Argentina 62-40 Ireland

Ireland’s hopes of progression in the Junior World Championship ended after they shipped a comfortable defeat to a thrilling Argentina side in Tbilisi.

Andrew Browne’s side, who lost 34-27 to England in their first outing, got off to the worst possible start, with Luciano Avaca and Federico Laporte touching down for early tries.

If that wasn’t bad enough, they lost out-half Tom Wood to a head injury, with Charlie O’Shea coming in to replace him.

Ireland hooker Rian Handley pulled one back for Ireland, scoring to make it 14-7. But Daniel Ryan’s sin-binning proved a fateful moment, the winger, who rustled up a hat-trick against England, being shown a yellow for a deliberate knock-on.

2 July 2026; Charlie O'Shea of Ireland on his way to scoring his side's second try during the World Junior Rugby Championship Pool C match between Ireland and Argentina at Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo by Tamuna Kulumbegashvili/Sportsfile
Charlie O’Shea scoring Ireland’s second try

Argentina made hay in the intervening period, Simon Pfister and Tomas Dande both scoring to make it 31-7.

Substitute out-half O’Shea did get over for an Irish try after the restart, but this was sandwiched by two more Argentinian scores, Pfister and Avaca both registering their second tries to make it 45-14.

With the game almost gone, Ireland rallied in remarkable fashion, Jack Deegan, Blake McClean and O’Shea’s second try whittling the gap down to 10 points with 10 minutes remaining.

But the momentum couldn’t be sustained. Late tries from Bautista Lescano and replacement Manuel Giannantonio made the game safe for Argentina.

Josh Neill’s late score was a mere consolation for Ireland, who went down 62-40 and now face USA in their final game, with the threat of a place in the relegation play-offs looming over them.