Six Nations - Ireland Grand Slam on track

Eurosport - Mon, 02 Mar 08:09:00 2009

Ireland maintained their challenge for a Six Nations Grand Slam with a 14-13 victory over an ill-disciplined England side that again conceded two yellow cards.

RUGBY Ireland's Brian O'Driscol scores a try against England during their Six Nations rugby union match at Croke Park in Dublin - 0

In a tense and mostly scrappy affair at Croke Park, Ireland were in front from the 30th minute and looked to have the game sown up before a late try from England's Delon Armitage added an element of excitement that the rugby had hardly warranted.

Skipper Brian O'Driscoll (pictured) was man-of-the-match, adding a second-half try to an earlier drop goal that helped Ireland secure their third win of the championship and remain on course for their first Grand Slam since 1948.

The normally reliable Ronan O'Gara had an off day with the boot, landing only two kicks from six, and had the fly-half's radar been working properly Ireland would have won by the margin their superiority deserved.

England again fell foul of the referee and the yellow cards awarded to Phil Vickery and replacement scrum-half Danny Care could well see them dropped for their next match against France in two weeks time.

Martin Johnson's anger at the yellow cards was clear from the television pictures and the World Cup winner must now take drastic action after England again played for 20 minutes with just 14 men.

Ireland failed to live up to the level of performance they had shown in their earlier wins over France and Italy, but coach Declan Kidney will be relieved to have overcome an England side that proved to be awkward opponents.

The game was still scoreless after the first 30 minutes as Ireland appeared to freeze under the pressure of expectation and in the face of some brutal England defence.

After two missed shots on goal, O'Gara finally broke the deadlock when Nick Kennedy strayed offside at a ruck after an O'Driscoll interception that almost allowed the centre to break clear.

Nine minutes later England were level when Toby Flood punished Ireland's failure to roll away at the tackle, the penalty resulting from a superb touch-finder by the recalled fly-half moments earlier.

England will have been the more satisfied with the 3-3 half-time score, but James Haskell conceded an unpunished penalty immediately from the restart, which set the tone for their penalty-ridden second-half performance.

Ireland were also much improved after the break and after a series of attacks O'Driscoll made sure they came away with points with a smartly-taken drop goal in the 45th minute.

When the Ireland skipper was tackled late by Armitage minutes later, Ireland opted to go for a lineout in England's 22 rather than go for goal.

England were penalised for not rolling away in the tackle after the dependable Paul O'Connell had won the Irish throw and referee Craig Joubert warned England skipper Steve Borthwick of the consequences of further infringements.

But the message clearly did not get through to the England players as two minutes later Vickery was sin-binned for playing the ball off his feet.

Johnson was forced to send on Julian White for James Haskell and Ireland chose to use their one-man advantage in the scrum with a series of pick and drives near the England try line.

The visitors repelled the first few waves but when the ball came to O'Driscoll on the narrow side the Ireland skipper burrowed his way under England tacklers to touch down in the 56th minute.

Mathew Tait, on for injured wing Paul Sackey, produced England's best moment just after the hour mark but failed to find Riki Flutey in support after a well-worked midfield move.

Five minutes later Armitage cut Ireland's lead to 11-6 after Paddy Wallace was penalised in the tackle, and despite Ireland's superiority England were right back in the game.

But any chance of a fightback seemed to disappear in the 70th minute when Care shoulder charged Marcus Horan at the side of a ruck. Joubert missed the incident but his touch judge flagged the infringement.

England's drop out was reversed to an Ireland penalty, Care was sin-binned and O'Gara kicked Ireland into a 14-6 lead.

Despite their deficit, England chose to kick away possession in the closing stages but in the final minute replacement fly-half Andy Goode put Mike Tindall clear and the centre burst into the Ireland 22.

When the ball was recycled, Goode produced a deft grubber and Armitage won the race to touch down.

Goode's conversion brought England to within a point but they were unable to fashion a score from the one play remaining and Ireland were deserved winners.

Ireland will have no issues winning ugly after a tough forward battle, but England showed few signs of improvement and have now lost five of their seven games under Johnson and questions must now be asked of his ability to alter their downward spiral.

Terence O'Rorke / Eurosport

Comment 128 - 147 of 147

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  1. In the interest of good natured French Vs English­ banter (we can have a go at the Aussies in the Summer)­ how about some France / England jokes.

    I'll start­ -

    Q - How many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris­ ?

    A - Don't know - its never been done !tehe

    What­ about the rugby. Franch never play well away from home.­ Perhaps they have trouble passing water.

    Lets hope­ I'll be eating Roast Chicken (or Cockrell) on­ Saturday.

    I hope its a good open game. Just a dream­ maybe.

    From thehampshire.hog, on Wed 4 Mar 8:28PM

  2. Hey guys, stop that old song: Frogs hate Brits. Loads­ of my countrymen are working in England and love the­ place. The same goes with Englishmen living in France,­ not only for the sunshine and food!
    When it comes to­ rugby, the usual 2 best sides in Europe are natural­ competitors (sorry my Welsh and Irish buddies) and­ it's only normal that we don't love the England­ XV then. Also, having been called "bloodthirsty­ savages" before each game for years by Brian Moore­ would leave anyone slightly annoyed...

    From Marc L, on Tue 3 Mar 2:32PM

  3. Tarquinius is right, I spent 5 years in France and have­ made many friends without any difficulty. In Scotland­ and particularily north Wales its another story.

    From laboca123, on Tue 3 Mar 11:47AM

  4. 144. I take on board what you say but it is hard to­ stomach when I see them emptying English beef into the­ dock at calais when Brussels lower the subsidy to their­ apple farmers.

    From brw1marine, on Tue 3 Mar 10:37AM

  5. Comment 143. The Battle of Agincourt and the Loss of­ Calais were a long, long time ago. Waterloo is hardly­ in living memory. My parents live in France, we used to­ go to France on holiday a lot when I was younger and I­ have never found that true of the French whatsoever.­ The only country where I have been verbally abused and­ insulted for being "English" is Scotland, so,­ give me the French any day.

    From Tarquinius S, on Tue 3 Mar 10:01AM

  6. Tarquinius S wrote:
    "I would rather have the­­ French any day than some of the other peevish lot that­­ do nothing else but hate England all the time! At­ least­ you get decent grub in France after the match!­ Allez­ les bleus"

    Do you think the French love­ England? They hate us more than the celts!

    Who's­ border do they attack whenever they have a dispute that­ has nothing to do with us?

    From brw1marine, on Tue 3 Mar 7:29AM

  7. We dont mind France beating us , if it means them­ overtaking wales.

    From laboca123, on Mon 2 Mar 10:55PM

  8. brw1marine,

    The only dilemma England have is looking­ for some new excuses because if France continue with­ the same form look out!

    From iagoapcoyne, on Mon 2 Mar 9:20PM

  9. Rugbymad666
    -sorry, no offence intended a case of­ crossed wires on my part in any case

    From iagoapcoyne, on Mon 2 Mar 9:15PM

  10. Of course, England now have a dilemma. Do we show up­ against France and show them how to play rugby? if we­ do and win, it will allow Ireland and Wales to fight­ for the championship. If we embarress ourselves again­ and lose, it could give France a crack at the­ title.

    Talk about a rock and a hard place.

    From brw1marine, on Mon 2 Mar 8:57PM

  11. p.lloyd all of the things in my statement are actually­ true, have you read Sally W's comments, I think­ that shows a slightly lower knowledge than my own,­ thank you very much.

    From rugbymad666, on Mon 2 Mar 8:07PM

  12. Hey great to be following what all other nations seem­ to consider the worst team of players in the world. ­ Consider this: England are so bad yet Wales and Ireland­ can only manage a single score difference between­ themselves and only 14 of the worst players to play­ against for a quater of the match! So how great are­ your teams? The worst performance was enogh to thrash­ Italy. Its great to follow the worst ever team who if­ they manage to keep 15 players on the pitch would­ probably have beaten Wales and Ireland. Bring on the­ great French and the Scottish supermen. Lets see if­ they can beat our 14 worst players as well.

    From Sadoldgit, on Mon 2 Mar 7:29PM

  13. Comment 129 "As an Englishman, it does'nt sit­­ well for me to say this, but there we have it! Well­­ done France, enjoy the moment. I doubt it will happen­­ again for some time." Why? I would rather have the­ French any day than some of the other peevish lot that­ do nothing else but hate England all the time! At least­ you get decent grub in France after the match! Allez­ les bleus!

    From Tarquinius S, on Mon 2 Mar 5:18PM

  14. You should never begin a sentence with "and".

    From Tarquinius S, on Mon 2 Mar 5:16PM

  15. .... so there.

    From Donald D, on Mon 2 Mar 1:35PM

  16. ...And sentences end with full stops.

    :P

    From Jake, on Mon 2 Mar 11:58AM

  17. There is an apostrophe in can't

    From Donald D, on Mon 2 Mar 11:01AM

  18. Terence O'Rorke the Eurosport correspondent is an­ illiterate fool and cant spell. Give me his job and­ have a decent article written.

    From ., on Mon 2 Mar 10:38AM

  19. A number of posts appear to indicate that the Welsh­ bubble has burst.
    This belief could'nt be further­ from reality.
    The deserved French win was heavily­ dependant on two things.
    First, they had to play out of­ their skins.
    Secondly, they had to catch Wales on an­ off day.
    That is exactly what happened. And even then,­ they just scraped a win.
    They did the same to NZ in the­ WC.

    The stats speak for themselves with France missing­ 8 tackles to Wales' 1.

    A look at the French­ celebrations after the game also speaks volumes.
    You­ would think they just won the WC.
    No, Wales are still­ well and truly Europe's premier team and will be­ for some time.

    As an Englishman, it does'nt sit­ well for me to say this, but there we have it!
    Well­ done France, enjoy the moment. I doubt it will happen­ again for some time.

    From brw1marine, on Mon 2 Mar 8:11AM

  20. haha

    From kmd_boo, on Mon 2 Mar 7:05AM
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