O'Shea and Walsh trebles fire Ireland U20 to eleven-try rout

Ireland U20 73 - 22 USA U20

Half-time: 45-3  ·  Referee: George Selwood  ·  7 July 2026

Ireland U20 delivered a statement of attacking intent at the World Rugby U20 Championship, running in eleven tries to overwhelm USA U20 73-22. The remarkable part? They did it with less than half the possession. Fly-half Charlie O'Shea and centre Sean Walsh both claimed hat-tricks, Daniel Green landed nine conversions from the tee, and Ireland's clinical edge in the opposition 22 turned modest possession into a landslide.

Lightning start

Ireland were ahead inside sixty seconds. Christopher Barrett finished a flowing move off Walsh's pass in the opening minute, Green converting, and by the fourth minute O'Shea had jinked over for a stunning solo score to make it 14-0. Declan Cadden's penalty briefly steadied USA, but it was a lone response amid a green tide.

Walsh crossed on sixteen, and O'Shea then took centre stage, touching down twice inside four minutes either side of the half-hour to complete his hat-trick. Walsh burrowed over from a pick-and-go on thirty-three, and Rob Carney added a seventh before the break. Green's radar wobbled only twice - misses after the Walsh and Carney tries - as Ireland turned around a barely believable 45-3 ahead.

Ruthless in the 22

The story of the match was efficiency, not dominance. Ireland scored their 73 points from just 48% possession - USA actually saw more of the ball. The difference was what each side did on arrival: Ireland entered the USA 22 thirteen times and scored nine tries from those visits, a stunning 5.62 points per entry, against the Americans' 2.38.

The cutting edge was everywhere in the numbers - 30 defenders beaten, 13 clean breaks (11 of them in USA territory) and 11 offloads, built on a platform of a flawless 13-from-13 lineout and a 100% ruck record. Green's 9-from-11 off the tee simply compounded the damage.

USA's spirited response - and Irish ill-discipline

To their credit, USA refused to be embarrassed and made the second half a genuine contest. When Charlie Molony was sin-binned on forty-one, they struck immediately, Finn Love slicing through for a try on forty-three. Ireland's Adam Cooper and Walsh - completing his own treble on fifty-two - restored order, but the Americans kept coming.

A yellow for USA's Jayden Williams on fifty-four briefly evened the card count, before Joseph Sarkees powered over from close range on fifty-eight, Jack Firebrace converting. Daniel Ryan's try on sixty was quickly followed by Ireland's afternoon turning briefly sour: Molony's second yellow card became a red on sixty-two, reducing the winners to fourteen.

Even a man down, Ireland's scoreboard kept ticking, but the USA finish deserved its reward. Leo Keesler-Venables - outstanding in defence all afternoon - capped a bright display with an individual try on seventy-three, Firebrace again on target, before Jack Deegan had the final word with Ireland's eleventh on seventy-five.

USA will take real encouragement from three second-half tries and 22 defenders beaten of their own, though 30 missed tackles and the loss of all twelve of their contestable restarts underlined the gulf in game-management against a ruthless Ireland side already looking like tournament contenders.

SCORERS

Cards: Molony (Ireland U20 - yellow 41', red 62'); Williams (USA U20 - yellow 54')