Under-18 Six Nations Festival: Ireland Under-18 Schools 36 England Under-18 31

The Ireland Under-18 schools side showed immense character and no little skill to come from behind three times in Vichy, France to eventually edge out England in their Six Nations Festival opener thanks to a second try by Newbridge winger Luke Kelly in the 69th minute.

Fullback Daniel Murphy, part of the PBC Cork which has swept all before them this season, coolly converted from the right touchline to give the Michael Hodge-coached side a decisive five-point lead and his booming 50:22 was the final play of the game.

Kelly was the pick of an impactful Irish bench, bagging a brace of scores out wide, while Matthew McCarthy, Xabi Scanlan, and impressive PBC Cork centre Alex Moloney also claimed tries.

McCarthy’s well-taken 22nd-minute score, coupled with five points from the boot of captain Luke Coffey, saw a resilient Ireland recover from a 14-point deficit to trail by four points at half-time.

Castletroy College number eight Scanlan struck from a maul to give Ireland a brief lead five minutes after the restart. But converted tries from Caspar Reeves and Oli Hewitt within five minutes put England 28-17 ahead and although Moloney and Kelly both touched down in response, a long-range Max Hooper penalty made it 31-29 to England.

However, this hugely entertaining festival opener had one final twist. A first-phase attack off a lineout saw Kelly’s acceleration unlock the defence and he hared over in the right corner before Murphy’s right boot sealed the win.

The memorable finish at the home of RC Vichy means Ireland have beaten England at senior men’s, under-20 and under-18 level this year, and follows wins for the Under-18 Schools team against England in both 2024 (42-28 in Cape Town) and 2025 (22-17 in Cork).

SCORING SEQUENCE – 2 mins: Tamani try, Jones con, 0-7; 9: Coffey pen, 3-7; 15: Reeves, Jones con, 3-14; 22: McCarthy try, Coffey con, 10-14, Half-time: 10-14; 40: Scanlan try, Coffey con, 17-14; 42: Reeves try, Jones con, 17-21; 44: Hewitt try, Jones con, 17-28; 49: Moloney try, 22-28; 58: Kelly try, Murphy con, 29-28; 62: Hooper pen, 29-31; 69: Kelly try, Murphy con, 36-31.

IRELAND UNDER-18 SCHOOLS: Daniel Murphy (PBC); Matthew McCarthy (St Michael’s College), Alex Moloney (PBC), Joshua Grant (Clongowes), Rhys Keogh (Blackrock College); Charlie O’Connor (RBAI), Luke Coffey (Blackrock College) (capt); Herbie Boyle (St Michael’s College), Harry Heagney (Glenstal Abbey), David Kenny (St Mary’s College); Tom Murray (PBC), Phil Lynch (St Michael’s College), Dara Walsh (Coláiste Éinde), Michael Smyth (Terenure College), Xabi Scanlan (Castletroy College).

Replacements: Brion Donagh (Newbridge College), Lewis Robinson (Regent House School), Alex Stinson (Royal School Armagh), James Whitty (St Mary’s College), Rian MacFarlane O’Shea (PBC), Johnny Woods (Wesley College), Paddy Scally (Blackrock College), Ryan McCormack (Ardscoil Rís), Luke Kelly (Newbridge College), Thibault Campbell (Wesley College), Finn Brennan (Kilkenny College).

ENGLAND UNDER-18: Oli Hewitt (Gloucester); Caspar Reeves (Bristol), Charlie Bosanko (Exeter), Declan Treacey (Bath, capt), Charlie Tamani (Northampton); Zac Jones (Saracens), Will Bayston (Sale); Aiden Reid (Northampton), Tiane Elone (Saracens), Ben Smith (Yorkshire Academy); Fin Charles (Leicester), Jeremy Keys (Exeter); Kwame Bekoe (Leicester), Jack Lewis (Northampton), Ben Allen (Bath).

Replacements: Casper Wheeler (Bristol), Hendro Hattingh (Sale), Seva Batikora (Leicester), Kaiden Watson (Harlequins), Harry Westlake (Exeter), Henry Johnson (Leicester), Sonny Goode (Northampton), Max Hooper (Bath), Will Moore (Bristol), Rio Bennett (Saracens), Archie Guyver (Exeter).

Yellow card – 30 mins: Charles.

Referee: Pierre Camus (FFR).