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Stockdale makes history as ruthless Ireland win Grand Slam

By Peter Thompson
Ireland wing Jacob Stockdale. Photo / Getty Images.

Jacob Stockdale made history as rampant Ireland rubbed salt into England’s wounds with a 24-15 victory at Twickenham to seal a Six Nations Grand Slam on St Patrick’s Day. 

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Eddie Jones this week apologised after a video emerged of him vowing England would avenge a final-day defeat to the “scummy Irish” that dashed their bid for back-to-back Grand Slams 12 months ago.

Ireland let their rugby do the talking in the London snow on Saturday to complete only their third ever clean sweep, lethal wing Stockdale becoming the first player to score seven tries in a single Six Nations campaign.

Joe Schmidt’s men, outstanding in attack and defence, showed the ruthlessness that enabled them to wrap up the title last weekend, with Garry Ringrose, CJ Stander and Stockdale going over in the first half.

A try in each half from Elliot Daly and a late Jonny May consolation was all the much-changed 2016 and 2017 champions England could muster as they suffered a first home loss under Jones and a third consecutive defeat.

Ireland, on the other hand, have now won 12 in a row and the celebrations will continue long into the night six weeks after Jonathan Sexton came to the rescue with a last-gasp drop-goal against France in Paris.

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England, smarting from back-to-back defeats to Scotland and France, started with the bit between their teeth, but it was Ireland who drew first blood when Anthony Watson spilled a towering kick from Sexton and the alert Ringrose dotted down only five minutes in.

Sexton struck the post with a penalty, but soon added his second conversion as the newly-crowned champions strengthened their grip on proceedings, Bundee Aki bursting through a gap before the supporting Stander crashed into the base of the post for a five-pointer.

Aki appeared fortunate to escape without a yellow card for a tackle on Daly before Peter O’Mahony was sin-binned for bringing down a driving maul with Ireland up against it.

England’s persistence paid off nine minutes before the break, the pacy Daly finishing after racing onto a clever kick from Owen Farrell, who was unable to add the extras as Watson was withdrawn due to a shoulder injury.

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Ireland might have been content to bring the half to an end with ball in hand and the clock red, but they were rewarded for their ambition when the rapid Stockdale chased onto his own kick and touched down after the ball bounced off his knee, Joey Carbery converting with Sexton off for a head injury assessment.

England knocked on the door early in the second half without reward, a resolute Ireland defence standing firm before Conor Murray stepped up to give them a 19-point lead from the tee despite Sexton being cleared to return.

The holders looked short of ideas until Daly took a superb one-handed offload from Mike Brown to round off a well-worked move 15 minutes from time, Farrell again unable to convert.

Carbery was off target with a subsequent penalty and although May went over in the corner right at the end, the game had long since been won on a famous day for Irish rugby.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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