Fitzpatrick hits the mark as Ireland U/20s lose at home to South Africa
Laois's Lee Fitzpatrick is tackled by Danie Kruger and JD Hattingh of South Africa Photo: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane
It was a very proud moment for Laois rugby on Friday night when the Ireland U/20s took on their South African counterparts in Virgin Media Park, Cork.
Starting at hooker for Ireland was Portarlington's Lee Fitzpatrick, a player who had already represented Leinster and Ireland at U/18 level.
The Laois native was called into the Leinster Academy in July and impressed Ireland U/20 Head Coach Andrew Browne enough that he gave the Portarlington prospect a start in his very first international at this grade.
While the game did not go the way Ireland would have wanted, Fitzpatrick nevertheless delivered a fine performance in the front row.
He and the rest of the Irish pack were under serious pressure at scrum time, but found some parity in the set piece as the game wore on.
Nevertheless, Ireland simply could not live with South Africa's power as the visitors decimated the Irish pack with a rolling maul from outside the 22 before barraging over for the game's first try as the Baby Boks led 10-3 at half time.
On an individual level, Fitzpatrick put in a commendable performance. The hooker made some bone-crunching tackles and won a fabulous turnover in the 15th minute with South Africa on the attack.
His arrows were hitting their mark at lineout time, and it was one such throw from the line that led to Ireland's first try. Fitzpatrick circled around after his throw to receive a pop pass, charged his way through the middle of the South African defence and got the ball off to centre Sean Walsh who surged over for Ireland's opening try.
But the visitors responded with their second try off a rolling maul before they were awarded a penalty try with the Irish defence starting to creak.
Fitzpatrick and his front-row partners, Max Doyle and captain Sami Bishti, were replaced in the 63rd minute after a hard night's work in the Cork rain.
There were certain mitigating factors in Ireland's defeat, not least the weather, which was abysmal at best down in Cork (although that was equally testing for both teams).
Then there was the referee, who put in an almost Cromwellian performance in some of the perplexing decisions that went the way of the visitors.
But the lion's share of the blame falls squarely at Ireland's feet; the home side were guilty of some poor decision making, hesitancy on both sides of the ball, and a general disorganisation that permeated throughout the team.
