Ireland v England - A Short History
When England arrived in Lansdowne Road 14 years ago for a Grand Slam decider, the drama began unfolding even before the first ball was hoisted into the air. England’s Captain Martin Johnson, through mistake or calculated move, lined his team up on the wrong side for the anthems and protocol pandemonium ensued.
O’Driscoll led his men to the left of Johnson, creating an awkward situation where the Irish President was forced to leave the red carpet and trod on the damp turf to shake hands with the Irish Team. Belligerent brilliance from Johnson, and a quick-witted response from the Irish. 1-1 before kick off.
This was as close as things got from an Irish perspective, with Johnson and his men rampaging towards a 42-6 victory. No Irish fan will forget Will Greenwood deliberately dotting down in the corner instead of below the posts when the game was beyond reach. An inside joke with Wilkinson perhaps, but salt in the wound of every Irish fan and player. Grand Slam glory deservedly belonged to England.
Despite going on to win a World Cup, this game proved to be a catalyst for Irish domination over the next decade. Ireland won the next four games between the two nations including the historic 43 – 13 win at Croke Park. They also won 7 of the 8 games between these two in an unprecedented run of victories.
14 years on from the day English fans celebrated in Dublin, what does 2017 have in store for us? The form book would suggest the English juggernaut will roll on. 18 wins on the trot has created an unshakable confidence. The back slapping at turnovers and the teams well placed arrogance is reminiscent of Johnson and co in their pomp. Even when not playing particularly well, England find a way to win and nothing suggests this is going to end any time soon.
Their strength lies in the extended second row (4,5 & 6). The Launchbury, Lawes, Itoje combination is devastating and all three could easily be on the plane to New Zealand. Coupled with this, Farrell is the form player in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment. Finally, the English bench is the strongest in living memory and if Jones can use it on his terms, Ireland’s defence will struggle to hold out in the final 20 minutes.
In contrast to England’s strength, Ireland have been on a downward curve since reaching the lofty heights of Chicago. A predictable attack has yielded just a single try in two games. Connor Murray, Ireland’s key man of recent years, is absent through injury. Doubts remain over Sexton’s fitness and a misfiring lineout is a huge cause for concern, but yet…
Nobody revels in the role of underdog like Ireland. The self-deprecating country loves nothing more than creating an upset and making themselves heard, especially when it involves a certain Chariot rolling into town. Expect fire and brimstone from Munster’s Donnacha Ryan. Expect a statement of Lions intent from Tadgh Furlong. Expect a marshalling masterclass from Sexton. Expect speed and a lethal step from Kieron Marmion who has been desperate for a start at 9. But most of all expect a team & stadium that will fight as if their lives depended on it.
England are a phenomenal team, and Eddie Jones a master tactician, but make no mistake, this should be their toughest game since the winning streak began. A misfiring Australia did not hold the threat of a fired-up Ireland with their backs to the wall.
Ireland has the ability to pull out the performance of the tournament today. Joe Schmidt will have spent more hours plotting England’s downfall than any other coach this year. He will have a plan. The question is will this plan be enough to knock Jones off his cocky little perch?
We’re in for one hell of a match and this is why we love the game.
Prediction: Ireland Win
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments