South Africa 30 Ireland 17: Ireland coach Noel McNamara said he has no doubt his U20s will regroup and have a crack at Georgia next Thursday despite falling to a second defeat in the World Rugby U20 Championship in France.

The prospect of a shock victory was but a false promise when Ireland took a 12 points lead into the break in the opening match of the World Rugby U-20 Championship in Perpignan.

Ireland, ever-present in the tournament since it started in Wales in 2008, will face a baptism of fire this evening when they open their World Rugby U20 Championship campaign against France at Stade Aime Giral.

England 48 - Ireland 15: Ireland capitulated in the second-half as their U20 Six Nations finished in disappointing fashion at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

The prospect of an Irish U20s jersey must have seemed a distant dream to a 16-year-old Tom O’Toole, as he looked out the window of Campbell College, in Belfast, on his first night at the school, and thought about the family he had left 10,000 miles behind, in Australia.

Ireland’s representatives at the U20s grade haven’t exactly made Donnybrook a fortress since swapping Dubarry Park for the Dublin venue midway through the 2015 Six Nations campaign.

Thousands of Irish kids could relate to Harry Byrne’s youthful admiration of Jonathan Sexton and Ronan O’Gara but Ireland’s U20s out-half had another role model to emulate much closer to home.

Romain Ntamack, son of former French star Emile, led the way as France opened their Six Nations campaign with a win but only after they held off a spirited Irish recovery.

It’s the job of the Ireland U20s coach to push and prod the players of tomorrow further down the development line but Noel McNamara found himself talking about one from the past yesterday.

Munster Development XV 10 Ireland U20 26: Two tries in the dying minutes by right winger Peter Sullivan gave Ireland U20 a flattering 26-10 victory over a Munster Development XV in a hard-fought but scrappy encounter at Thomond Park yesterday.

Leinster Development 30 Ireland U20 XV 26: Paul O’Connell returned to the national rugby fold yesterday as a 69th-minute try from Myles Carey helped the Leinster Development side defeat an Ireland U20 selection.