Ireland 24 - 8 England
Ireland put in a superb performance against a woeful England team that looked a complete contrast to the team that beat Wales and Italy so convincingly earlier on in the tournament as the Irish finished the tournament with a 24-8 victory at the Aviva Stadium.
The big news for the Ireland team was who to play at fly half whether it being Jonathan Sexton or Ronan O'Gara with Ireland coach Declan Kidney opting with the youth of Sexton at fly half over the experienced O'Gara. Andrew Trimble took his place at left wing with Keith Earls replacing Luke Fitzgerald at full back who lost his place in the team altogether. Eoin Reddan returned at scrum half after suffering concussion against Wales last week.
For England, Nick Easter was given the captaincy as Tindall was out with an ankle problem he sustained last week against Scotland with Matt Banahan taking his place at centre. Saracens David Strettle took Banahan's place in the bench alongside last week's try scorer Tom Croft.
First Half
Ireland hit the ground running from the off showing their attacking intent with numerous waves of attacks on the England defence which held firm. The visitors pack weighed in just over 3kg heavier than the home sides however this didn't show in the early encounters. Sexton and Earls were showing promise going forward with some creativity with the boot which was more than could be said for England who looked to have not shown up. This was made evident when ill discipline from the visitors gave the home side a penalty inside England's 22 which was neatly dispatched by Sexton to give Ireland a 5th minute lead. Ireland 3-0 England. England continued their sloppiness as Flood kick at the restart did not cover the 10 metres that was required. England just couldn't compete with their opponents and numerous errors were halting their progress and this again became their downfall as Sexton converted another penalty on 15 minutes to increase Ireland's lead. Ireland 6-0 England. Ireland's dominance in possession was showing and England's defence was starting to look shaky and nervous against Ireland surges and the home side managed to drive over with Brian O'Driscoll going over to become the Six Nations leading try scorer. However, to England's luck Tommy Bowe was deemed to have produced a forward pass in the build up play which meant the decision was overturned by the referee. O'Driscoll would have to wait for his moment. Further poor discipline from the visitors gave Ireland another opportunity to increase their lead and this was taken by Sexton in the 22nd minute to give the home side a commanding lead. Ireland 9-0 England.
England just couldn't hold out against a rampant Ireland side which was playing with pride and nothing to lose however the visitors were given the chance to decrease the deficit as the reliable Toby Flood prepared himself for the kick. A strange turn of events followed as Flood dragged the kick wide and England missed the chance to put a score on the board. To add insult to injury, England were made to pay for that miss as quick thinking from Sexton from a penalty inside the visitors 22 saw Tommy Bowe danced his way through a shaky England defence to add to Ireland's lead. Sexton, who was the key play maker in the build up for the try, just managed to put the conversion wide. Ireland 14-0 England. This youthful England side, 10 of which were under 25, just couldn't contain this Ireland side which was running rings around the visitors as they had no answer for their attacks. One reason for England's ineffectiveness was their speed of attacks as they were obvious and easily dealt with by the home side. Ireland then gave England a small glimour of hope as they conceded a penalty 5 minutes from half time and Flood managed to put it away to get England on the board. Ireland 14-3 England. Ireland broke through the England line after smart play from the scrum however David Wallace was outnumbered and bundled out of play with Ben Youngs frustratingly throwing the ball into the crowd to deny the Irish with a quick line out. Youngs was punished with a yellow card and 10 minutes in the bin which capped off a rather poor showing from England in the half. The impressive Sexton kicked over again to restore Ireland's 14 point lead. Ireland 17-3 England. As the game went into overtime, England just wanted this half to end and to regroup in the changing rooms and they were relieved for the referee to blow his whistle for half time as they went in with Ireland completely dominating the game and leading 17-3 at the break.
Second Half
The home side started the half as they finished the last as they continued wave after wave of attacks on the England back line which was just managing to hold on. Youngs was just about to re-enter the game however a tactical sub by Martin Johnson saw Youngs replaced by Danny Care at scrum half. This change seemed to have little effect on the team as O'Driscoll diving over to once again become the Six Nations leading try scorer to the delight of the Ireland players and fans. Sexton also added the conversion to put Ireland further ahead. Ireland 24-3 England. A couple of minutes later, a rare adventure into the Ireland 22 by England resulted in Ashton bursting through only to throw the ball very kindly to Gordon D'Arcy who cleared easily. Eoin Reddan, who has been playing solidly at scrum half then gave England a lifeline as his Miss-throw from a line out was collected by substitute Steve Thompson to bring the visitors back into the contest on 52 minutes. Wilkinson, who had just replaced an under par Flood put the conversion wide which stopped England from reducing the deficit. Ireland 24-8 England. England slowly started to produce better rugby with the pace of Care and experience of Wilkinson proving a valuable weapon in their attacks however, they still kept making mistakes at the crucial moments and this stopped the visitors from grabbing the initiative in the game. Even with England looking brighter, they were still no match for an Ireland side who were just in a different league as the newly introduced Ronan O'Gara showed what skill he has with the boot by producing two beautifully placed kicks in the corner to pressure England ever more. Ireland saw out the match and recorded their third win of the tournament and to finish in style.
Full Time
Ireland can take credit with an impressive performance which showed people that they are not a team to be messed with as they dominated the game throughout and deservedly won. A youthful England didn't really get going and numerous errors on the ball only added to their downfall.
Man of the Match
Jonathan Sexton: His quick wit and good technical play helped Ireland in both their tries and his consistent kicking rounded off a good day for the Leinster fly half.
Ireland
Tries: Bowe, O'Driscoll
Conversion: Sexton
Penalties: Sexton (4)
England
Tries: Thompson
Penalties: Flood
Thoughts
Tonight's performance from Ireland showed what might have been, as pundits believed if they had played like that throughout the tournament then they would have had more chance at a shot of the Six Nations. Nonetheless, Ireland showed people that they are not a team to be taken lightly as the successful mix of youth and experience in their side shone through. In terms of their showing in the Six Nations, Ireland were slightly below par as they scraped a victory over Italy, should have beaten France but key players need to develop in order for Ireland to become the team they were a few years ago. They can use this victory as a good morale boost with the World Cup coming up in the summer.
England just never got going and were making rudimentary mistakes which Ireland were able to make use of. In my mind, they have slowly decreased in style of play since their resounding victory over Italy as they just didn't have that certain spark or flair player that could create something for England. Overall, they have given a good account for themselves in this tournament and may still win the Six Nation depending on other results. With the World Cup round the corner, Martin Johnson know the fitness of key players will probably be the decider on this England team being a competitive one against their Southern Hemisphere opponents.
