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Posted 429 days ago
What a shocker! This generation of Ireland players and fans have got so used to beating England in the last decade that with this year’s match rounding off the tournament on St Patrick’s Day, the script for another Irish victory seemed to be written.
Not so.
Posted 429 days ago
Scotland’s 2012 RBS 6 Nations match came to an end in Rome on Saturday much like their tournament as a whole – in a mish mash of penalties, errors and frustration. Several of their performances this year have been positive in some way without ever achieving victory but since the pseudo-highs…
Posted 431 days ago
England ruined Ireland’s St Patrick’s Day party by inflicting a 30-9 thrashing of their guests at a rain-soaked Twickenham. In a scrappy encounter in which there were numerous handling errors, England’s scrum was completely dominant over Ireland’s, and penalties resulting from it, plus a penalty try, won them the game, and saw them finish the championship in second place.
Posted 433 days ago
David Strettle has recovered from a sternum injury to reclaim his place on the wing, in England’s only change to the starting XV who will take on Ireland on Saturday. Charlie Sharples, who stepped into Strettle’s left wing berth against France last week, drops out of the 22.
Wasps hooker Rob Webber suffered a shoulder injury during the Paris victory, and…
Posted 437 days ago
Scotland knew they’d have to come out of the changing room firing if they were to beat Ireland at home, and some early pressure put them 0-6 ahead thanks to two penalty kicks from Greig Laidlaw. But Ireland responded by showing they meant business, opting to go for a lineout as a result of their own penalty, instead of taking a shot at goal. The gamble paid off, as captain Rory Best scored in the 14th minute, and the Scots were playing catch up for the rest of the game.
Posted 439 days ago
IT’S been a bruising week for Ireland. Their match against France was not only mentally draining, given their disappointment at throwing away an 11-point half-time lead to come away with a draw, but it also cost them their captain and scrum-half.
Posted 440 days ago
By Gavin Mortimer
PARIS is known as the City of Love but frankly who cares about all that soppy stuff when it comes to Le Crunch? Whispering sweet nothings on the Champs-Élysées or wetting your whistle in the Frog & Rosbif…? It’s a no brainer for every red-blooded rugby fan, so here is the Rugby World guide to where to go…
Posted 442 days ago
HAVING waited three weeks to get this game underway, no one playing or watching on Sunday wanted to hear the final whistle at the Stade de France – at least not until someone got that decisive last score. Of course given that Ireland were under the most pressure and in the final play of the game it was their scramble defence that saved them from another defeat in Paris, perhaps in hindsight they will be grateful for the referee’s whistle.
Posted 442 days ago
THE Sunday Times ran a piece last weekend in which Rugby World’s very own Stephen Jones interviewed Philippe Saint-André. The coach of France was his normal affable self, buttering up the English ahead of Sunday’s encounter byacknowledging his “debt to England rugby” on account of the formative years he spent coaching at Gloucester and Sale.
Posted 444 days ago
France clawed their way back from an 11-point deficit to draw with Ireland in the rearranged RBS 6 Nations fixture at the Stade de France. The men in green started well, and Tommy Bowe scored two tries in the first half, silencing the French crowd. But Wesley Fofana scored his third Championship try in the 51st minute, and the swing in momentum saw France even the scores thanks to Morgan Parra’s boot. Ireland couldn’t convert a surge of pressure into points in the final quarter of the match, as France’s defence proved to be water tight.
