonus point against Scotland, nothing but an English loss will return the Championship to Cork.
Finally, if England lose to France, an Ireland win will would see them with a minimum of 22 points which would be enough to secure their third-consecutive Championship.
If Ireland lose:
In the unlikely scenario that both Ireland and England lose, the Championship will come down to losing bonus points and after that points difference. In this scenario, France could also play their way into contention with a bonus-point win but would be reliant on an extremely high score.
The permutations mean that provided Ireland beat Scotland, it'll be a tense wait for the result of the France v England game which doesn't kick off until 8pm, one hour after the Ireland U20s game.
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