Two from two: England
England picked up an impressive 12-6 victory over Six Nations rivals Ireland on Sunday in an absorbing 80 minutes at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Stuart Lancaster's outfit put in another mature effort that leaves them as the last remaining unbeaten side in the 2013 Championship.
No tries were scored in the spectacle but the English displayed an edge that denied Ireland, who had crossed for three tries against Wales, any real opportunity to get over the whitewash.
Owen Farrell kicked all of England's points, but it was their intelligence with and without the ball that ultimately won the game as Ireland struggled to get into the match, due in part to losing Simon Zebo and Jonathan Sexton to early injuries.
Farrell gave England an early lead with a second-minute penalty but Dublin tempers flared in the fourteenth minute when Ireland prop Cian Healy's apparent use of the boot on England tighthead Dan Cole at a ruck sparked a mass brawl.
Both packs managed to slow their opponents' ruck ball and neither side had a genuine chance of a try in the first-half of a match featuring several candidates for the Lions tour.
In such a tight contest, discipline was especially important, and Farrell punished Ireland for coming round the wrong side of a ruck with a superb penalty from nearly 50 metres out.
Ireland lost fly-half Sexton with a hamstring pull just after the half-hour mark, although the wet conditions put a premium on the kicking game for which Ronan O'Gara is renowned.
But when O'Gara, Ireland's most capped player, held on too long in the tackle, following good work by England defensive linchpin Brad Barritt, it gave Farrell a long-range penalty chance on the stroke of half-time. However, his kick just went wide.
Early in the second period Ireland won a scrum penalty and O'Gara cut the deficit in half.
Coach Lancaster stiffened his side's physical presence by bringing on centre Manu Tuilagi for Billy Twelvetrees and Courtney Lawes for lock Joe Launchbury in the 48th minute.
England, though, were a man down in the 57th minute when blindside James Haskell, was yellow carded by French referee Jérôme Garces for kicking the ball out of a ruck.
O'Gara landed the ensuing penalty to tie the match at 6-6 heading into the final quarter. Yet despite being reduced to fourteen, England then outscored Ireland 6-3 in the ten minutes.
Farrell's clever kick ahead set up an England line-out close to Ireland's line and then Tuilagi was just unable to get a touch for a try after a neat chip ahead by scrum-half Ben Youngs.
However, Garces had already awarded England a penalty from inside the 22 and Farrell made no mistake to nudge his side into a 9-6 lead. And that became 12-6 when the composed Farrell landed his fourth penalty after Ireland infringed by not releasing.
Ireland then saw O'Gara miss an eminently kickable penalty from just outside the 22 and England's defence held firm for a result that puts them two points clear at the summit.
Man of the match: While the official award went to captain Chris Robshaw, who was superb as a leader, we believe that Ben Youngs had a slightly better shift in Dublin. He organised his pack well while his kicking for position was outstanding in difficult conditions. Rarely does Danny Care not make it onto the field but today Youngs was not to be disturbed.
Moment of the match: After Ronan O'Gara had kicked three points following England's James Haskell kicking the ball out from a ruck, the visitors showed real character to record their own points while the flank was in the sin-bin. In such spells wins are earned.
Villain of the match: There were two occasions when Cian Healy lost his cool and it is now expected that the Irish loosehead prop will face a trip to a hearing. The first indiscretion saw him stamp on Dan Cole's ankle before he led with the elbow in a ruck. Not good at all.
The scorers:
For Ireland:
Pen: O'Gara 2
For England:
Pen: Farrell 4
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c), 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Mike McCarthy , 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Donncha O'Callaghan, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ronan O'Gara, 23 Keith Earls.
England: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Tom Wood, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Thomas Waldrom, 21 Danny Care, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Manu Tuilagi.
Referee: Jérôme Garces (France)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Pascal Gauzere (France)
Television match official: Iain Ramage (Scotland)
Comments
Philly says...
alanatleeds says...
Lancaster must be credited with putting together a side that have the disclipline and maturity to win away matches in hostile conditions. There are excellent signs that England have a squad who can win ugly when required, but have sufficient flair to put other NH teams to the sword.
Next step, getting up to SH standards, but we are well on our way.
Philly. Really? Perhaps England should visit there more often and find out.... not that I'm discounting today's win, but only if you consistently beat the SH in the SH will you really be "on your way".....
Posted 22:26 10th February 2013
norm says...
Caramba spot on re missing men.
Gcp jones heaslip's presence let alone his armband should be questioned. He need only look at his opposing skipper today for an example in leadership and back row play at test level. Robshaw continues to impress.
Well done england, played the game in front of them and played it intelligently.
No need for ireland to start naval gazing, some bad choices but difficult day and difficult run of injuries, it happens.
Healy will and should get cited. Still far ans away leader for lions #1 shirt and to say otherwise frankly displays a lack of objectivty or an abundance of ignorance of rugby knowledge.
Scrum was good today though
Posted 22:16 10th February 2013
pierredelot1 says...
For people who search for running heads up rugby, one look at the conditions was enough to look forward to a real proper forward battle. Ireland just didn't have enough people willing to stand up to the plate, every England player was willing to run and take on his opposite number. First half they controlled the lot, second half first twenty I thought it may slip away from them, but Ireland just didn't control the ball, were sloppy and rarely threatened. For those wanting to defend Healey, just don't go there. Rucking was banned years ago (A great shame but there you are) but even when rucking was allowed you didn't go for the ankle and you didn't go in with the boot out in front of you. Hark back to England NZ some years ago and jamie Joseph. Thet sneeky punch that went in at the end of a defensive drive was also a bit iffy, it will be interesting to see what disciplinaries come out of this one. Garces seemed blind to so much and like so many modern referees just didn't control discipline or the scrum, he just opted out, running round saying discipline, discipline without taking action (Doesn't matter who it is). God knows how he got on the panel. Has to be said you can tell reading the comments that Ireland lost and England won, the number of, " If it had been a fine day" , "If Sexton hadn't been injured", To those of you who expected running rugby in rain like that and a pitch that looked like the local potato patch, "Dream On". As for the Television pundits, its about time that some of them went on a refereeing course and undertood the laws a bit better. How Woody could defend the actions of Healey is beyond me, why don't they say it like it is. I guess the communications officers are telling them that critisising referees is not good for the image of the game. So we continue with feeding the scrum at the set,throwing to our own man in the line out, etc etc.
Posted 22:15 10th February 2013
norm says...
Caramba spot on re missing men.
Gcp jones heaslip's presence let alone his armband should be questioned. He need only look at his opposing skipper today for an example in leadership and back row play at test level. Robshaw continues to impress.
Well done england, played the game in front of them and played it intelligently.
No need for ireland to start naval gazing, some bad choices but difficult day and difficult run of injuries, it happens.
Healy will and should get cited. Still far ans away leader for lions #1 shirt and to say otherwise frankly displays a lack of objectivty or an abundance of rugby knowledge.
Scrum was good today though
Posted 22:14 10th February 2013
jamesliveinhope says...
All a bit harsh on ROG, exactly the player to give Ireland the game that they needed and was the man on the park when Ireland dragged themselves back to parity.
@jhamer think Cole has done enough recently for Gatland to ignore the wheelspinning scrums (from both sides) on that surface and we shouldn't forget that Cole appears to have been Healy's stamping victim and needed treatment on his ankle shortly afterwards.
Somoething that at least three unions need to look at is the fitness for purpose of their playing surface. Cardiff Paris and now apparently Dublin will destroy scrummaging unless they fix their problems with the turf.
Posted 22:13 10th February 2013
lacroix says...
adam jones ? didn't look too clever yesterday.....
healy should be cited. he's so over rated by media and fans anyway, and that was a disgracefu display today.
i'm not sure how anyone can say england were lucky..sexton was playing badly when he went off and ireland were outclassed in all respects. in good conditions england would have won by 20. i think ireland have got major problems looking forward - take out the old guard and it doesn't look good. england on the other hand are starting to gel nicely- the character to put 6 points on ireland when unjustly down to 14 men was a real pointer. a lot of irish players incorrectly in the frame for lions spots playing themselves out of contention.
Posted 22:02 10th February 2013
melkdave says...
@JHammer
Dont know what match you watched today ,but Cole held his own,and the scrum was a draw imo.As for A.Jones being a Lions starter ,his so far down the list atm ,he isnt even getting on the plane.Let alone the fact he was totally taken apart yeserday by the french scrum.If your wondering whos infront of him atm its Cole.Ross ,Sheriadan, Vainipolo and even Mitchell who replaced him.Nevermind Stevens whos playing brilliently for Saracens atm AJ is getting murdered in the scrum atm,and his useless in the loose always 5 mins late for any ruck or mual.Wake up his not going at all.
Posted 21:43 10th February 2013
Waz4before says...
The game panned out as most expected, very close and of a high quality despite the lack of running rugby.. Lots of good play on both sides and areas for each to mprove on.. Still a long way to go but I will stand by my original position that no team will achieve the grand slam this year..
Posted 21:40 10th February 2013
Kent says...
@jamesliveinhope : So the points in the France - Wales game just "happened" and they were "earned" in the Ireland - England game.
Outstanding post - keep it up
Posted 21:29 10th February 2013
ArmchairGeneral says...
Barritt surely man of match for defensive effort in a defensive game. Several posters praise Goode. Why? Safe hands under high ball followed by terrible carries or average kicks. No great praise for England other than winning vs hostile crowd weather and let's face it Ireland hate England, gave it maximum hostility and lost vs a young team that adjusted and won. Another step up for England; but grand slam pressure is only on them from here on which makes it easier for Wales and France.. And Italy. Long haul. Ugly wins is fine, grand slam is only measure of progress with 3 home games. Good opening to tournament but no celebrations or arrogance.
Posted 21:07 10th February 2013
Chubbylugs says...
Any armchair referees that could shed some light on the Kearney incident in the second half? I'm referring to the time he was tackled near touch near his own goal line, he then reached out a hand to touch the touchline and kill the play
Is this a penalty? You can run a ball dead or kick it, but you can't throw a ball into touch. I thought it was quite smart play, except that he had been tackled - does that then make it a penalty, possibly even a penalty try?
I've not seen it happen before, so am curious if anyone can shed any light?
Posted 20:57 10th February 2013
heart_of_oak says...
Hats off to all the Irish posters. Every one I've read so far has been honest and magnanimous in defeat.
Posted 20:35 10th February 2013
jappers1983 says...
Haskell's was a yellow - that Healy went unpunished doesn't devalue any other cynical play of its sinbin-worthiness during the rest of the match.
Healy....what an idiot. The leg in question was not even slowing the ball down. That wouldn't legitimise the stamp, but that is normally the reason why players use the boot in a ruck. This, however, was outright a moment of sheer madness. Kidney should have brought him off earlier - he saw the red mist several times and was a liability; pretty sure that Cole not giving an inch fuelled his frustration.
Anyway, England were quality. Never lost sight of what needed to be done and played to the conditions. Farrell was a very steady hand at 10, exactly what you need for such a match. Man of the match? Tom Wood for me. Just an absolute beast in his carrying, tackling, lineout play, hitting rucks...him and Robshaw are becoming quite the duo. Bravo England.
Posted 20:34 10th February 2013
Jhamer25 says...
OOOH the great dan cole didn't seem very great today know did he. Hopefully now people will see who the real lions tight head is (adam jones of course). But at the moment i think euan murray is putting a claim in for that jersey after a great game against itlay.
Posted 20:32 10th February 2013
Keste03 says...
If and if. England were average today, but is was more than enough to beat a mediocre side away from home. Funny how england only win because the opposition s paying bad - ever considered england are restricting them. Nuff said.
Posted 20:30 10th February 2013
Nastyned says...
Jmanngod respectfully suggest maths isn't your finest subject. 22 tries in 6 games, 2 of which have been played in atrocious conditions. Get back under the bridge and wait for the goats.
Posted 20:25 10th February 2013
Iyhel says...
Finally a match worth watching. Wouldn't call it a triumph but England were serious, especially after being waked up by Haskell's yellow card. For Ireland, having your captain giving away so many penalties, in wet conditions, is a real concern...
Can't see anyone stopping an English Grand Slam now - provided they stay serious, not like 2011.
Posted 20:19 10th February 2013
Jediboy says...
Well done England. Good win away from home.
Was a tense affair but on reflection England deserved the win, but that's not taking anything away from Ireland who looked good in phases. They just couldn't get the points on the board.
England's discipline was great in the first half, but poor when Ireland put the pressure on in the second half.
Youngs (Tom) didn't have a great day in the line out so maybe Hartley will start next time out. I really think we need a fit/on form Foden back. Goode was safe, but I don't think he offers much going forward.
Robshaw is proving himself to be a very capable captain, another solid performance.
Overall, I'm a happy England fan.
Posted 20:10 10th February 2013
boksmashoffice says...
Ben Youngsman of match, don't think so. He was poor today. Best player on park was Goode. The back 3 were very good.looked secure under high ball which was the only play Ire had, which was disappointing. It was an absorbing match with a high error count. Better team won.
One other conclusion from watching the match was that ROG is past his best. Time to bring in Jackson and Madigan as and the boy from Munster (keatley) and let fight it out for bench position.
Posted 20:10 10th February 2013
admack says...
going by form,
eng
scot
italy
wales
france
Posted 20:02 10th February 2013