Galloping away to Grand Slam glory
ANOTHER BLANKET of snow may have arrived to play havoc with local and national sporting fixtures, but even the weather couldn’t put a dampener on what was a truly wonderful week for Irish sport on the international stage.
Similar to twelve months ago, Irish trainers were sending out winners at a serious rate of knots at the Cheltenham Festival, with powerhouses Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins saddling over half of the week’s victorious horses between them.
With Henry De Bromhead and Pat Kelly having one winner apiece, it brought the Irish tally to 17, only two behind last year’s record haul of 19.
The home team may have found plenty of solace in winning the big three, the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and Gold Cup, but the British trainers definitely have a lot of catching up to do if they want to get close to wresting back the Prestbury Cup from their guests from the Emerald Isle.
It was obvious beforehand that the lion’s share of the winners would come from the all-conquering trio of Gordon Elliott, Willie Mullins and Nicky Henderson; the only problem was deciphering which one of their multitude of entries would prevail and I’m left with a battered wallet to illustrate the fact.
That’s probably the only downside to the four-day racing bonanza - not me losing my hard-earned cash, the fact that the sport is now dominated by a handful of trainers and powerful owners.
Seeing small trainers like Pat Kelly saddling a big winner is becoming as rare as blue steak and, like Premier League football, a bit of the romance is being stripped away with the passing of each year.
We were still treated to plenty of emotional moments though, with the highlight for me coming when Davy Russell looked to the heavens in tribute to his late mother after winning the RSA Chase on board Presenting Percy, showing just how much a Festival winner means to the iron men in the saddle.
We left the joyous Cheltenham scenes behind and switched our attentions to Twickenham on St. Patrick’s Day, where Irish smiles were as wide as the Shannon as the Boys in Green summoned up a scintillating first-half, followed by a sublime defensive performance after the interval that spoke volumes about their togetherness and unshakeable will to win.
A year earlier Ireland had derailed the chariot and shattered England’s dream of a clean sweep, but Joe Schmidt’s men never looked like allowing their old foes to inflict the same wound.
2017 was certainly a missed opportunity for Irish rugby, as avoidable losses against Scotland and Wales saw us coming up short in the championship, but from the moment Jonathan Sexton showed balls of steel to land that match-winning drop goal in Paris, it felt like this was going to be our year.
Against England on Saturday, to a man, it was a wonderfully committed squad effort, but Wexford’s own Tadhg Furlong deserves special praise for his heroics - a true horse of a man.
The final furlong may have been tough going for many of the equine stars at the Cheltenham Festival during the week, but after dramatically pulling a win from the fire on the opening day, Ireland ended up winning the Grand Slam at a canter, with the chasing pack left trailing in their wake.
Old war horses like Rob Kearney and Rory Best gave everything for the cause and, with a talented bunch of young players like Garry Ringrose, Jacob Stockdale, Joey Carbery and Jordan Larmour already blossoming with their best years ahead of them, the future certainly looks bright.
Hopefully Ireland can build on this magnificent success and go on the retain the Six Nations Championship next year before challenging for honours at the World Cup in Japan.
Underwhelming performances at previous World Cups is something that has been a blight on Irish rugby for a number of years, and if any squad looks capable of shaking that annoying monkey off their backs, surely this is the one?
Then Ireland would really announce themselves on the world stage as true rugby thoroughbreds.