After the disappointing performances of the first game, the clash at Croke Park was somewhat more entertaining. It was a much closer game, and showed plenty of skill from both teams.

After an early Irish penalty, the French struck with a try from old war-horse Imanol Harinordiquy [left]. He’s been in and out of the team for years, but fully justified his inclusion today with some sublime play at the set piece, at the breakdown and in the loose.

The Irish pulled back to within a point after a Ronan O’Gara penatly. Then a try by Jamie Heaslip pulled them further ahead. The French landed a drop goal just before half time to bring the score to 13-10.

The second half was bearly 3 minutes old when Ireland’s talisman Captain Brian O’Driscoll [right] showed why he’s still in the team. He takes a quick ball off the top of a lineout and evades his man for a wonderfully engineered try. Vintage O’Driscoll, for sure.

France hit back on 50 minutes when Lionel Beauxis kicks to his wing and Maxime Medard crosses to bring the scoreline to 20-15. Beauxis adds three points with another drop goal to bring the French to within two points, 20-18

The Irish turned the screw in the 66th minute when Gordon D’Arcy crossed just by the posts after a lovely sideways jink to evade the French fingertips. O’Gara’s conversion put the men in green further ahead.

A penalty apiece before the end of the game brought the final score to 30-21. It was a highly entertaining game, and the Irish will be pleased at how confident and fit the team looked. They will head to Rome with their tails up. Meanwhile, the French will need to regroup before they go back home to Paris to face Scotland next weekend.

After poor performances from both sides last week, it was crunch time for England and Ireland’s last game of the Championship.

Ireland struck first with a try from Rob Kearney in the 4th minute – just the start that English fans at Twickenham didn’t want! Ronan O’Gara added the extras without a hitch, and the hosts were down 0-7. England were caught holding on a few minutes later, and O’Gara punished them with another kick. 0-10 down and it wasn’t looking good for England.

In the 12th minute, Danny Cipriani [right] replied with a penalty of his own, clawing back 3 points. A few minutes later, Paul Sackey scored a wonderful try in the corner. Cipriani converted to bring the scores level at 10-all.

Toby Flood chipped ahead and gathered himself, and Irish hands were caught in the subsequent ruck. Another three points for Ciprirani, and England went ahead 13-10. There the score remained for the rest of the first half.

In the second period, England opened the floodgates. Despite an early Irish attack, it came to nothing. Lesley Vainikolo got a bit of a run in the 43rd minute, and England were pressuring the Irish defence. The men in green were caught playing on the ground again, Cipriani added another 3 to his total and England were 16-10 ahead.

Another Irish attack in the 46th minute came to nothing after a knock-on. At 55 minutes, old hand Jonny Wilkinson came on to the park. Then Iain Balshaw flew up the wing, who passed to Matthew Tait [left] to cross in the corner. The extras brought it to 23-10.

In the 70th minute, Jamie Noon broke through the Irish defence in the left corner, juggling the ball in mid air, but keeping control long enough to score by the flag. Another conversion and the Red Rose boys were leading by 20 points, at 30-10.

With 8 minutes left on the clock, the Irish were caught once again, playing the ball in a ruck. The resulting penalty was true from Cipriani and the hosts were 33-10 up.

The last couple of minutes saw Ireland pushing for the line, but they knocked on and England ran a move up into the Irish half. They couldn’t make another score, but at least they looked much more convincing this week.

Danny Cipriani’s full England debut was impressive – Jonny needs to watch his back if he’s not to be overshadowed by the young buck.

Ireland started well with a couple of penalties against the men in red, but eventually the Welsh were able to claw one back for themselves and the score stood t 6-3 at half time. Welsh scrum half Mike Philips [right] spent ten iminutes in the bin either side of the break for a professional foul.

But despite having a specialist player out for his sins, Wales managed to hang on to their hats with Shane Williams filling in at No. 9. They even managed to take another penalty off Ireland to bring the scores level.

With Philips back on, Wales got fired up again and Shane Williams saw a miniscule gap in the Irish defence, broke through and scored his 40th try for Wales in 55 tests. Stephen Jones’ conversion brought the score to 13-6!

Soon after, Martyn Williams took out Eoin Reddan with a naughty trip, and spent time in the sin-bin. Ronan O’Gara slotted the penalty for that offence, and another a little while later to bring the Irish to within 1 score of salvaging the game.

But it was not to be, and Ireland finished on the wrong end of 1 12-16 defeat at home. The Welsh fans were in fine voice at Croke Park as Captain Ryan Jones [left] lifted the Triple Crown, tied with red ribbons flying about, above his head. So only France now stand in the way of a possible Welsh Grand Slam.

The first few minutes presented Scotland with a penalty chance, but Chris Paterson opted not to take the 3 points, insted going for a bigger pirze. Unfortunately, Ireland weren’t letting the Scots through their defence and the chance for any points went begging.

The first 20 minutes saw Scotland showing plenty of endeavour, but no points on the board. But with so little territory, Ireland made the most of their time on Scottish soil, and David Wallace broke from the back o f a close-range scrum, then snuck over the line right under the posts. Ronan O’Gara added the conversion and Ireland took a 7-0 lead.

In the 24th minute, Scotland got themselves on the board when Paterson kicked a long penalty, trailing by 4 points 7-3. But minutes later, Ireland cut through the Scots when Ronan O’Gara picked up from a ruck, passed to Brian O’Driscoll [right] who floated a long pass out to Rob Kearney on the wing, who scored his first try for Ireland. O’Gara had no problem with the conversion, and Ireland pulled away at 14-3. Paterson kicked another penalty to nibble back three points, 14-6.

Scotland pressured the Irish line with five minutes to go – they got to the line but were held up: the resulting scrum saw Ireland give a huge shove, and the Scots had to marshall themselves again from the 10m line. They got themselves up to the corner flag again. Initially, Scotland won a penalty, but Nathan Hines swung an arm at an Irish head, and the penalty was reversed.

The Irish got the perfect start to the second half, winning the restart kick and O’Gara punted the ball into the corner to find Marcus Horan – a prop – waiting on the wing to roll over. With the conversion clean, they pulled away to 19-6. They made it 22-6 in the 49th minute with another penalty from O’Gara. Ireland were looking comfortable.

Complacency is a gangerous thing – Simon Webster [left] took a flat pass from Paterson and ran in for a try, with Paterson adding the extras – Scotland were back in the game at 22-13.

Scotland went on the attack in the 61st minute, but the Irish intercepted, O’Gara did a wonderful reverse flick pass and it went through hands to Tommy Bowe [right] on the wing, who just had the reach to stretch over for a try as he was tackled. Again, O’Gara added the extras and Ireland stretched their lead to 29-13.

The Irish bench got some exercise with a raft of subsitutions. Then with five minutes to go, Scots substitute Jim Hamilton was stretchered off with a splint on his leg. Not confirmed, but it definitely looked like a break. It will be a big blow for Scotland in forthcoming matches if he’s out for any length of time. Euan Murray also limped off, and Ross Ford had to come back on as a prop, so the next scrums were played uncontested.

The dying minutes seemed all blown out, but Tommy Bowe jinked over for a second try after the Scots fumbled a pass, the ball picked up by Andrew Trimble and then passed to Shane Horgan and out to the winger. The final score ended up 34-13 and Ireland looked very much more in control than they have over their last two games.

Bernard Jackman‘s first lineout was a disaster, going to French hands. Les Bleus worked the ball across the field one way, then the other, and if it wasn’t for a forward pass, they would have scored.

Around 10 minutes, Ireland were looking for points in the French 22 after a lineout, with several phases well put together. Rucks, passes, pick and drive, until Eoin Reddan threw it wide, then back into midfield. Things only stopped when Ireland knocked on close to the line.

It was still tight until France turned over Irish ball, which was hacked ahead and Vincent Clerc [right] flew up the wing in his golden boots, gathered safely and slid over for a lovely try. David Skrela converted and the home side were 7-0 up.

Shortly after, France were caught infringing and Ronan O’Gara stepped up for three points, overtaking Neil Jenkins’ Six Nations all-time points score, (with only Jonny Wilkinson still in front). That put Ireland on 7-3.

Then after the restart, Ireland were caught napping and Clerc did it again with another blistering run – this time Skrela missed the conversion but French tails were up, 12-3. In the 23rd minute, Ireland had an opportunity when they got an attacking lineout 5m out, but Lionel Nallet‘s challenge was excellent.

Just before the half hour, O’Gara punted over a penatly to bring them up to 12-6. But Clerc struck for a hat-trick, scored with a jubilant dive, just before half time and Ireland were left wondering what to do – I’d hate to think what Eddie O’Sullivan would have said at the break, going into the dressing room 19-6 down.

There was plenty of action but few points as the second half began. Then in the 49th minute, France had a scrum on the half way, the No. 8 broke away and it was kicked, partially charged down, and Cédric Heymans [left], another boy in golden boots, ran in for a try under the posts with the Irish defence in shreds. The conversion brought the score up to 26-6. The French fans were in good voice, with the Marseillaise ringing out around the stadium.

At 52 minutes, Ireland got another penalty and kicked to the corner. Their previous lineouts hadn’t been doing well, with Jackman’s throws more often than not arriving in French hands. This time they got possession and managed to work themselves up to within a couple of metres of the line, then recycled and drove again, crawling towards the line over several phases. Then the Irish won a Scrum V. It was reset a couple of times as the French went down once the drive was on. And a second time. Third time, the Irish front row scrummaged the French off the park and Ref Nigel Owens had no choice but to award a penalty try. O’Gara’s conversion was easy, and the score was back at 26-13 with 22 minutes to go.

The Irish pack made a big drive after the catching restart. Then they spun it wide, chipped ahead but it was collected by Heymans instead of an Irish hand. Then Simon Best came on for Jackman after an injury, the Irish lineout was solid and the forwards drove on. David Wallace [right] was the man at the bottom of the heap and the TMO agreed the ball was grounded. But the conversion was missed, so the scores stood at 26-18. Suddenly, the Irish were playing to their strengths (forwards) rather than running.

In the 65th minute, Clerc went into touch as he caught a bouncer, and the Irish lineout was good again. Then the Irish pack had another opportunity and drove up, and passed out to the backs – but the pass to the wing was too long and it went into touch.

The Irish comeback continued point by point, when Ronan O’Gara punted another pentalty in the 75th minute, clawing it back to 26-21. Then crucially, Ireland won a penalty on the half way, and kicked for the corner. The lineout was taken and the Irish backs broke the French defensive line. They recycled again and made more ground. The forwards took it up from the 22, mauling and rucking for their lives. 7m short, it was flung wide, collected by a French hand and it went into touch – whistle blew.

So an incredible turnaround from the Irish in the second half, and they can be proud of themselves for that. France looked extremely dangerous, especially in the first half. Ironically, Vincent Clerc (Man of the Match with a hat-trick) was dropped from the French 22 earlier in the week, and only came back in after an injury to Julien Malzieu!

After their disappointing performance in the World Cup last autumn, Ireland were out to prove they can play decent rugby. The game took a while to get going, but around ten minutes, Ireland managed to put together a few phases and attack the Italian line, but the Azzurri turned the ball over to save a try. Ireland managed a penalty a few minutes later, taken by Ronan O’Gara [left]. Then Ireland threw away another scoring opportunity when Geordan Murphy put a poor pass over to Girvan Dempsey, and Italy gathered.

Ireland got a scrum, and the ball was passed across several hands when it reached O’Gara, who punted a great cross-field kick to Andrew Trimble, who then passed to fullback Girvan Dempsey to finish it off. O’Gara took the extras, taking him to 400 points in the Championship.

Eoin Reddan [right] was making his first Six Nations start, and looked pretty sharp, providing quick ball to O’Gara and sniping at the scrum. Peter Stringer has made the green No.9 jersey his own for many a year, so Reddan definitely has a tough job to break into the team permanently. Similarly, Italy’s permanent fixture at Hooker, Alessandro Troncon, has now retired, and the Azzurri were giving Leonardo Ghiraldini his second cap.

Italy’s lineout was working well, compared to the Irish; Rory Best didn’t have his best day at the office. Towards the break, Santiago Dellape was sent to the bin for punching, but the remaining 14 Italians threw everything at the Irish defence. Their reward was a penalty, and they went in at half time 10-3.

Straight after half time, Reddan made a lovely break and it looked like a try was inevitable, but Ireland knocked on with the line beckoning. Later, Simon Easterby [left] spent ten minutes in the sinbin for playing the ball off his feet. Italy gained a penalty opportunity, but the kick went wide.

Around 55 minutes, Italy were pinged and O’Gara potted another 3 points easily. When Easterby came back on, Italy made a good break up the field and on the stroke of 60 minutes, they rolled a maul over the line. The video ref took an age to decide, but the score was good. Captain Sergio Parisse was the man closest to the ground. But David Bortolussi missed the conversion, and the score moved on to 13-8.

Italy were caught with hands in the ruck in the 65th minute, which was a gift of another 3 points for Ronan O’Gara. And 3 minutes later, Ireland gave away a penalty themselves, which Bortolussi slotted over.

Both teams kept fighting for the last ten minutes, but the final score stood at 16-11. Italy certainly didn’t discrace themselves this time round – their lineout was solid – they only lost one all afternoon, certainly better than the Irish lineout which looked shakey at times. O’Gara missed a late penalty which was quite unusual from him – it wasn’t a particularly difficult shot.

As usual, the Italian forwards were very physical, and there were plenty of big hits put in. Ronan O’Gara bossed the Irish team reasonably well, but they looked a bit shakey – less than convincing. The bright spark for them was Eoin Reddan, who proved himself to be a great option at 9 – he made some lovely runs at the breakdown and distributed well. I’m sure he’ll be seen in a green shirt again very soon, and fully deserved his Man of the Match award.

[Eoin Reddan, Ireland's Man of the Match in action for Wasps last season]

Argentina had a punt at goal in the 9th minute, but Felipe Contepomi couldn’t manage to score. They nearly had a try shortly after with a chip and chase, but the Irish defence held firm.

The first 10 minutes saw Irland in charge, but the next twenty seemed to belong to Argentina. In the 14th minute, Argentina had a great drive to the line, the forwards rumbling along, eventually winning a put-in at the scrum on 5m from the Irish line. From the back, it swung out to the right wing and Lucas Borges [left] went over for a vital first score. The conversion went wide, so it was only 5-0 up for Argentina.

Ireland won a penalty in the 19th minute, this time Ronan O’Gara chose to take 3 sure points to make it 5-3. At the restart, Argentina were on the attack, and the try wasn’t quite on, so Juan Martín Hernández [right] dropped a lovely goal from midfield to nullify the Ireland penalty.

In the 23rd minute, Hernández took a fantastic high ball like a pro fullback, and the resulting chip ahead from Agustin Pichot saw O’Gara have to clear to touch in panic. Phases from the lineout and resulting scrum saw Argentina push right up to the line, only coming up short with a knock-on.

The Ireland scrum was won but they had to clear quickly from the in-goal area, giving Argentina a couple of attacking lineouts in the Irish half. Eventually, Argentina were done for not releasing the ball, and O’Gara finally found a good kick into the opponents’ half. Ireland were making headway, but some hard tackles saw Ireland driven 20m back into their own half.

Soon after, Ignacio Corleto gave away a penalty by shouldering Geordan Murphy. From the penalty, Brian O’Driscoll [left] ran through the Argentine defence to score next to the posts, the first try Argentina have conceded so far, and the conversion came easily to bring Ireland into the lead, 8-10.

The pendulum seemed to swing back again, with the Irish bossing things around. Argentina won a scrum on the half way line, and they were back into attack mode in the Irish half. The defence held the try at bay, but Hernández took another pop at goal to bring the lead back to the Pumas, 11-10.

It was another fantastic piece of play in the Irish half, which started with Hernández again taking a high kick of his own, some great passing out of the tackle and winger Horacio Agulla scores a try in the corner! Contepomi converted with a bounce off the woodwork. Ireland looked in trouble, going in at the break 18-10.

After the restart, Argentina mauled their way into the Irish half, won a penalty and Contepomi did the honours – 21-10. Another nail in the Irish coffin…

The men in green worked their way patiently upfield from a lineout, but Argentina turned it over. They cleared, but Ireland had another lineout, worked it across field and Geordan Murphy [right] was the last man in the line to dive over in the right corner. O’Gara’s kick went wide, so it was 21-15.

At 50 minutes, Ireland won a scrum in their own half, kicked high, but it was a 22m dropout. Just after, Argentina lost their lineout, but turned over Ireland’s attack, and drilled the ball back into the Irish 10m zone. Argentina’s turnover abilities seemed prolific – how often did we see green go to ground with the ball, only for it to emerge in the hands of a blue and white jersey?

Just when Ireland seemed to be putting a few phases of play together, they have a shocking forward pass and give Argentina the scrum 40m out. In the 61st minute, Argentina forced another penalty and Contepomi added another three to take them 24-16 in front. Donncha O’Callaghan [left] made a high tackle on Contepomi in the 64th minute, and gave away another penalty – 27-16 ahead. The Irish hill seemed insurmountable – time to bring on some subs.

In the 67th minute, Ireland nearly touched down but for a massive defensive catch from Ignacio Corleto, taking the ball out of his hands. Argentina camped in the Irish half again, going through the phases and waiting patiently for points any way they can – drop goal, penalty or try. Pichot passed but the drop goal attempt was wide.

The Pumas pack had the game by the scruff of the neck, rucking for their lives, turning over possession and making massive hits. Ireland had a late renaissance during the last ten minutes. Roncero gave away a penalty in his own half, and Ireland went for the corner. The lineout was taken well, the Irish supporters were singing away, the forwards rumbled on, possession was kicked away and Argentina’s scrambled defence took off the heat.

The final nail in the coffin came in the 79th minute when Juan Martín Hernández slotted a left-footed drop goal, his hatrick, taking their final tally to 30-15.

Every time Ireland came at them, the Pumas seemed to have an answer. They looked by far the sharper team, and can now look forward to a quarter final against Scotland in Paris, sending the French to Cardiff to face the All Blacks for their quarterfinal. Not at all what the host nation had hoped for, and those pesky Pumas have done them no favours. And with the way Scotland have played so far, they must be seen as underdogs for the match – so who knows h
ow far the Pumas can go? Good for them!

A month ago, who would have put money on England and Scotland being the only two home nations to make it into the quarters? And I’m not betting my mortgage on how long Eddie O’Sullivan can remain in his job, after such a promising Irish team (at least on paper) have failed to deliver. Funny old game, eh?

The first half didn’t see any tries – but France got four penalties out of five; O’Gara scored a drop goal but missed an early penalty attempt.

It took Freddy Michalak‘s [right] crossfield kick in the 59th minute to put Vincent Clerc over in the corner for the first try of the game. He matched it ten minutes later in the same corner, but again, Elissalde could not add the extra two points.

So, at 25-3 as the final score, France will be pleased with their performance. Ireland were let down by poor discipline and sloppy play, gifting their opponents the chance of 7 kicks at goal, and 15 of their points. For Ireland to go through to the Quarter Finals, they have to beat Argentina convincingly in their last pool game, something I really can’t see happening on the evidence so far. Eddie O’Sullivan must be a worried man right now.

They made a nervous start, with Ireland making unforced errors, while Georgia held their own in defence. A missed penalty opportunity only made things worse for the men in green, but they calmed down a little when Hooker Rory Best [left] crossed the line in the 16th minute, with Ronan O’Gara adding the extras. 7-0 looked respectable at last. But it was another 20 minutes before more points were scored.

This time, Georgia turned over possession, made a great break and won a penalty, David Wallace [right] being sent to the bin for 10 minutes for cynical play. Merab Kvirikashvili took the points and they went in 7-3 at half time.

You would have thought that Eddie O’Sullivan would have given his side a rocket during the break, but the Irish came out in the second half still looking sluggish.

Things went from bad to worse for the men in green, when Giorgi Shkinin scored a fantastic intercept try, running two thirds of the pitch. It was an easy conversion, and suddenly Georgia were in the lead, 7-10, with only their second try in a Rugby World Cup game.

Around 49 minutes, Ireland seemed to wake up when they took a lineout and pushed hard. Georgia had some great defence, and the Irish knocked on! Kvirikashvili made an immense clearance kick a little later, pushing deep into Irish territory. Ireland conceded a 5m lineout, but it was overthrown and Ireland were out of trouble.

After 55 minutes, Ireland went on the counter-attack, when Girvan Dempsey [left] went over the whitewash with O’Gara taking the extras to make it 14-10.

The last quarter was pretty furious – Georgia never gave up and pushed up to the line several times, only for them to knock on or be turned over at the last minute. Sadly, a couple of drop goal attempts also went wide. The were camped in Irish territory for a good while too. At 77 minutes, Georgia did manage to get across the try line, but it was judged to have been held up by Ireland, truely a lucky escape for them.

In the end, Georgia, a country with only 8 rugby pitches and 300 registered players, so very nearly turned over a big scalp, only the luck of the Irish keeping them safe from World Cup ignomony.

It seems that 2007 is the year when the smaller nations give some of the big boys a fright, and it’s been brilliantly entertaining to watch.

The Nambians certainly weren’t letting the Irish have their way with the catch and drive manoeuvres, their scrum wasn’t too bad and midfield defence seemed to be all over the Irish pair.

With such a critical group, Argentina having put the cat amongst the pidgeons by beating France, Ireland really needed a big score. The pool could come down to points difference, and if they can’t put a few decent points over the tournment’s bottom team, they could find themselves in third place at the end of the pool games. The final score of Ireland 32 Namibia 17 certainly didn’t flatter the men in green. The try scorers were Brian O’Driscoll [right], Andrew Trimble, Simon Easterby [left], and replacement Hooker Jerry Flannery, which secured them a bonus point, but they made heavy weather of it.