Canada 19 Ireland A 30:Ireland A left it late before and were forced to come from behind to defeat Canada 30-19 in their group match at the Churchill Cup in Denver in the early hours this morning.
With Canada clinging to a 19-16 lead with 11 minutes left in the second half, Ireland converted two tries including a penalty and a 79th-minute effort from Dennis Fogarty to put the game out of reach.
Earlier Denis Hurley put Ireland 5-0 ahead, and despite another try from Fergus McFadden after 13 minutes Canada were the dominant side in the first half, with Ander Monro scoring 11 points and Phil Mack crossing the line to give the Canucks a 16-13 half-time lead.
A Niall O’Connor penalty after the break drew Ireland level then in the 61st minute Monro kicked over again for Canada’s final lead, before Jonathan Sexton’s penalty try put Ireland back in front for the final time.
Ireland now face Georgia in their final group stage game on Sunday.
Scorers:
Ireland A:
Tries: Denis Hurley, Fergus McFadden
Penalty try: Dennis Fogarty
Conversions: Jonathan Sexton (2)
Penalties: Niall O'Connor (2)
Canada:
Try: Phil Mack
Conversion: Ander Monro
Penalties: Ander Monro (3)
Drop goal: Ander Monro
