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Six Nations

Ireland had to make every moment count against England – Best


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Comment

Rory Best felt an aggressive approach was the key to Ireland clinching a Six Nations Grand Slam at Twickenham.

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Joe Schmidt’s men made it a memorable St Patrick’s Day as three first-half tries secured a famous 24-15 victory over an England side who had previously won 14 on the spin on home soil.

Garry Ringrose, CJ Stander and Jacob Stockdale all touched down to reward Ireland’s dominance before the break, despite a spell in the sin bin for Peter O’Mahony.

Captain Best revealed they had always planned to attack England from the start, with Ireland determined to seize the opportunity to claim just the third Slam in their history.

“We knew it would be a really tough task to come here and win,” Best told ITV Sport.

“Right from the off we tried to attack England, both with and without the ball. It was a ferocious Test match right throughout.

“Words cannot describe how delighted we are with that win, but also to clinch a Grand Slam.

“We just had to make every moment count. Every single moment, then build them on top of each other and try to get as close to the perfect 80 minutes as we could.

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“We knew the reward would be worth the massive effort required.”

While Ireland had already wrapped up the title before the final match, Best said it was crucial to make a statement at the home of the deposed champions.

“You have to give massive credit, not just from 1-23 today, but right throughout the 30-odd people we’ve had in camp throughout this campaign,” he added.

“The way they prepared us, and the way the boys went about the campaign, I don’t think you can give enough credit to everyone.

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“The statement from us was to make sure we win something big. Ultimately in what turned out to be a cup final, we showed what we are made of.”

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Comments on RugbyPass

C
Conrad 6 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

That’s true and with some very experienced players in their defensive line.

36 Go to comments
u
unknown 13 minutes ago
Champions Cup draw: Saints pitted with Bath as Saracens grouped with 3 winners

Dull format which needs an overhaul

1 Go to comments
C
Conrad 14 minutes ago
Neil Barnes labels box kick trend 'overboard', France narrative 'rubbish'

Agree. If he and they channel it right then big time.

25 Go to comments
C
Conrad 16 minutes ago
There's only one selection that truly matters for the All Blacks this July

Fair but I would risk it for a biscuit.

Him and Richie! Ahhh



...

116 Go to comments
H
Hammer Head 17 minutes ago
Losing to Henry Pollock would be unbearable

They will be, but they must focus on getting the job done. Not Henry pollock. Or anything else for that matter.

15 Go to comments
H
Hammer Head 17 minutes ago
Losing to Henry Pollock would be unbearable

Hope you’re right!

15 Go to comments
H
Hammer Head 31 minutes ago
Losing to Henry Pollock would be unbearable

Apart from maybe losing RG Snyman in his normal role off the bench, the lock department can’t really be described as threadbare for this test. So I don’t think that’s a real vulnerability.

Manie Libbok has been at 80% in Japan League One this year. And already showed, before he left SA, that his technique had improved with the shorter run up.



...

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L
Lou Cifer 38 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

Exactly! should’ve probably been 2+ penalty tries awarded

36 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 41 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

Yeah plus when you kick a pen the ball comes back off the kick off and you then have to exit so it makes sense to go for the corner and look for a try because you keep the possession and territory and keep the pressure up.

36 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 44 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

For sure. The games down South are always Skewed towards the Southern teams because the Northern sides are coming off a long season where they have already played 10 internationals and have been going for 10 months. Even so though the South do win when they similarly go up North in just as trying conditions so the Northern sides must really get better and improve their end of season mentality

36 Go to comments
C
Conrad 44 minutes ago
Where's the power? And what to do with Sua'ali'i? The key questions facing the Wallabies

Yeah. They need it.

I'm Irish but I got a great bounce watching the wallabies in the lions tests. Definite potential.



...

33 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 46 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

I think hes done plenty of articles before about speed of game, ball in play time, pens etc in the Southern context and the North are now seemingly ahead in terms of key metrics that determine the quality of game especially those that World Rugby are after in terms of creating more value for fans

36 Go to comments
C
Conrad 48 minutes ago
Where's the power? And what to do with Sua'ali'i? The key questions facing the Wallabies

Plenty would say that. When he first came to Leinster the guy ended careers. Overnight.

33 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 48 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

England were really awful on defence that game, were shellshocked half way through it

36 Go to comments
C
Conrad 49 minutes ago
Where's the power? And what to do with Sua'ali'i? The key questions facing the Wallabies

Toner was treated terribly. Nobody would call him world class but he had to have been one of the most improved players at test level for a period. He was the only reason the 2016 SA tour was even close. Awful treatment in the end.

Henshaw has spoken about being the 24th man early on and accompanying the sqaud on tours. Schmidt would still expect non-playing sqaud memebrs to be able to talk him through all the set plays when he asked them. If you couldn't, it was never overlooked.



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G
GrahamVF 49 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

In all fairness the ref backed off giving penalties and after the pack had marched the Irish pack backwards on the double for ten meters then folded he tol the Bok scrummie “Play it.”

The psychological advantage of being so comprehensively dismantled in the scrums is huge. You can fix missed tackles and sloppy attack - even fix high ball skills - but it’s far more difficult to fix an entire scrum when they are that comprehensively beaten. And that’s what Rassie’s aim was - not necessarily scoreboard dominance but to send the message if you want to play on the same field as us you had better fix your scrum. Like I said - not so easily done.



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36 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 52 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

How do you judge the North South battle and if the North is catching the South? I think theres a couple of categories to consider. In the early 2000’s the South was ahead on almost every category that determines the quality of rugby playing region. I would say the categories are:

Coaching



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36 Go to comments
G
GrahamVF 56 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

“Having opened it up coincided with a massive uplift in the success of the Springboks.” That and the development of black and Coloured players. A huge previously untapped resource to the Springboks.

36 Go to comments
G
GrahamVF 58 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

“The North arguably offers more in terms of entertainment than the South at club level as well. The Prem, the Champs Cup, URC and Top 14 all feature plenty of scoring and different playing styles while Super Rugby seems to be the same thing game in game out. While the South tries to speed up the game artificially with new trials and law variations the North has shown you can do it with good refereeing which penalises cynical play harshly and encourages positive actions on the field.”

Great para and sums it up perfectly. In SA we were sooooo tired of the endless 26 phase going nowhere or backwards cycles of Super Rugby the URC came as a breath of fresh air. We were back to the various elements that make rugby stand out from league. Scrum, ruck, lineout, maul - variety fGs



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36 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 1 hour ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

The Six Nations produced so many compelling games and so much of action packed moments that you can only conclude that its the best international comp out there at the moment except for a world cup. If Wales improve it will be even better especially given the strides Italy have made in recent times. The Rugby Championship is now taking a hiatus in a year it really should be building toward something better which is terrible considering the competition was so tight last year. The Nations Champs promises much but one gets the feeling that the 6 Nations teams will not be at their peak given its at the end of their long season. In terms of rugby quality and entertainment Id rather watch the 6 Nations over everything else other than a world cup right now. The North arguably offers more in terms of entertainment than the South at club level as well. The Prem, the Champs Cup, URC and Top 14 all feature plenty of scoring and different playing styles while Super Rugby seems to be the same thing game in game out. While the South tries to speed up the game artificially with new trials and law variations the North has shown you can do it with good refereeing which penalises cynical play harshly and encourages positive actions on the field. In terms of entertainment the North wins. In terms of winning? They are making strides but until they win another world cup or get a team to rank number 1 again for an extended time again they cant really say they are better than the South.

36 Go to comments
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