The Ireland U20s rugby team capped off a memorable weekend for the game in the country as they defeated France in Aix-en-Provence last night in nail-biting fashion.
Richie Murphy's side haven't lost an U20 Six Nations game since July 2021 and their bid to win three consecutive Grand Slams this year got off to the dream start yesterday as they claimed victory on a 37-31 scoreline.
There were a number of standout performers on the Irish team including Hugh Gavin, Evan O'Connell (a nephew of Paul), Brian Gleeson and Richie Murphy's son Jack who starred at out-half.
Jack finished with seventeen points in total to his name, made all the more impressive when you consider the hostile environment he was dealing with.
Jack was relentlessly jeered during his conversion and penalty attempts none more so than when the game was deadlocked at 31-31 with just over three minutes remaining. He held his nerve and pushed Ireland into an all-important lead.
𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐌𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐇𝐘! 🥶
Ireland lead by three with minutes remaining!
🇫🇷 31-34 ☘️#FRAvIRE | #SixNationsU20 pic.twitter.com/EgQxIHk0sf— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 3, 2024
Richie Murphy looks like he has an exceptional group of players under his wing and he was unsurprisingly delighted after the game when speaking to Cian Tracey of the Irish Independent.
Ireland U20s Head Coach praises performance of his son
Murphy, a former 10 himself and kicking coach during Joe Schmidt's reign as Ireland head coach, was particularly pleased with the performance of his son.
“I was extremely proud to see Jack out there doing his thing,” he said.
“I thought he had a super game, controlled it well. When we needed to kick, I thought he kicked pretty accurately and got a lot of pressure on their back-field, which is something we wanted to go after.
“And then he steps up and knocks over those goals. Over the course of the season, he has missed very few kicks. His goal-kicking is very good.”
Jack was seven from seven with his kicking and was asked by Tommy Martin of Virgin Media Sport whether his dad would be happy with it.
"I'd say so. He'd be giving out if I had any less,” he laughed.
“It's great. He's delighted I think.”
7/7 with his goal-kicking tonight. 👏
Jack Murphy speaks to @TommyMartinVM after a brilliant performance tonight. 🎯#FRAvIRE | #SixNationsU20 pic.twitter.com/K9iaJLW5pi— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 3, 2024
Next up for Ireland is the visit of Italy to Virgin Media Park on Friday as they look to make it two wins from two.
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