RUGBY OPINION
England sent packing by Irish men and women
By Daire Walsh
IT’S a case of three down and two to go for Joe Schmidt’s Ireland, as they added to earlier successes over Italy and France with a fully-deserved 19-9 victory over England at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
This was sweet revenge for the Green Army, who were denied a Grand Slam by Stuart Lancaster’s charges last year. They still finished 2014 as Six Nations Champions of course, and with Triple Crown fixtures against Wales and Scotland on the horizon, Paul O’Connell and his team-mates are in the hunt for honours on all three fronts.
Ireland had lost Naas’ Jamie Heaslip to a back injury in the build-up to this tie, but in his absence, provincial compatriot Jordi Murphy proved to be a more than able deputy. Jonathan Sexton was also on song from the kicking tee for the hosts, and three successful penalties from the Racing Metro fly-half offered Ireland a 9-3 interval cushion.
Indeed, the 29-year-old increased the home team’s advantage with another three-pointer upon the resumption, before the outstanding Robbie Henshaw secured the only try of the contest after brilliantly fielding Conor Murray’s ambitious box-kick 53 minutes in.
England did build some momentum following the subsequent withdrawal of Sexton owing to a troublesome hamstring, but they ultimately held firm to record their third straight triumph in the competition.
However, Nigel Carolan’s U20s side didn’t have the same luck in their encounter with England at Donnybrook on Friday evening. In spite of a Stephen Fitzgerald try, as well as nine points from the boot of Kildare resident Ross Byrne, a strong second-half display propelled the English to a 19-14 win.
Former Newbridge College student Billy Dardis was starting his third international game of the year at full-back, and he was joined once again by fellow county man, Jeremy Loughman.
Jenny Murphy and the Ireland Women’s side had better fortune on the same night in Ashbourne, though, where they recorded their second-ever victory over world champions England.
Larissa Muldoon’s 50th minute five-pointer had restored parity to the game, and just when a draw seemed the most likely outcome, a last-minute Niamh Briggs penalty provided Tom Tierney’s squad with another major scalp.
Elsewhere on Friday, Leinster also required a three-pointer from Jimmy Gopperth to secure a share of the spoils (9-9) with Ospreys in the Guinness Pro12 at the Liberty Stadium, which consolidated their place in the league’s top-four.
It was the turn of domestic rugby to take centre stage on Saturday, and thanks to a 38-11 bonus point success against Bective Rangers, Naas moved up to eighth place in Division 2B of the Ulster Bank League, and within one point of county rivals NUIM Barnhall (who gained a losing bonus point at home to Thomond).
Meanwhile, the Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup will move into the semi-final stage this week, with the prospect of an all-Kildare final continuing to loom large.
Clongowes Wood College will play Belvedere College this afternoon in a mouth-watering encounter, while league champions Newbridge College’s last-four showdown with Cistercian College Roscrea takes place just 24 hours later.