SCHMIDT BITES BACK AT CRITICS
...now chase is on for Grand Slam
JOE SCHMIDT has hit out at claims Ireland are too predictable in attack – after seeing chances of a third RBS Six Nations title in four years vanish in Cardiff.
Rob Howley’s Wales, who had scored just one try against Scotland and one against England in the run up to Friday night’s game, ran home three tries in a raucous Principality Stadium – while Ireland failed to score a single one.
Schmidt’s (left) men did come close, with Robbie Henshaw costing Ireland a certain try when he illegally joined a maul in the final minutes, but too often they failed to fire near the opposition tryline.
It led to claims the side had become too easy to read, but the Kiwi dismissed those suggestions by claiming Ireland had created plenty of chances only to not execute them successfully.
“No, they didn’t read us driving over the line, they didn’t read us putting pressure on defensively, and I don’t think they really read us when CJ Stander almost scored in the first few minutes,” Schmidt said. “We got some really good linebreaks out wide, that’s just how fine the margins are.”
EDDIE JONES watched his England side destroy Scotland to win the Six Nations with a game to spare – but was still in no mood to party.
This cakewalk sets up England for a second Grand Slam on the spin as they head to Dublin on Saturday – and they haven’t done that since Will Carling’s men doubled up in 1992.
Back-to-back Slams have never been achieved in the SIX Nations and have only happened five times in the tournament before it was expanded from five teams in 2000.
This was also an 18th straight win, equalling the All Blacks’ world record, and an 11th straight win in the championship – yet another record. Jonathan Joseph did his best Jeremy Guscott impression as he bagged a hat-trick inside 43 minutes and Owen Farrell kicked 26 points, suggesting all the smoke and mirrors about his injury was just that.
Farrell and George Ford handed Joseph the bullets and the Bath flyer hit the target three times with a string of brilliant finishes.
But Jones warned his team to prepare for an Irish ambush this coming Saturday – because they would love to knock England over.
Jones warned: “Ireland are psychologically in a strong position. They are out of the tournament, they love spoiling parties – and the party they would love to spoil most is the England party.
“We are vulnerable because we have won, are champions of the Six Nations. We are in the most
He wouldn’t have got the ball against Italy anyway
vulnerable state and are going to have to work hard to get ourselves right. And we will work hard and will be right.
“We can go to Ireland and win the Grand Slam and no team in the history of the Six Nations has won back-to-back Slams.”
Joseph was dropped for the Italy game a fortnight ago but responded to make it 16 tries in 32 games with his second Six Nations three-timer – only the great Brian O’driscoll has done that.
Jones added: “He [Joseph] wouldn’t have got the ball anyway against Italy, which I’m still not very pleased about.
“He’s one of our first-choice players but I need to find depth and the Italian game was supposed to be an opportunity to find depth.”
England had stuttered to three wins without clicking, but when it clicked someone was always going to cop it and it was Scotland who got a proper hiding at HQ.
This equalled England’s biggest winning margin over the Scots – they beat them 43-3 in 2001 under Clive Woodward, and we all know what that team went on to achieve.
Scotland were down to 14 men after two minutes when Fraser Brown hit Elliot Daly late and then speared him into the ground. It should have been a red card but French referee Mathieu Raynal gave him a yellow.
But by the time Brown came back England were nearly over the hills at 10-0 up with Joseph cutting Scotland to shreds from 30 metres out and Farrell nailing a penalty. And the hapless Scots were not much better when they had 15 men on the pitch with Joseph, Ford and Farrell cutting them to pieces.
The Scots had to rejig their backline with injuries to Stuart Hogg and Mark Bennett and England were rampant as Joseph added his second on 25 minutes after Ford’s soft pass and Anthony Watson got the third – after a brilliant Farrell feed to Joseph who put his Bath club mate in.
The last thing the visitors wanted to see was England’s finishers coming off the bench but when they arrived the job had been done despite the Scots’ two late tries.
Billy Vunipola made his comeback and was driven over the line, and Danny Care swallow-dived over for a couple. It was men against boys. It might not be in Dublin.