Student World Cup - Round 2
results

Power pays in the end as a battling Ireland side found in their second round Group match of the Student Rugby League World Cup match in Brisbane on Tuesday evening.

Defending like demons the Irish boys were only down 6-4 at the break after a defensive display which drew praise from both England coach Paul Fletcher and Ireland boss Neil Bourke.

The first try came in the 17th minute when England's man of the match, fullback Alex Clemie, touched down to end a spell of sustained pressure.

Martin Ainscough missed with the conversion, but added a penalty before half time. Danny Shaw kept Ireland in the match with a brace of penalties.

After halftime it was a different story. The English side in general was bigger than the Irish line up and the tackling effort took it's toll on an Ireland side who also lacked a natural playmaker.

Kevin Till shot in for a try seven minutes after the restart with Ainscough adding the conversion and just after the hour Ainscough touched down for a try which he converted to make the score 18-4.

And when Ireland were penalised for their markers not being square Ainscough added the penalty.And powerhouse prop Alex Benson put the final nail in the Ireland coffin when he rumbled over the line right on the final hooter. Ainscough added the extras and although Tom Sang was sin-binned with some six minutes to go England coach Fletcher was pleased with his side.

"Ireland put us under the cosh in the first half and full credit to them. I thought our defence was superb all the way through the game. "Our discipline was a bit wayward in the first half when we gave 11 penalties away, whereas we only conceded two after the break. And I thought Alex Clemie and Alex Benson both had big games," said Fletcher.

Said Ireland coach Neil Bourke: "Size was the deciding factor. England were the bigger side all round and that told in the end. We came to this tournament with the aim of gaining some respect and I think we have already done that."

England:

Tries: Clemie(17), Till (47), Ainscough (62), Benson (79). Goals: Ainscough 5

Ireland: Goals: Shaw 2

Scoring sequence: 4-0;4-2;4-4; 6-4; 12-4; 18-4; 20-4; 26-4. Men of the Match: England - Alex Clemie. Threatened every time he came forward. Ireland - Luke Garnett. Grafted his socks off to try and stem the English attack. Referee: Raima Koti (New Zealand). Gamebreaker: Kevin Till's try just after half time widened the gulf to such an extent the Irish were never going to close it.

France 28 Pacific Islands 6

France's man of the match Gregory Tiquet took just 13 minutes to open his side's account in their Student Rugby League World Cup match in Brisbane, Australia.

The match, played at the city's Griffiths University's Nathan Campus, saw France bounce back from their opening game defeat by England at the Suncorp Stadium on Sunday as a curtain raiser to the Brisbane Broncos v Cronulla Sharks match.

Robin Villa converted and the French went on to score their points regularly throughout the match. Eight minutes later Bruno Pezet touched down with Villa converting again.

But seven minutes later Pezet found himself in the bin for persistently being offisde and referee IanMcGregor (GB) lost patience with the Frenchman. And just before the break Danny Villa added a penalty to see his side into a 14-0 lead.

Things got worse for the Islands side on the restart when with only five minutes gone Sylvain Teixido left defenders floundering in his wake as he dodged his way in for a fine solo try. Robin Vila was on target to add the extra points. Bruno Ormeno turned the screw a little tighter with 12 minutes to go when he shot over the Islanders' line and with Robin Vila converting the try once again before adding a penalty when Tiquet was obstructed by David Tronc there was going to be no way back for the Pacific team.

But 28-0 down they forced their way on to the score-sheet with a converted try from Ramon Filipini with two minutes to go converted by Sione Fukofuka.

Matchfacts:

France: Tries: Tiquet (13), Pelet (21), Teixido (45), Ormeno (68). Goals: Robin Villa 5, Danny Villa 1

Pacific Islands: Try: Ramon Filipini. Goal: Sione Fukofuka.

Scoring sequence:6-0; 12-0; 14-0; 20-0; 26-0; 28-0; 28-6. Men of the match: France: Greogory Tiquet - non stop display for a second match in succession. Pacific Islands: Luke Srama - busy player who tried to keep his side going forward and worked hard in defence. Gamebreaker: Sylvain Teixido's individual try took the French too far away from the Islanders' grasp. Referee: IanMcGregor (GB)