15 May Navan RFC links in Irish Universities French Win
France Universities 7 Irish Universities 40
Friday 15th May | Stade Marcel-Verchère, Bourg-en-Bresse
The Irish Universities team produced a breathtaking international performance on Friday night, dismantling France Universities 40-7 on their own turf at the Stade Marcel-Verchère. While the victory was a masterclass in clinical, expansive rugby, it will go down as a historic night of immense pride for Navan RFC, whose club connections left an indelible mark on the international stage.
While the clash of these two rugby powerhouses is always a spectacle, there is extra cause for celebration at Balreask Old. The Irish squad featured three players with connections to Navan RFC, including the Captain!
DUFC’s (Trinity) David Walsh had the immense honor of captaining his country from blindside flanker, leading an Irish side that featured his brother Mark Walsh and former Navan RFC youth standout Jack Castles in a glittering night for the Balreask Old production pipeline.
Ireland set the tempo early in Bourg-en-Bresse, disrupting the French structures and showing exceptional tactical discipline. The breakthrough came in the 13th minute when clinical winger Daniel Hurley crossed the line to open the evening’s account, with the conversion pushing Ireland into a 7-0 lead.
Ireland’s tactical ingenuity was on full display in the 27th minute. Awarded a penalty directly in front of the posts, fly-half Matty Lynch spotted an overlap and cleverly opted for a perfectly weighted cross-field kick, finding Gene O’Leary-Kareem who gathered and scored beautifully in the corner to make it 12-0.
A well-struck penalty in the 30th minute extended the Irish advantage to 15-0. France briefly threatened a comeback in the 34th minute, capitalizing on a spell of pressure to score a converted try and close the gap to 15-7. However, on the stroke of halftime, Hurley struck again. Spotting a loose French pass on the halfway line, the winger intercepted beautifully and raced away to score his second of the night, sending Ireland into the sheds with a commanding 22-7 lead.
The second half brought tactical chess, discipline testing, and moments that the Walsh family and Navan RFC will cherish forever.
In the 54th minute, captain David Walsh was shown a yellow card and sent to the sin-bin following a defensive effort where he was penalized for collapsing a French maul. With the skipper sidelined, Ireland showed incredible resilience.
The 60th minute saw the introduction of Jack Castles. The former Navan RFC mini and youth star, who played his rugby at Balreask Old all the way up to Under 18 before moving to Maynooth University/MU Barnhall, entered the fray at loose-head prop to replace Tom O’Riordan. Castles immediately anchored the Irish scrum, providing a rock-solid platform during a crucial period of the match.
The 64th minute produced the ultimate feel-good moment of the tour. After Paddy Clancy slotted a penalty to extend the lead to 25-7 and the French lock was sin-binned for a high tackle, Ireland made a double switch. Captain David Walsh returned from his yellow card, and stepping onto the pitch alongside him from the bench was his brother, Mark Walsh.
For David and Mark, sons of Catherine Brady-Walsh, Chair of the Navan RFC Centenary Book Committee, sharing the pitch in green jerseys on French soil was a phenomenal milestone, encapsulating the deep family roots embedded in the club.
With the Walsh brothers combining in the pack and Castles dominating the set-piece, Ireland put the game completely out of reach. Another accurate penalty from Paddy Clancy in the 70th minute moved the scoreline to 28-7.
Three minutes later, a lovely, flowing team move cut the French defense apart, finished off in style by fullback Davy Colbert to stretch the lead to 33-7.
The exclamation mark on an extraordinary night was fittingly applied by Daniel Hurley in the 77th minute. In a mirror image of his first-half score, Hurley snared his second interception of the game on the halfway line, sprinting clear to complete a magnificent hat-trick and sealing an emphatic 40-7 victory at the final whistle.
To beat France on their own soil is an incredible achievement, but to do so with such a distinct Navan flavor is a testament to the youth coaching, pathways, and family structures at Navan RFC.
Huge congratulations to David, Mark, Jack, the Walsh family, and the entire Irish Universities squad and management on a historic international victory!
The Irish Universities Squad
Starting XV:
- Tom O’Riordan (UCD / University College Dublin)
- Stephen O’Shaughnessy (UCC / University College Cork) *
- Liam Kaprigiannis (Instonians / University of Ulster) *
- Daniel Leane (St. Mary’s / Dublin City University)
- Daniel Barron (UCD / University College Dublin)
- Kevin Jackson (DUFC / Trinity College Dublin) *
- David Walsh – CAPTAIN (DUFC / Trinity College Dublin)
- Richard Whelan (Clontarf / Dublin City University) *
- Thomas Quinn (UCD / University College Dublin) *
- Matthew Lynch (DUFC / Technological University Dublin)
- Gene O’Leary Kareem (UCC / University College Cork) *
- Ben Brownlee (UCD / University College Dublin) *
- Hugo Lynch (DUFC / Dublin City University) *
- Daniel Hurley (UCD / University College Dublin)
- Davy Colbert (DUFC / Trinity College Dublin) *
Replacements:
- Jack O’Neill (DUFC / Trinity College Dublin) * 17. Jack Castles (MU Barnhall / Maynooth University) * 18. Danny McCarthy (UCC / University College Cork) 19. Will Cusack (QUB / Queen’s University Belfast) * 20. Conor Tonge (UCD / University College Dublin) 21. Oscar Cawley (DUFC / Trinity College Dublin) 22. Patrick Clancy (UCD / University College Dublin) * 23. Mark Walsh (DUFC / Trinity College Dublin) *
* Denotes new cap
(Pictured above are David Walsh, Jack Castles & Mark Walsh; with thanks to Catherine Brady-Walsh for the photo)