Sport On the side of Dublin, Ireland challenged England to win their first Grand Slam at home, the fourth in their history.
Before this match, the two teams offered completely different dynamics. On the one hand, Ireland holds the prestigious title of best team in the world. On the other, England conceded the biggest home defeat in their history against France. To win the Tournament, the men in green must recover at least one point from this match. If they win, Jonny Sexton and his teammates will celebrate their fourth Grand Slam of the 6 Nations Tournament.
6 NATIONS. After Lowe and Gibson-Park, what if Ireland offered another excellent New Zealander?
Sport England growls, Ireland purrs…
From the start of the game, England surprised. Visibly scratched by the disappointment suffered against France, the men in white put a lot of intensity in defense. With possession largely in favor of Ireland, the streaks repeat for the locals. But despite the combinations and dazzling Irish, the English resist. However, His Majesty’s players miss one out of 5 tackles (83% tackle success). Their ability to replace themselves efficiently and quickly limits breakage in a rather remarkable way. For the Irish, no less than 23 opposing defenders will be beaten. With almost 90 ball races in hand at half-time, the locals are pounding and the visitors are gritting their teeth. Jack Willis achieves a masterful performance with 20 tackles in 40 minutes.
During this first period, two facts of the game will hold the attention. First of all, van der Flier’s dazzling race to serve his hooker who slipped away on trial brought the 17ᵉ Irish try of this 2023 6 Nations Tournament. Converted by Jonny Sexton, the opener became the best scorer of the history of the competition on the occasion of this match.
Then, an action between Freddie Steward and Hugo Keenan leads to a controversial decision. While the 40 minutes of the first period have already passed, Ireland tries to drive the point home. With an after-contact pass, Mack Hansen tries to serve Hugo Keenan into space, but the ball escapes him and the winger commits a forward. The back of the Greens takes the leather in front and hits his vis-à-vis at the level of the head. After watching the video arbitration, Jaco Peyper decides to definitively expel the Englishman. Led, England will have to finish the match at 14. Half-time score: 10 to 6.
☘️ The trial that brings Ireland a little closer to the Grand Slam 🏆#SixNations | #IREvENG pic.twitter.com/0ZMyUs7qLb
— Six Nations (FR) (@SixNations_FR) March 18, 2023
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Sport Jonny takes off
Back from the locker room, the visitors do not let it go. England came with intentions and Ireland, it is seriously struggling to gain momentum. Gradually, the XV of the Rose seeks to calm the match. The crowd is on fire, Ireland on cloud nine and Owen Farrell’s teammates don’t want to drown in the green wave. Despite their strong lack of discipline, the score only changed at 51ᵉ… in favor of the English! Indeed, Owen Farrell registered a new penalty and his formation returned to a small point of his rivals of the day.
However, Ireland have taken a habit for a few years: that of speeding up the game with their bench on the hour mark. With good depth, the locals support this theory and Robbie Henshaw dives into the in-goal to crucify Steve Borthwick’s players in the 62nd minute of play. Six minutes later, the hyper-active Dan Sheehan will also increase the point difference. As if to save honor, the XV of the Rose will go there for its test too, through Jamie George, five minutes later.
A huge moment!@henshawrob slices through and Ireland edge further ahead.#IREvENG | #SuperSaturday ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/Kv8FOEdrRD
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 18, 2023
Despite everything, England are largely dominated and some gestures of frustration were seen in the second period. In this dynamic, the Toulousain Jack Willis strikes a cathedral tackle on Ross Byrne and receives a yellow card. A few minutes from the end of the match, hooker Rob Herring scored the bonus try and capsized a whole people. The Aviva Stadium sings in chorus and communicates on the occasion of what is surely the last match of the 6 Nations Tournament of its master to play, Jonny Sexton, who leaves to a general ovation. The XV of Clover is the best team in Europe (and the world) and proves it with this fourth Grand Slam in its history. Final score: 29 to 16, offensive bonus for Ireland.
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 18, 2023
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