TWICK OR TREAT
Ireland go to England with title in bag and Slam in their sights
IRELAND’S record breakers are dreaming of a Grand Slam after wrapping up the 6 Nations title a week early.
More ruthless than Scotland when it mattered, Ireland’s fourth victory of this enthralling campaign secured the five championship points they craved.
England’s failure in Paris to match Ireland’s bonus point win earlier in the day confirmed that no-one can catch Joe Schmidt’s men in the title race.
But the bigger prize of a Grand Slam is still there for Ireland and for Schmidt, who for certain wants the ultimate honour to go with three championship crowns in five years he’s been in the hotseat.
The men in green go to Twickenham on the back of an 11-win run that makes more history in this era of success.
Coincidentally, that run started 12 months ago by ending England’s attempt to break the world record of 18 – and their own shot at the Grand Slam.
It also maintained the remarkable home run under Joe Schmidt in the 6 Nations – at the end of four championship campaigns, the Kiwi is yet to taste defeat.
On the back of their Calcutta Cup triumph a fortnight ago, Scotland certainly threatened to inflict an untimely first loss on the Ireland head coach at the Aviva Stadium.
But the visitors butchered two giltedged try chances while the hosts were ruthless in putting Gregor Townsend’s side to the sword.
At 3-0 to the Scots, only a superb Johnny Sexton tackle stopped the underdogs from scoring the game’s first try. And after a comthe
fortable start, the hosts were dragged into a chaotic game that saw line-breaks galore and some brilliant attacking play on both sides – no more so than from Ireland’s new try machine Jacob Stockdale and from the returning Garry Ringrose.
Stockdale ended the contest with Wales a fortnight ago with a crucial intercept try and, with his second touch here, he ran onto Peter Horn’s ill-advised long pass and repeated the trick to hand his team a 22nd minute lead.
Ringrose oozed class on his first Test appearance since last summer. He announced his comeback with a superb line-break and later was the instigator of the incisive loop move with Bundee Aki that put Stockdale in for his second try just before half-time.
After his kicking problems last time out, Sexton nailed both conversions – the second from close to the touchline – to secure a 14-3 lead. Just as in the first half, Sexton passed up an early shot at goal at the start of the second as Ireland chased down a bonus point victory to really put the squeeze on England.
It didn’t work the first time as the lineout malfunctioned, but at the second time of asking it did – the lineout drive putting Conor Murray in position to crash over for his 12th Ireland try.
Sexton added the conversion but Ireland had little time to enjoy the daylight between the sides.
Kearney’s tackle was enough to prevent Hogg putting Kinghorn Blair in for a quick try reply. But the Scots weren’t denied for long as Blair did well to beat Ringrose in the corner. Greg Laidlaw’s touchline conversion struck the bar and went wide but Ireland’s drift defence went missing in action again in the 55th minute. The hosts were again fortunate that Kinghorn in space wasn’t found with a clear path to the line ahead of him. Ireland needed to regain control and did so, with Murray just held up on the Sctos’ tryhalf-time
line just before the hour mark.
But then replacement hooker Fraser Brown did well to win a penalty under his own posts to end that threat.
The pressure remained on the visitors, though, and when Ireland won a penalty 15 minutes from time, Sexton went for the posts in an attempt to put two converted tries between the sides.
He missed, but Schmidt’s men kept pushing and for next penalty win, Sexton kicked for the corner.
The ploy worked again as James Ryan collected Sean Cronin’s lineout and it was the replacement hooker who leapt over the try-line for his side’s fourth of the afternoon.
Sexton was on target with the conversion and Ireland were out of sight, allowing Schmidt the luxury to replace his no 10 with Joey Carbery in the 73rd minute with Twickenham and the Grand Slam in mind.