Annett: We want to be winners

IRELAND U20s captain Niall Annett insists victory over South Africa tonight (7.10pm Irish time) will erase the pain of their agonising 33-25 defeat to England in their IRB Junior World Championship opener on Friday.

Mike Ruddock’s side looked set to record a remarkable victory over this year’s Six Nations Grand Slam champions after coming from 13-0 down after the first quarter to lead 25-23 with just seven minutes to play.

However, England replied with a penalty from fly-half George Ford before sealing victory with a try from replacement wing Marland Yarde.

Ford’s subsequent conversion denied Ireland a losing bonus point, which now means they face an uphill task to qualify for the semi-finals.

Victories over South Africa and Scotland are imperative but while Annett was buoyed by the performance of his side against England, he admits the result was disappointing.

“The way we played was encouraging but we’re not where we want to be after the opening round,” the Ulster hooker said.

“We’re disappointed that we didn’t finish the job against England. To claw our way back into the game and then lose it the way we did right at the end was just gutting. So it’s just a case of trying to put it behind us and focus on South Africa.” Ireland boss Ruddock has made five changes in personnel for tonight’s game against the Baby Boks in Treviso. James McKinney takes over at fly-half from Ulster colleague Paddy Jackson, who had a disappointing night with the boot against England, while the inclusion of Tiernan O’Halloran at fullback sees Craig Gilroy switch to the left wing and Andrew Boyle drop out. Also in the back-line, JJ Hanrahan takes over at inside centre from Luke Marshall.

In the pack, Daniel Qualter replaces Iain Henderson in the second row and Aaron Connelly is preferred to Dominic Gallagher at openside flanker.

“We have looked closely at South Africa and they present another massive challenge,” Ruddock said.

“Typically they are a big and physical side. Combine that with a four-day turnaround and it is important that we introduce some freshness into our team.”

As for South Africa, they have gone even further in terms of freshening up their side, with coach Dawie Theron bringing in nine new faces in total. However, captain Arno Botha and centre Francois Venter, both of whom scored twice in their 33-0 opening-day win over Scotland in Padova, have retained their places in the starting line-up.

IRELAND: T O’Halloran (Connacht); A Conway (Leinster), B Macken (Leinster), JJ Hanrahan (Munster), C Gilroy (Ulster); J McKinney (Ulster), K Marmion (Exile); J Tracy (Leinster), N Annett (Ulster; capt), T Furlong (Leinster); M Kearney (Leinster), D Qualter (Connacht); J Murphy (Leinster), A Connelly (Connacht), E McKeon (Connacht).

Replacements: D Doyle (Leinster), C Carey (Ulster), I Henderson (Ulster), D Gallacher (Ulster), P du Toit (Leinster), P Jackson (Ulster), L Marshall (Ulster).

SOUTH AFRICA: U Beyers (Blue Bulls); C Skosan (Blue Bulls), B Moolman (Blue Bulls), F Venter (Blue Bulls), W Mjekevu (Golden Lions); J Goosen (Free State Cheetahs), L Jacobs (Blue Bulls); S Kotze (Free State Cheetahs), M van Vuuren (Free State Cheetahs), JR Jenkinson (Leopards); R Venter (Golden Lions), E Etzebeth (Western Province); N Carr (Western Province), C du Preez (Leopards), A Botha (Blue Bulls; capt).

Replacements: B Mbonambi (Blue Bulls), N Schonert (Sharks), J Cook (Free State Cheetahs), S Kolisi (Western Province), P Rademan (Free State Cheetahs), J Welthagen (Leopards), P Jordaan (Sharks).

Referee: Jonathan White (New Zealand).