Ireland U20s vs Scotland U20s: The Irish eye up a Triple Crown feat in Six Nations

Ireland U20s will look to secure a fourth straight victory and complete a Triple Crown when they host Scotland at Virgin Media Park in Cork today.

Andrew Browne’s side head into the clash in strong form, having won their last three matches after beginning the campaign with a defeat against France.

Ireland have scored four or more tries in each of those victories, twice coming from behind at half-time.

Ireland’s attacking threat has been evident throughout the campaign.

Leading scorers

Christopher Barrett, Josh Neill and Daniel Ryan are among the competition’s leading try scorers with four each, while centre Robert Carney is the only player to have created multiple line breaks through offloads.

Ryan, above, in particular has been devastating, gaining 178 metres from just six carries against Wales last weekend – an average of 29.7 metres per carry, the highest recorded in an U20 Six Nations match since 2012.

He said: “I was delighted with the performance, but it all kind of comes on the back of the work that everyone else is doing as well as me.

“It might be an individual acknowledgement at the end, but within the group, we all know how important everyone’s role is.”

Record

History is firmly on the hosts’ side as Ireland have won their last 10 U20 Six Nations meetings with Scotland and have also claimed all nine of their home encounters against the Scots in the championship.

Their record in Cork is equally impressive, with 14 wins from their last 16 games at Virgin Media Park while averaging almost five tries per match.

Scotland arrive searching for a turnaround in fortunes.

They have won just three of their last 29 matches in the competition since 2021 and have lost their previous three fixtures by double-digit margins.

Kenny Murray’s side have won one match in this year’s edition – against Italy and will be desperate to avoid picking up the Wooden Spoon.