ONE FROM THE ARCHIVES MONDAY MARCH 31st, 2003:NO ONE can say Ireland didn't give it a go, which perhaps made it all the more salutary. England weren't of a mind to let another Grand Slam slip by and were simply awesome in finally reaching their Six Nations Holy Grail. Talk about being put in your place.
The scoreboard was cruel on Ireland, and didn’t truly tell the tale, but by the same token it was as well this didn’t go on another 10 minutes. What will have made Ireland particularly bewildered was that they threw pretty much everything they could at an impenetrable white line, only to be picked off with ruthless precision.
England tend to do that to teams when they have Jonny Wilkinson in their midst. When all other avenues were closed off he simply dropped into the pocket and didn’t even bother switching on to his “stronger” left boot to land two right-footed drop goals in the first half.
Only three-pointers maybe, but killers to the Irish psyche and massive boosts for his team. With anyone else you might say there was a hint of showboating. But this prodigious and prolific points machine is a class apart, much as England were.
Physically, Ireland gave it everything they had, but, physically, England were immense, right across the park, backs and forwards alike. Further proof, were it needed, that this is now a bigman’s game.
The lineout again went well, with Shane Byrne hitting his targets and Malcolm O’Kelly having another good match. Victor Costello worked hard for his gain lines (even dumping Martin Johnson), Marcus Horan showed up well, and, with David Humphreys giving the ball plenty of air, Ireland were even using their classy fullback Geordan Murphy to hit the line in a manner that hasn’t been done in yonks.
They didn’t want for ball either, particularly in the first half, and on the nicest day of the season at Lansdowne Road they adopted the wide, wide, wide running game they had apparently abandoned 48 hours before the rain-sodden autumn win over Australia, keeping pods of forwards on either flank as they went back and forth.
With the World Cup in mind, it’s assuredly the way to go. But without much in the way of refinement, and up against the world’s number one side, it was a big ask.
The old ground throbbed as Ireland threw the kitchen sink at England, especially in the second quarter.
As a spectacle, ironically, this spell was the high point of Ireland’s previously unbeaten season. Kevin Maggs took it up the middle and could see the English posts tantalisingly out of his reach as Wilkinson held on to his ankles, and soon after Ben Cohen collared Victor Costello in the corner. One could only imagine how differently the game might have panned out had Ireland gone in 13-10 ahead.
Ireland had to score then, had to have something to show for their efforts. Instead, Wilkinson landed his second drop goal for a 13-6 interval lead after playing into the wind.
As the players trooped off to a rousing reception, the Irish crowd must have had that sinking feeling.
Such was Ireland’s eagerness to decorate the scoreboard first that Humphreys attempted a 60-metre penalty from five metres inside his half and half-way to the right of the posts. It had the direction, too, but just dipped below the crossbar.
They drew first blood anyway when Gleeson gathered an overthrow by Steve Thompson in the lineout and Horan took the drive on with a rampaging run.
With referee Jonathan Kaplan – excellent throughout – playing advantage, Humphreys positioned himself in front of the posts and landed a drop goal.
A couple of passes wide might have seemed a better option to nothing, but then again you can never be sure how long a referee will apply an advantage.
Take the points and run.
In tandem with that, Ireland could ill-afford to cough up a soft seven-pointer, but that they did.
A scrum inside their 22 screwed back on the right side, Peter Stringer’s feet became entangled with his backrow, Richard Hill pounced and fed Matt Dawson who easily took Murphy’s tackle and put the supporting Lawrence Dallaglio, back to his immense best, in under the sticks. Will Greenwood turned to the West Stand and clenched his fist. Belief surged through them in that moment.
Still Ireland came calling, responding to a sustained spell of continuity by England with one of their own after Murphy beat three men in a counter-attack.
Unfortunately Humphreys missed a kickable penalty to the right of the posts. Ireland needed that, but in fairness he landed a monster effort from 55 metres in response to Wilkinson’s first drop.
Ireland were punished for the slightest error, like when Horan ran into O’Kelly. Dallaglio galloped upfield off the base of the ensuing scrum and Wilkinson struck again.
Gamely, Ireland tackled their socks off in the third quarter, but the English tide was unrelenting.
In a vintage display by the English backrow, again Dallaglio was at the business end of things when Ireland went wide; Denis Hickie, whose confidence has ebbed with each game in this championship, took the ball into contact and the English number eight ripped it out of his arms.
From a resultant lineout, Mike Tindall straightened through a big gap between the Irish centres as Kevin Maggs came inside on Humphreys’ shoulder and Brian O’Driscoll couldn’t fill the gap. It had to happen, and the game was up.
Even the introduction of Ronan O’Gara was, by then, a token gesture, and, in a wilting, beaten team, a tough ask for him.
He wasn’t on the pitch a minute when Greenwood steamrolled over him and was mauled over the line by half a dozen team-mates with only Hickie in the way.
Not exactly an even contest.
Catch-up isn’t Ireland’s game, and another Greenwood try, when he intercepted Murphy’s inside pass to a wilting Keith Gleeson, and Dan Luger’s run-in in the seventh minute of injury-time emphasised England’s supremacy.
When this English team have you by the throat they’re not inclined to let go.
IRELAND:G Murphy (Leicester); J Bishop (London Irish), B O'Driscoll (Lelnster), K Maggs (Bath), D Hickle (Leinster); D Humphreys (Ulster), P Stringer (Munster); M Horan (Munster), S Byrne (Leinster), J Hayes (Munster), G Longwell (Ulster), M O'Kelly (Lelnster), V Costello (Leinster), A Foley (Munster), K Gleeson (Leinster). Replacements:P OConnell (Munster) for Longwell (56 mins), R O'Gara (Munster) for Humphreys (63 mins), A Quinlan (Munster) for Costello (65 mins), J Fitzpatrick (Ulster) for Horan (75 mins), G Dempsey (Leinster) for O'Driscoll (80 mins).
ENGLAND:J Lewsey (Wasps); J Robinson (Sale), M Tindall (Bath). W Greenwood (Harlequins), B Cohen (Northampton); J Wilkinson (Newcastle), M Dawson (Northampton); G Rowntree (Leicester), S Thompson (Northampton), J Leonard (Harlequins), M Johnson (Leicester), B Kay (Leicester), R Hill (Saracens), N Back (Leicester), L Dallaglio (Wasps). Replacements:D Luger (Harlequins) for Tindall (71 mins), T Woodman (Gloucester) for Rowntree (37 mins).
Referee:J Kaplan (South Africa).
