TO IRELAND the triple crown — now a silver platter rather than a thing of myth — for the eighth time and the position of runner-up to France in this season’s RBS Six Nations Championship, as they were in 2004. To England the sense, still, of going nowhere for the third successive year since they became world champions.
If they, players or management, believe that this campaign — fourth in the table, as they were last year — represents a step forward then they are deluding themselves. England may have received the rough end of the officiating but nor were Ireland enchanted to see Simon Easterby given a yellow card at a critical time; moreover, it is the Irish who dug themselves out of the pit of dejection they occupied last season, made some significant amendments to their line-up and have prospered as a result.
They do not amount to the sum of what appear to be some consequential parts but those parts are more than England can offer, 18 months away from their defence of the World Cup. England played with pride and heart at Twickenham on Saturday but these are things that should be taken for granted; they have a porous back three, no creativity in midfield and a back row that still operates on an individual basis rather than as a complementary unit.
Within the space of 24 hours, England lost internationals at senior and A level to Ireland squads boasting open-side flankers who play in the Guinness Premiership. On Friday night, Shane Jennings, the Leicester No 7, contributed significantly to Ireland’s 33-18 win at Gloucester, while on Saturday, Jonny O’Connor, the London Wasps open-side, made a couple of cameo appearances as Ireland scored more points than they have registered in the previous 118 games between the countries.
England have not so much let slip the dogs of war as lost them, the old-fashioned, open-side hounds who make the difference between winning quick ball and losing it. When they are undermined at the set-piece, too, as Ireland (for the second time running at Twickenham) did at the lineout, then trouble looms; Paul O’Connell and his troops snaffled four England throws, vitally when England had opted to go for the catch-and-drive rather than the kick at goal and criminally when Denis Leamy snapped up an overthrow to score Ireland’s second try.
Andy Robinson, England’s head coach, confessed to being “staggered” at the decisions of match officials that allowed Shane Horgan’s first try to stand after the ball hit the touchline and then denied Ben Cohen a quick throw-in immediately before Leamy’s try but, if his playing squad were good enough, he would not be dependent on such errors. Such decisions happen and the good sides rise above them.
So do the good players. Brian O’Driscoll, for all his hard work in defence, had as quiet an attacking game as one has seen from him this season yet he was still capable of the piece of work that led to the winning of the match. Ronan O’Gara’s chip ahead in the sixth minute of time added on eluded Tom Voyce, O’Driscoll steamed on to the ball and delivered the perfect pass to Horgan.
The big wing was pulled down by Lewis Moody five metres short and the Leicester flanker probably thought he had saved the match. He did not rely on it, though, was up on his feet as Ireland won the ruck and the referee raised his arm for an offside penalty against England. But the ball came back right to Horgan and Moody had the tackle to make again. He did everything he could and, if Horgan had not been 6ft 4in with a telescopic reach, it would have been enough.
The one incident typified a terribly flawed but also exciting game that will send Ireland off in June to the southern hemisphere, where they play New Zealand twice and Australia, with a full squad and in good heart. England, in contrast, will rest some of their senior players when they visit Australia for two internationals and Robinson will pray that there can be more productive negotiations between the RFU and Premier Rugby Ltd than the existing friction that helps neither country nor club.
Jamie Noon’s try with less than two minutes played suggested that England had put the ills, literal and metaphorical, of Paris behind them but the failure of Rob Dickson to raise his flag as O’Driscoll’s grub-kick hit the touchline gave Horgan his chance to level matters. Neither O’Gara nor Andy Goode were in prime goalkicking form on an evening of cold, blustery wind but England were in the ascendancy during the third quarter.
Despite the loss of Noon with a gashed scalp they compensated for losing a lineout five metres from Ireland’s line — O’Connell rising ahead of Simon Shaw at the front — by working Steve Borthwick over near the posts. Ireland’s scrum was eroding rapidly but any advantage was thrown away when O’Gara pushed his side to within six metres of the line, Cohen was told he had a foot in play when he threw in to himself and England seemed unready for the long throw by Lee Mears that Leamy grasped, juggled with and then touched down.
Still, Goode kicked two goals to restore the lead as Easterby endured ten minutes in the sin-bin after Matt Dawson tapped quickly and brushed against him. It was a dubious decision but Ireland, by then without Leamy, whose damaged ankle may cost Munster his services in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals, retained sufficient composure to set up the winning score. They even stole what proved to be the penultimate lineout from under English noses that have, this season, been well and truly rubbed in the dirt.
SCORERS: England: Tries: Noon (2min), Borthwick (52). Conversion: Goode. Penalty goals: Goode 4 (38, 44, 73, 80+3). Ireland: Tries: Horgan 2 (6, 80+7), Leamy (59). Conversions: O’Gara 2. Penalty goals: O’Gara 3 (17, 36, 42).
SCORING SEQUENCE (England first): 5-0, 5-5, 5-8, 5-11, 8-11 (half-time), 8-14, 11-14, 18-14, 18-21, 21-21, 24-21, 24-28.
ENGLAND: B Cohen (Northampton); M Cueto (Sale Sharks), J Noon (Newcastle Falcons; rep: M Tindall, Gloucester, 32-40+5, 41), S Abbott (London Wasps), T Voyce (London Wasps); A Goode (Leicester), H Ellis (Leicester; rep: M Dawson, London Wasps, 71); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks; rep: P Freshwater, Perpignan, 74), L Mears (Bath; rep: S Thompson, Northampton, 66), J White (Leicester), S Borthwick (Bath), S Shaw (London Wasps; sin-bin, 31-40+1; rep: D Grewcock, Bath, 66), J Worsley (London Wasps), L Moody (Leicester), M Corry (Leicester, captain).
IRELAND: G Murphy (Leicester); S Horgan (Leinster Lions), B O’Driscoll (Leinster Lions, captain), G D’Arcy (Leinster Lions), A Trimble (Ulster; rep: G Dempsey, Leinster Lions, 70); R O’Gara (Munster), P Stringer (Munster); M Horan (Munster), J Flannery (Munster), J Hayes (Munster), M O’Kelly (Leinster Lions; rep: D O’Callaghan, Munster, 54), P O’Connell (Munster), S Easterby (Llanelli Scarlets, sin-bin, 73-80+3), D Wallace (Munster; rep: J O’Connor, London Wasps, 19-29), D Leamy (Munster; rep: O’Connor, 77).
Referee: N Whitehouse (Wales)
Attendance: 70,000.
