Port St Mary’s Patreece Bell has said he is ‘proud’ of his achievements playing for Ireland at the Under-20 Rugby World Cup.

The Irish finished fourth at the competition, which ran from June 29 to July 19 in South Africa.

After losing to eventual champions England in the semi-final, Ireland then went on to lose the third place play off 38-24 to New Zealand.

Patreece, a former Castle Rushen student, played in every game but one for the men in green, and said he is ‘proud’ of the team’s achievements.

The forward commented: ‘To come up short and lose to England in the semi-final is always going to be disappointing.

‘However, you can’t fault the effort we showed during each game, so the overall feeling after the World Cup was disappointment but still pride to achieve what we did.

‘I played at least a half in every game but one and also started two times.’

Ireland got their campaign underway with a 55-15 victory over Italy on June 29, a game which Patreece started.

He added: ‘That was my standout moment of the tournament. To be told I was starting the first match was a privilege, and we got a great result too.’

The Sale Sharks prop picked up four caps for Ireland in the U20 Six Nations earlier this year, having switched allegiance from England where he was born and had previously been capped at under-18 level.

Unlike the senior side, Ireland fell just short of retaining the U20 Six Nations with England securing the crown by a single point.

Talking about the difference between the two tournaments, Patreece said: ‘The format of the World Cup is much harder as you have only five-day turnarounds in between games which is harder on the body.

‘This means you have to be very diligent with how you recover and prepare for the next game.

‘In the Six Nations, you also get to play at a stadium where you have a lot more fans and a home advantage, which for me made it more special.’

The 20 year old doesn’t know where he will be playing his rugby next season after a loan spell at Sedgley Tigers from Premiership side Sale Sharks, but said he will know more after the off-season.

He added: ‘When I’m back on the island in the off-season I do most of my conditioning at the Field of Dreams [Ballakilley] - my old club Southern Nomads.

‘For me now, it’s just about developing at Sale and trying to earn my first appearance for them.’