Ireland’s fly half Scott Deasy broke Scottish hearts when he won the match with the last kick of the game deep into injury time, giving Ireland a 13-12 victory which keeps the host’s IRB Under 19 World Championship 2007 hopes alive.
Irish centre Eoin O’Malley’s try took Ireland to one point behind Scotland and left Deasy the chance to win the game and he had the composure to secure the victory in front of a vociferous crowd at Ravenhill.
The valiant Scots held Ireland up over the line on four occasions and Irish hooker Stephen Douglas had two attempts to score the crucial try, but on each occasion the Scottish repelled and held their lead.
The Irish were encamped on the Scotland try line for the final 10 minutes and it appeared as though the Scottish team were about to hold out for a victory they deserved.
Scotland had a great chance to score when fly half Ruaidridh Jackson and wing Lee Jones broke away, but centre Jamie Smith raced back to make a try-saving tackle on Lee Jones.
Up to that point Scotland had shown great maturity even when the game didn’t go their way and were well led by flanker Fraser McKenzie.
All their points came through the boot of centre Stephen McColl who scored four penalties on a night when Ravenhill’s wind was particularly difficult to judge.
Deasy had given Ireland an early lead with a penalty of his own and later added another in the second half, but it was his conversion that will be remembered most.
Ireland meet South Africa next, who also have to win to have any chance of securing a top four place. Scotland meanwhile will aim to make the 5th – 8th place playoffs by beating Fiji.
