Former SA U18 loose forward Josh Neill delivered another stellar performance as Ireland won a dramatic Six Nations U20 clash against Italy in Cork on Friday night.
Neill represented Rondebosch Boys’ High, Western Province U18 and SA U18 last year before joining Leinster’s academy. He has an Irish passport through his grandparents.
Neill, who delivered a Man of the Match display and scored a crucial second-half try, said the 30-27 win was a major boost after Ireland’s heavy opening-round defeat to France.
“First of all, massive credit to Italy,” said Neill. “They came out firing. We played them in a warm-up game and it’s always tough against them. They’re physical, they come hard and they really put it to us today.
“But I’m really grateful to the team. We stuck in there the whole game. It was up and down – they scored, we scored – but we stayed in the fight and that’s what Six Nations rugby is about.”
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Ireland made a strong start before trailing 17-15 at half-time, and had to dig deep after flanker Joe Finn was yellow-carded in the second half. Despite being down to 14 men, Neill crashed over for a pivotal try to swing momentum back Ireland’s way.
“Last week was really tough for us, and it was a short turnaround from France,” he said. “But we believe in this squad and the players we have. When we get it right and we look after the ball, we’re a quality outfit.
“Sometimes it’s just about fixing the small details and doing what we do well for longer periods. If we can do that, we’ll be in a good place.”
‘I think we can go all the way – Player of the match Josh Neill says it was a special night in Cork as Ireland edge out Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations pic.twitter.com/fuAI9cb3fI
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 13, 2026
Photo: @leinsterrugby/X
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