Rugby Mad Blog

I was amazed just how close England fronted up to the Tongan Haka before kickoff – virtually nose to nose. Clearly, both sides meant business! At least the Tongan’s green hair never materialised.

Kickoff was collected by England, who put immediate pressure on Tonga – Lewis Moody [right], typically chasing anything, took an accidental knee in the face while charging down a kick within the first two minutes. He wasn’t down for long.

Tonga turned over an England break at six minutes, and came rampaging down the wing – eventually being pushed into touch. England seemed to be chasing high balls much better than last match. But they then gave away a penalty for holding on, just into their own half. Pierre Hola stepped up for the kick which just went over, giving Tonga the initial lead, 0-3.

The forwards went for a nice rumble up the pitch, with George Chuter driving from the rear. Paul Sackey took it further upfield and Tonga couldn’t resist hands in the ensuing ruck. Jonny Wilkinson redressed the balance for a 3-3 score.

Olly Barkley made a great break in midfield taking a high ball, but England were turned over when Barkley was isolated in the tackle. On 16 minutes, Sukanaivalu Hufanga broke through Jonny Wilkinson’s poor tackle and slid under the posts, with Hola converting for a 3-10 lead. But seconds later, Tonga gave away a penalty in their half, and were caught napping when Wilko booted a high ball for Paul Sackey to ground before sliding over the dead ball line – just! Jonny couldn’t convert from out wide, so it was 8-10. Perhaps as a result of those tournament balls?

England had a decent lineout in the Tongan half, and the forwards drove up the wing. Spinning out side and switching from side to side, the England boys kept pushing up, forwards and backs. The Tongan defence held firm, and George Chuter knocked on with 5m to go. England gave a huge shove at the scrum, but Tonga’s Finau Maka [left] still came out the back of the pack with it.

Then England had the put in for a 5m attacking scrum. Andy Gomarsall broke but was flattened by Maka, then the forwards had a go at making progress. Barkley was in the pocket, but failed to pop a drop goal. Opportunity missed – I’m sure Jonny would have scored from the same position.

The 22m dropout kick was very flat, and won by England who pushed into Tongan teeritory again – Jonny punting a lovely kick up the left wing for a 5m defensive lineout for Tonga. A chance for the forwards to do their disruptive best at the lineout – Steve Borthwick [right] making his presence known. The Tongans knocked on – for an England put in at the scrum. It went wide across the pitch, the attack was slowing down, and Wilko was in the right place – neatly slotting over 3 points for an 11-10 lead.

At 34 minutes, Tonga gave away another penatly, just in their own half, so Jonny stepped up for the 3 points to make it 14-10. Tonga were then looking dangerous in the England half, when Tonga spilled the ball, Sackey took the scraps and flew 83m down the right wing for another try. Wilko’s conversion floated slightly wide, but a 19-10 lead was a bit more comfortable.

England needed to score first in the second half to push home their advantage. Two minutes in, Lewis Moody again collided heavily, this time with his No. 7 counterpart Nili Latu. The penalty incurred was missed by Jonny. It was now raining heavily, so perhaps he slightly missed his footing.

Matthew Tait [left] made a decent break at 44 minutes, to push England into Tongan territory. But England were unable to capitalise on it. At 47 minutes, Tonga had an attacking lineout but the England defence kept resisting. Eventually Tonga chased Andy Gomarsall into the in-goal area, and he was forced to put it down. So, a 5m scrum for Tonga. Gomarsall made a nuisance of himself and disrupted for a clearance back to the England 22.

Barkley was replaced by Andy Farrell at 51 minutes. England were lacking shape and Easter was pinged for hands in the ruck in our half – Hola was close enough for the 3 points to bring it back to 19-13.

Paul Sackey took a great clearance kick which failed to go into touch, it went through the hands and Mark Cueto [left] made a super break, eventually Matthew Tait took the ball over the line. And Wilko added the extras for a 26-13 lead.

At the restart, it was taken well by Nick Easter who offloaded beautifully to Martin Corry. England pushed up again but Andy Farrell crashed into his own man, so it was a Tongan scrum. The clearance was picked up by Josh Lewsey but England didn’t make much more headway.

Matt Stevens was subbed for Phil Vickery and his first scrum was a good one. For 2-3 minutes, England pushed hard into Tongan territory, looking more promising. Lawrence Dallaglio came on at 64 minutes for Corry. The England scrum was good, and the ball passed through hands until Mark Cueto got within inches of the line. Tonga turned over b
ut immediately knocked on, so the whites had 5m attacking scrum. It was swung into midfield and Andy Farrell [above] bounced over for a cruicial try under the sticks. And his first international try for England. Jonny added the extras for a 33-13 lead.

Around 70 minutes, Tonga were attacking up the wing when a long pass was intercepted by Andrew Sheridan, who thought it was a gift! Then England were on the attack again, going through the phases. Lee Mears took it upfield, but it wasn’t going very far, so Jonny popped over another drop goal for 36-13 lead.

Tonga made a great break with their winger Tevita Tu’ifua, and ended up with a scrum about 10m out in England territory. They spun it wide and eventually England gave away a penalty inches from the line. Eventually they were able to clear, but Tonga kept pushing up from their lineout. They never gave up, but knocked on after a tackle from Phil Vickery, for an England put in around 77 minutes. It was botched at the back, so this time Tonga had a put in. They worked it across the field to put Hale T Pole over in the far corner, despite Josh Lewsey’s best attempts. The conversion was good, and the final score was 36-20. They really deserved their final try, having played very creditably.

I think England’s performance was an improvement from the Samoa game last week. Sackey’s second try in the first half, and Farrell’s first in the second half were both cruicial for morale and turning the game. There was a sticky 15 minutes in the second half, but they scrummaged well, won their lineouts, turned over a few opposition lineouts and defended well in the main. Jonny’s points from the match means he’s just five points behind Gavin Hastings’ record of 227 World Cup points. He’s back!

The Tongans have had a great World Cup, and I’ve really enjoyed watching them play over the last month. They have really acquitted themselves well, and looked the strongest of the three Island nations. Samoa have been disappointing, and Fiji have been ok if not outstanding so far.

So now we have a quarterfinal with Australia! Bring it on…

England started as they meant to go on, with Captain Martin Corry [left] rumbling over in the corner within 2 minutes! Jonny did the honours and the Red Rose boys were 7-0 up immediately. Jonny struck a drop goal shortly after. Samoa’s Loki Crichton kept them in the running with a couple of penalties in the first quarter, but Wilkinson punted two of his own to redress the balance.

At the half hour, England were looking a bit flat, until great interplay between Simon Shaw and Mark Cueto pushed England upfield, then a chip ahead from Jonny Wilkinson put Paul Sackey over in the corner. Jonny added the two points to take England to 23-6. In the last couple of minutes of the half, Loki Crichton slotted two penalties to leave Samoa trailing by 23-12.

Samoa continued to claw back the deficit with another penalty kick just after the break, but it was cancelled out three minutes later when Jonny Wilkinson added three points of his own, having been felled by a high tackle from Brian Lima, to take the score to 26-15.

However, Samoa were far from giving up the ghost, and in the 47th minute, Junior Polu scored (it was close, the TMO had to be consulted) and Crichton converted – Samoa were back in the game, only 4 points behind at 26-22.

For the next twenty minutes, the score was stuck right there, although England came close around 55 minutes from a catch and drive manoeuvre, the forwards rumbled along, Samoa were penalised and Wilko missed a drop goal attempt while playing the advantage. Uncharacteristically, he also missed the resulting kick at goal.

Around 60 minutes, Samoa had a chance, camped deep in English territory, with forwards and backs involved, but England defended furiously and eventually turned over for a counter-atack.

A few substitutions for England followed, and they were beginning to look a little nervous. Crichton chipped ahead for Samoa, Andy Gomarsall [left] covered well. England scrapped on the floor, turned the ball over, and Nick Easter crashed his way upfield. Wilkinson could see that the try wasn’t on, and calmly popped a nerve-steadying drop goal, to take the score up to 29-22.

Samoa botched the restart kick, giving England a scrun in the centre of the field. Samoa infringed, so Jonny decided to kick for goal. He struck a beautiful, sweet kick straight through the middle of the posts, and England were 10 points ahead at 32-22.

As if the hammer home the advantage, Martin Corry went over in the 76th minute, for his second try, from a pass from Paul Sackey [right]. Jonny converted, but not to be out-done, Sackey snuck up the right wing for his second score in the 80th minute. This time, Jonny didn’t add the extra points, but England were home and dry with a 44-22 win.

Thank heavens for that! England showed some promising improvements after the South Africa debacle. Let’s hope they continue on their upward path for their game against Tonga next weekend.

Just when England fans thought it couldn’t get any worse, South Africa gave the red rose boys a lesson in how to play the game. Ten minutes in and Englad were 10 points down. Then Matt Stevens gave away another penalty and the Boks made it 13-0. Three drop goal attempts by the South Africans went wide, but with two minutes to half time, J P Pietersen crossed the line for the first of his two tries. Percy Montgomery added the extras and England were staring down the barrell of a 20-0 gun at the break.

Andy Gomarsall was brought on in place of Perry as the second half started, and he marshalled the forwards but didin’t make a significant difference. At 45 minutes, Montgomery kicked another penalty to take his tally beyond 800 points for the Springboks.

Like the last game, Jason Robinson [left] was one of the brighter sparks in the team, time after time he chased the high kicks and got some possession, only for it to be squandered later by a wayward pass or fumble by other players. It was really sad to see him pull up with a possible Achilles injury at 58 minutes. It would be a great shame for his rugby career to end there and then, but it was great to see the ovation he got from England and South African fans alike as he hobbled off the field. Let’s hope the news isn’t as bad as it seemed.

The other worry was Jamie Noon being stretchered off the field with one minute to go – God knows we don’t need any more injury worries.

As for the rest of the game, it was a depressing one way street, and 36-0 was the worst defeat ever suffered by England during a World Cup. I thought Fourie du Preez [right] had a great game at Scrum Half, but generally, England were out-thought and out-muscled in all areas of their game.

There’s a hell of a long way to go if England are to even contemplate beating Samoa next weekend. It’s a depressing time to wear the white jersey…

What a contrast with last night’s opening game. England fans who travelled to Lens for the game were disappointed with a lacklustre performance from the team. It was a slow start, and after the first quarter, it was England 3 USA 3. The Eagles had defended well and had the only chance of a try, before Phil Vickery kicked out and tripped centre Paul Emerick. Vicks has since been cited for the offence and banned for two games.

Olly Barkley was one positive – he had a good game and fully deserved his Man of the Match award. He distributed well, and went over for a try. Despite the spear tackle from Paul Emerick [right] late on, he got up and finished the game. Emerick’s World Cup is over after being banned for 5 weeks for the dangerous tackle.

Mike Catt had the chance of a try around the half hour mark, but USA defended well and cleared their lines. USA’s Esikia was sent to the bin around the same time, and Olly managed to kick the points. Soon after, Josh Lewsey made a good break, which ended when he tripped over his own feet! However, he managed to offload to Tom Rees, then across to Jason Robinson who crossed the line for England’s 100th World Cup try. Barkley’s conversion attempt floated wide.

Just before half time, Mike Hercus attempted a drop goal, which was collected by Mark Cueto, then passed off to Olly Barkley who crossed over for a morale-boosting try.

[Olly Barkley clears the ball close to his own lines]

In the second half, Tom Rees [left] darted over the line for a score with Barkley kicking the extras. However, the rest of the England team were sloppy and kept making silly mistakes. They were never really dominant in the scrum, and Mark Regan‘s throwing wasn’t terribly accurate. George Chuter didn’t do much better when he came on. Perhaps Lee Mears would have been a better bet?

The Eagles’ Blake Burdette nearly got a try, but Mark Cueto saved the day. Lawrence Dallaglio was sent off at 73 minutes, for lying on the ball. He hadn’t played well anyway, looking sluggish and out of form. [right, one of Dallaglio's few high points in the game]

Replacement prop Matekitonga Moeakiola made it over the line for a well-deserved score just after, with Hercus hitting the conversion. Andy Farrell made a decent break during the dying moments of the game – he looked reasonably sharp when he came on as a replacement with some of the other heavy brigade.

So, England won 28-10, but it was far from pretty. They’ll have to do a lot better next Friday if they’re going to get another win against South Africa. Pull your socks up, lads!

It’s been couple of years since I last went to the O₂ Scrum In The Park, and it was good to see another event advertised this year, so the public could meet the squad and give them a good sendoff to the Rugby World Cup.

There were all sorts of events going on during the afternoon, such as Meet the Players to get autographs, training sessions for kids with the team, face painting, competitions etc. It’s great to be interested in a sport where the players are so accessible – I can’t see it happening with the England football team any time soon! I did feel a bit sorry for Jonny Wilkinson [left], who was inevitably the centre of attention – he needed about 5 minders to keep the groupies away! He seemed to be bearing it with remarkable good grace, however.

Other players who I saw pottering about included the midfielders Jamie Noon, Matthew Tait, and Andy Farrell (who also seemed popular with the autograph hunters).

Prop Matt Stevens and second row Steve Borthwick [right] were putting the kids through their paces at rucking practice. A tad unfair since they could probably both have lifted up the kids with one hand, and were trying to get them to lever 110Kg of Forward off the ball!

Entertainment was provided by a marching band, looking splendid in their Dress Reds and enormous Busbies. I wasn’t entirely convinced by the Gospel Choir, mind you. Although they were much better than the crowd at singing Swing Low!

At least the Sign For England bus was a success – a double-decker where you could sign your message of support to the boys, all over the outside:

[my contribution on the side of the Sign For England bus]

The finale was a little bit of a letdown – the team were paraded onto the pitch and stood under the posts whilst Austin Healey quizzed Brian Ashton and Phil Vickery. Then they sang Swing Low and fired a load of streamers at the team:

[the England boys attempt to unravel themselves from the red and white streamers]

Would have been nice if they’d let them have a final lap round the pitch to wave to the spectators, but they were ushered off again quite quickly. Oh, well – I’ll see them on Saturday in Lens! Can’t believe my RWC trip has come round so quickly. You can see the rest of my photos from this year’s Scrum In The Park.

I’m not really sure where the summer went – I think most of it was rained off, to be honest. But summer, and August particularly, is usually pretty slow for rugby. There’s the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham (more of which anon), and towards the end of the month, clubs are to be found holding friendlies as pre-season fixtures. So it felt rather strange going to Twickenham last week for a test match – but that’s what happens in Rugby World Cup years!

France Come Out Strong
Initially, I had high hopes for England’s chances against the French – our pack seemed to be bossing things around nicely, despite veteran lock Fabien Pelous [right] managing to score in the corner within a few minutes of the opening whistle. The strength of their pack is always something to worry about with the likes of Pelous, Jerome Thion and Serge Betsen in their ranks – not to mention their front row.

England held their own for some time, with Olly Barkley slotting over four penalties with little trouble – some from quite long range. Jonny Wilkinson [left] sat out most of the match on the bench, for heaven’s sake! I realised it was only the third time I’d actually photographed Jonny on the pitch – once playing for Newcastle (Dec. 2004), once for the Lions (May 2005) and lastly for 2 minutes at Twickenham! You can see more photos from the game at the usual place.

My heart sank yesterday, after watching England’s display against France in Marseille on the telly. Their pack were definitely having their own way – so let’s hope we can pull ourselves up by the bootstraps before the World Cup starts. Fingers crossed!

Back To Twickenham

It seems I’m beginning to live at the place – visiting two weekends running. This time it was for the aforementioned Middlesex Sevens tournament. What a contrast in the weather to a week ago! This time it was cold, drizzly and miserable, (the sun had been out in force the week before for the French visit). I really felt sorry for the players – thankfully my seat was well under cover in the West stand and I was still able to take a few photos of the matches.

After recent domination by the likes of Wasps and Gloucester, it was good to see the Final contested between Newcastle Falcons and Worcester Warriors – the Worcester boys were sporting a bright orange strip which added a bit of colour to the otherwise drab pictures. I wondered if they’ve just taken on new sponsorship from Lea & Perrins – the orange was exactly the same colour as the sauce label?!

[Newcastle's Ollie Phillips tries to catch Worcester's Marcel Garvey]

So, just a couple of weeks to go before World Cup Fever begins to grip the rugby-watching public – bring it on!

Six Nations Game 15 – Wales vs England (27-18)

England were caught napping in the first three minutes, when Toby Flood‘s clearance kick was charged down and James Hook did the honours with hand and boot to score seven points for Wales.

Wales nearly got another before Shane Williams [left] was hauled down and England won a penalty which was quickly taken and cleared. With just eight minutes gone, Joe Worsley went off concussed, to be replaced by Magnus Lund. Then Hook had a chance at goal from just under half way and made it into double figures, 10-0.

Then Wales had another strong attack, Chris Horsman just going over the line under a pile of Welsh bodies. Hook’s wide conversion just bounced off the posts, to make the score 15-0.

England had the chance at an attacking lineout after Wales gave away a penalty. Wales knocked on to give England the scrum. They spun it out wide, and got within 2m but were getting very slow ball.

With over 30 minutes on the clock, James Hook went for a drop goal but it went wide. Possession seemed to be all Wales’ way. But then England managed to make a break, skipper Mike Catt was chasing his chip ahead to the line. It bounced awkwardly, missing the Welsh defence, and Harry Ellis [right] was there to clear up. Toby Flood made the conversion and England were back in the game at 15-7. Shortly after, Flood struck a drop goal to claw back another three points, taking them to 15-10.

A few minutes later, Hook added another three points for an England infringement, taking it to 18-10. But immediately after, Ellis made a great break, with Jason Robinson in support, diving over in the corner. It was a Billy Whizz trademark try. Flood didn’t make the conversion, but the score was back at 18-15 at the break.

Just after the second half started, Mike Catt went off to be replaced by Shane Geraghty. David Strettle made a break and were brought up just short, then Wales gave away a penalty. Flood’s kick levelled the score at 18-all.

Wales were caught crossing in the England half, and Flood’s huge kick down the field put them back into Welsh territory. The lineout was just about won, Ellis shipped it out to the backs but a high kick was caught by Wales, who promptly passed it out into touch. A few minutes later, they did the same thing on the other side of the pitch. England’s lineout went long and was nicked, but then Shane Williams knocked on to give England a scrum.

Wales won their own scrum in the England 22, and they were making ground, but Kevin Morgan threw a wayward pass and Mark Jones [left] was unable to take it before it went into touch.

England were back in possession and in the Welsh half when they were caught holding on. At the Welsh lineout, England infringed and James Hook took a chance at goal from 39m out. It hit the right post and was collected by George Chuter. Then England got a scrum on half way but Wales turned over possession in the loose.

With about 20 minutes to go, Hook had another chance at goal and drew ahead at 21-18. England won some good ball fom the restart but an interception put Wales back in the England 22 with a throwin. Then they were up at 5m with a lineout throw. Gough took the ball cleanly, and England were on the defensive. The forwards were picking and driving but were still 2m from the line when Hook took another drop goal, to make it 24-18.

Hook then made a great break but couldn’t manage to pass without knocking on. Meanwhile Dwayne Peel was replaced by Mike Philips [right]. England got a bit more possession, but it seemed to be coming out slowly, when Shaun Perry knocked on. Wales then had another go at goal, pulling away to make it 27-18 with eight minutes to go.

No more points were added, despite England attempting to make ground in the dying minutes. At last, Wales had a win to avoid the Wooden Spoon. Hook’s 22 points made him Man of the Match.

Or, read my ten word review.

I’m very excited. After much dithering, I’ve finally booked my trip to the Rugby World Cup 2007.

I’ve signed up for a package which takes me to the Opening Ceremony plus the first game, France vs Argentina in the Stade de France, Paris. That promises to be a big spectacle, and I expect both teams will be out to prove something, but especially France, hosting the tournament.

Then I’ll be off to Lens for the Red Rose Boy’s first pool match, England vs USA.

The games fall on the first weekend of September, and there was another (non-rugby) event which clashed, so I had a big decision to make. In the end, I figured the other thing was annual, and there’s always the 2008 event – whereas World Cups only come round every four years, and the next one is somewhat further away than France, so there wasn’t really any contest!

Six Nations Game 12 – England vs France (26-18)

England made a slow start, and France took the opportunity of 3 points after three minutes. Then England looked like they were making a break, only to be turned over. They were let off when France knocked on.

Just before seven minutes, David Skrela took an awkward fall after a tackle by Tom Rees [left]. Toby Flood took the penalty to square things up at 3-3.

England put toghether a decent passage of play but then France turned over, and nearly made it across the line – but Les Bleus knocked on to give a 5m scrum just short of the England line. Then it got messy, and France got another penalty – 3-6 up.

The first twenty minutes was rather odd – flashes of brilliance from both sides, but often little mess-ups later. Then another French penalty gave them a 3-9 lead. Then England put some pressure on France, they infringed and Flood’s kick at goal went wide. His next attempt in front of the posts was good, to give England 6-9.

France pushed the English defence again, and Chuter was done for coming in from the side – Dmitri Yachvili [right] took the three points, having taken over the kicking dutes, to make it, 6-12.

From the restart, taken by Sebastien Chabal, Mike Tindall made a huge hit and Chabal was penalised for holding on. The penalty made it 9-12. Shortly after a French lineout, they were again pinged for holding on, at the half way line. Flood stepped up at 51m and it just came up short.

The second half was a bit slow to get going, but the England forwards got to within 2m of the line. They were driven back briefly, then it went out to the backs. Captain Mike Catt [left] made a great break, passed out to Flood who went over for a try. He converted his own score to give England their first leat at 16-12.

Chabal was subbed about ten minutes into the second half, he had not been doing much. England gave away another penalty, and Yachvili put over the penalty, to bring them back to 16-15.

Soon after, England gave away another penalty, an Les Bleus took the lead again, 16-18. Then England went on the break again, nearly made it over the line, and forced France to give a penalty away. Shane Geraghty [right], on for Toby Flood, who had a dead leg, and took the points in front of the posts – England 19-18.

Straight after the restart, France gave away another penalty, Geraghty kicked for the corner, the lineout was solid and they went driving for a bit up the pitch. But then Martin Corry was isolated.

They played ping pong several times, then Geraghty got the ball and scythed up the field, the French missed at least two tackles, and he went almost all the way to the line before offloading to Mike Tindall [left]. Shane converted to put England ahead 26-18 with six minutes left. What a memorable bit of play for the young Fly Half on his first cap.

The clock ticked down, and every agonising minute went buy. Finally the ref blew for full time, and Twickenham erupted.

France looked decidedly ordinary. They never really competed. Where were their forwards? Our forwards had a great game, really getting into the French faces. And there was a good mix of experience and raw talent.

So, the tournament is wide open now, all to play for next weekend. Bring on Super Saturday!

Or, read my ten word review.

Six Nations Game 8 – Ireland vs England (43-13)

Crunch time, for both teams. As the anthems played, I felt sick, and that was just me watching in front of the telly! (A new telly, which I had to rush out and buy earlier, when the old one chose to die on me at 10am this morning – what timing!)

It always makes me smile when I see Peter Stringer [tiny fellow that he is, right] dwarfed bewteen the two Locks, as they sing “standing shoulder to shoulder”. Wonderful.

And Jonny Wilkinson fit, thankfully. David Strettle in for the injured Jason Robinson. So, a new-look backline.

Joel Jutge blew the whistle and we were off. Wilko’s kick taken safely by Ireland. Penalty for England withing thirty seconds, after a high ball kick wasn’t taken well by anyone. Jonny punts the ball over, 0-3 to England.

Danny Grewcock [left] took the restart kick safely, but Ireland soon had it back in their possession. They kicked long and it ended over the try line, so it was a 22m dropout to England. Paul O’Connell was brought to ground after his catch. O’Gara put it just out near the England line and it was England’s lineout. Easterby went up too, but it was won by Lund and the forwards rumbled them back. Shortly after Ireland won a penalty, O’Gara pushing it over cleanly.

They played ping pong for a bit, Ireland lost their lineout and England made a break. Attack and counter-attack, and then into touch. After the scrum, England won a lineout, and seemed to be getting some quick ball from rucks. Ireland had a chance of overlap but squandered it.

Soon after, Ireland kicked another penalty to make it 6-3. Then they stole a lineout from Grewcock. Then Ireland infringed, Ellis took the penalty quickly and then O’Connell gave away another penalty for high tackle. Wilkinson punted it deep into the Irish 22. George Chuter‘s [right] lineout was lost and Ireland won another lineout a couple of minutes later.

The rain started hammering down and the ball was getting slippery. Then England gave away another stupid penalty at the lineout. O’Gara made it 9-3.

After the restart, Ireland looked more dangerous, and Josh Lewsey saved a possible Irish chance by making sure it was in touch. Then Ireland were attacking again, just before the line and Danny Grewcock was sin binned. Which meant an Irish lineout close to England’s line and a man down. The inevitable – Irish try finished by Girvan Dempsey [left]. 16-3 to Ireland once O’Gara had done the hours with the boot.

After some sticky moments for England, they had a chance at attack, but knocked on. So Ireland had the put-in. Mattew Tait came on for Olly Morgan (shoulder injury). Ireland were on the attack again after a lineout, and almost made it, but Tait made one hell of a tackle and it was out of the dead ball line. Soon after they were back and David Wallace [right] just managed to get across the whitewash. O’Gara did the honours, and Ireland were up 23-3.

Shame to see England on the ropes, I was hoping for a better matched first half. Just before the break, they looked to be making a break, but couldn’t manage it. Brian Ashton has some talking to do at the break.

Things didn’t get any better at the restart of the second half. Paul O’Connell almost charged down a Mike Tindall [left] clearance kick but it went out. Ireland stole the ball but then knocked it on. The scrum was terrible for England and O’Gara added another three points for the offence, making it 26-3. Ghastly second half start for the men in white.

Julian White came on as a blood replacement for Vickery, Grewcock caught the dodgy England lineout. Then the centres had a go. Andy Farrell kicked a lovely clearance to touch but the Irish lineout was solid, until England turned them over. Josh Lewsey made some headway and England were only 5m out. They had to spin it out wide, and David Strettle scored in the corner on his debut, after seeing the video replay. Wilkinson took the extras and England were back in the game at 26-10.

Ireland’s next attack eventually put the ball in touch. England won the lineout, but the clearing kick failed to find touch and Ireland were back on the attack. They were pinged for crossing on the half way line, and Jonny wasn’t quite able to push it over.

On 53 minutes, Tom Palmer [right] replaced Danny Grewcock. The next phase of play, Ireland gave away a penalty closer in, and Jonny made no mistake with the boot this time, making it 26-13. Then Julian White gave away a penalty, and O’Gara did the honours – 29-13.

The restart saw Ireland go on the attack, but Lewsey got the ball back and Ireland had a forward pass. The England scrum wasn’t performing to best – England done for not feeding straight and Stringer was off for a quick tap and go. They tried to get themselves into the England 22, but Tait was ab
le to take a silly kick from Ireland.

Then Ireland looked like they were making headway before England managed to catch an intercept. Then Ireland had a scrum, and there were a couple of knock-ons either side. A few minutes later, a huge crossfield kick from O’Gara was taken by Shane Horgan [left] to put it down in the corner, O’Gara making it 8 from 8 and the score moved on to 36-13.

Then Brian O’Driscoll‘s hamstring appeared to go again as England turned over the Irish ruck. It took another ten minutes for him to go off the field, though.

A flurry of replacements for both sides, but Ireland still looked like the dominant force. England won some more ball, but it was basically scraps compared to Ireland’s possession.

Even the last five minutes were fairly furious, with possession changing hands regularly. Paul O’Connell was named man of the match, but I’m sure Isaac Boss, a late replacement for Stringer, will be relishing his interception which gave him a simple run under the posts. And then O’Gara added the rest. Again. 43-13.

Ouch.

Ireland certainly looked the most convincing, they played extremely well. And 30 points is the biggest Irish win against England. The best team certainly won on the day, and at Croke Park, they will be partying very hard tonight.

Or read my ten word review.