Ruddock retains on-field focus

IRELAND U20s head coach Mike Ruddock is doing his utmost to focus on matters on the field amidst speculation tomorrow’s IRB Junior World Championship clash with Wales could be the side’s last outing in this tournament.

According to reports, the Irish Rugby Football Union has, because of concerns over player welfare, decided to turn its back on an annual competition which, this year, has condensed five rounds of fixtures into just 16 days.

Certainly, Ruddock’s charges, who impressed in the pool stages in running both England and South Africa close before beating Scotland, looked to be suffering the effects of fatigue in their 57-15 defeat by the Baby Boks in their fifth-place play-off semi-final in Padova on Wednesday.