RORY MCILROY WASN’T the only Irishman celebrating a sporting triumph last night.

The Ireland U20 rugby side put recent losses against England and South Africa behind them, as they dispatched Scotland by 30 points to 13 in Rovigo last night.

Tries from Andrew Conroy, Luke Marshall and captain Niall Annett were enough to secure victory for the boys in green.

In comparison, Scotland only managed to register a single Danny Gilmour try in the closing seconds of the game, in what was ultimately a comfortable victory for the Irish, despite only leading 6-3 at half time.

The all-important first try was superbly executed, as Brendan Macken broke and gave his Blackrock clubmate Andrew Conroy and easy run in for his fourth try of the tournament.

Ireland will have been delighted to have come through under difficult conditions – the humidity in Stadio Mario Battaglini noticeably affected both sides.

Neil Ruddock’s men now go into a semi-final for fifth place against South Africa, with the winner playing either Wales or Fiji in the final.

Despite the win being their first of the tournament, Ireland will be satisfied to be in with the chance of finishing fifth in a tournament in which they have struggled in recent years.

The victory already represents an improvement on last year’s event in which they finished ninth.

Ireland: T O’Halloran (Galwegians) (C Gilroy (Dungannon), 65); A Conway (Blackrock), B Macken (Blackrock), L Marshall (Ballymena), A Boyle (UCD); P Jackson (Dungannon) (J McKinney (Queens University), 76), K Marmion (University of Wales Institute Cardiff) (P Du Toit (UCD, 74); J Tracy (UCD), N Annett (Belfast Harlequins), T Furlong (Clontarf); M Kearney (Clontarf) (D Qualter (Buccaneers), 70), I Henderson (Queens University); E McKeon (Galwegians), D Gallagher (Dublin University) (D Doyle (UCD) 70), J Murphy (Lansdowne)( P Du Toit (UCD), 77).