INJURED IRELAND STILL BEAT AUSTRALIA 27-24

 Ireland completed a hat-trick over the big three of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in this calendar year. Remarkable stuff.
Ask the average Aussie his impression of November internationals in Dublin and chances are rain and cold will feature in the first sentence. Not this time. It was a perfect setting for rugby: still and mild and yet another full house in a stadium that is sold out for Ireland's games until the end of the season.

 
And the quality of the contest was first class. For the first 39 minutes Ireland were as close to optimum performance as was reasonable to expect from a side minus O'Brien, Johnny Sexton and Robbie Henshaw. When coaches talk about injuries being an opportunity for others they dream of stuff like this. Josh van der Flier was man of the match, and Garry Ringrose had a tremendous game.

Perhaps the best bit for Joe Schmidt was that his side looked beaten in the third quarter, by which stage their backline had been hastily rearranged and the fuel tank looked perilously low. At that point there was a clinical look to the Aussies who made light of the fact that they've been bouncing around departure lounges since August. This was their 14th test since early June. Perhaps that's why, from the outset, Ireland passed up shots on goal in favour of going to touch and forcing their opponents to defend without rest.

Three times in the opening 12 minutes they chose the corner instead of the sticks. By the time we got to the hour mark, however, they looked like they would gladly settle for a shot on goal. The alarm had been set with a lovely set-piece try for Dane Haylett-Petty just before the break, giving the Aussies a sniff at 7-17, and then they set about an Irish side who came out for the second half with a makeshift backline. At that point, with Bernard Foley launching forwards down the middle before hurting Ireland out wide, you could only see an away win.

And yet Ireland, as they had done in Chicago three weeks ago, rallied with a try when they needed it most. When Keith Earls got over in the corner on 66 minutes, to put his side 27-24 ahead, we didn't think it would be the last score.

You could feel the tension as both sides put bodies on the line trying to change that picture.
For Ireland it was an appealing vista for almost all of the first half. The binning of Dean Mumm for tipping Tadhg Furlong when cleaning him out was crucial.

Ireland took immediate advantage, going to touch, mauling for 30 metres and then shifting wide where a lovely little combination between Earls and Iain Henderson saw the lock get over from 20 metres. Jackson's conversion put the home team 10-0 in front.

By the half-hour mark Michael Cheika lad lots to worry about: the scoreline, the penalty count (1-6 in Ireland's favour; it would be 3-13 by the finish); and two choke tackles conceded, which killed their momentum. The scrum was also beginning to lean in favour of Ireland.

Constantly Ireland were looking to get the ball out the back and motor down the wide channel. Mostly this involved Andrew Trimble, who for all his qualities lacks the gas to scare opponents at this level. He hobbled off on 31 minutes which meant Joey Carbery slotted in at full back with Zebo shifting to the wing.

Even when things went wrong for Ireland they went right. When they put their fourth kickable penalty to touch, and botched the line-out, Ringrose managed to scoop up the loose ball that followed and with a great finish evade Mumm to touchdown, the conversion made it 17-0.

Had it stayed that way until the break it would have completed as good a 40 minutes as Ireland have produced, anywhere, anytime. The gloss was taken off it, however, in the 40th minute when a horrible kick from Jackson gave the Wallabies a decent platform 40 metres out, and from there they produced a lovely set-piece move to put Haylett-Petty over by the posts. A scoreline of 17-7 had an altogether different feel to it.

And that was exacerbated by the non-appearance after the break of Jared Payne. The rearranged backline now featured scrum-half Kieran Marmion on the wing and Keith Earls at centre. Marmion did well to interrupt a certain looking try for Henry Speight a couple of minutes into the second half, but a few minutes later the Wallabies were over in the same spot through Tevita Kuridrani. And with Bernard Foley's conversion, a three-point game.
 
Jackson pulled three back for Ireland but on 57 minutes Foley was standing over another conversion, this time replacement Stefania Naivalu scored out wide within a minute of coming on. And with that the Aussies were a point ahead. He made it four with a penalty on the hour mark.

It didn't stay that way. When they needed it most Ireland managed that lovely try for Earls on 66 minutes, and Jackson goaled to put his team 27-24 in front. Remarkable it stayed that way until the finish, an appropriate tribute to captain Rory Best on his 100th cap. The hooker has rarely been better.

IRELAND BEAT NEW ZEALAND 40-29 IN HISTORIC VICTORY

Ireland produced a stunning display to record a first ever win over New Zealand at the 29th attempt and end the All Blacks' run of 18 straight wins.
Tries from Jordi Murphy, CJ Stander and Conor Murray helped the Irish to a 25-8 half-time lead, then Simon Zebo scored his side's fourth try in the corner.

The world champions fought back to move to within four points but Robbie Henshaw's late try ensured the victory.
The sides will meet in another Test match in Dublin in two weeks' time.
This was Ireland's first success over the Kiwis in 111 years and it came about in sensational fashion as Joe Schmidt's men repelled a stirring second-half comeback by Steve Hansen's side.

TJ Perenara, Ben Smith and Scott Barrett added to George Mola's first-half try for the New Zealanders but despite some sustained late pressure, they fell short for the first time in their past 19 encounters with top-tier nations.
The match was the first of four autumn internationals for both sides, played in front of a capacity crowd of 60,000 at Soldier Field in Chicago, a venue chosen in an attempt to increase the exposure of the sport.
The teams will meet again at the Aviva Stadium in a fortnight after Ireland host Canada next Saturday and Steve Hansen's side face Italy in Rome on the same day.

From the start, the Irish effort appeared to be fuelled by the memory of former international and Munster head coach Anthony Foley, who died suddenly last month.
Prior to kick-off Ireland lined up in the shape of a number eight, the jersey worn with distinction by Foley for many years, while their opponents performed their traditional pre-match haka.

Ireland made light of the aura of invincibility surrounding the three-time world champions in a first half which they mostly dominated to go in 17 points to the good at the break.

Schmidt's side produced a performance of accuracy, purpose, pace and skill as they denied the All Blacks quality possession and repeatedly frustrated their efforts to win their own line-outs.

The Irish display bore echoes of the Test between the sides in Dublin in November 2013 when they built up a 19-0 lead, before ultimately losing 24-22 after conceding a last-gasp converted try, but there was to be no repeat of that outcome this time.
New Zealand prop Joe Moody was sent to the sin-bin for a tip tackle.
Moala raced through for a fifth-minute try after Waisake Naholo had carved a way through the Ireland defences but the turning point of the opening period came when front-rower Joe Moody was yellow-carded for a tip tackle on Robbie Henshaw.

Ireland made good use of the prop's 10-minute absence as Murphy rumbled over after a rolling maul and then fellow flanker Stander surged over the line following a break by Rob Kearney.

Murphy was subsequently carried off after turning his knee in a freak incident but seven minutes before the interval Murray produced a moment of magic, darting through a gap in the New Zealanders' defence to run in his third try in five Tests against the Rugby Championship winners.

The All Blacks' half-time deficit equalled their biggest ever at that stage of an international match.
The Irish momentum continued on the resumption, their relentless defensive efforts thwarting the normally ruthlessly efficient All Blacks, and Zebo increasing the advantage by touching down in the corner.
Replacement Perenara reduced the arrears by diving over near the posts and then full-back Smith managed to ground the ball beside the flag before being tackled into touch by Andrew Trimble.

Scott Barrett took advantage of some poor Ireland tackling to score on his international debut and when brother Beauden knocked over his third conversion of the game, the All Blacks trailed by just four.
Ireland continued to defend heroically however, forcing their opponents into a series of uncharacteristic errors, and a historic triumph was assured when Henshaw showed raw strength to score under the posts after Jamie Heaslip broke clear.

Line-ups:

Ireland: R Kearney (Leinster); A Trimble (Ulster), J Payne (Ulster), R Henshaw (Leinster), S Zebo (Munster); J Sexton (Leinster), C Murray (Munster); J McGrath (Leinster), R Best (Ulster), T Furlong (Leinster); D Toner (Leinster), D Ryan (Munster); CJ Stander (Munster), J Murphy (Leinster), J Heaslip (Leinster).
Replacements: S Cronin (Leinster), C Healy (Leinster), F Bealham (Connacht), U Dillane (Connacht), J van der Flier (Leinster), K Marmion (Connacht), J Carbery (Leinster), G Ringrose (Leinster).

New Zealand: B Smith; W Naholo, G Moala, R Crotty, J Savea; B Barrett, A Smith; J Moody, D Coles, O Franks; P Tuipulotu, J Kaino; L Squire, S Cane, K Read (capt).
Replacements: C Taylor, O Tu'ungafasi, C Faumuina, S Barrett, A Savea, TJ Perenara, A Cruden, M Fekitoa

POSSIBLE IRISH TEAM TO FACE AUSTRALIA THIS WEEKEND

Ireland play Australia in the last game of the Autumn Internationals having already beaten South Africa and Georgia thus far.

Here is my possible team to face the Wallabies on Saturday:

After the defeat of mighty South Africa and the downing of dour Georgia, a tough assignment awaits Joe Smidt's Irish team next Saturday.

Hopefully, Ireland can continue their 6 match winning streak against the Antipodians.

IRELAND WIN 6 NATIONS IN THRILLING VICTORY IN FRANCE

                FRANCE 20-22 IRELAND

 

The early belief in Ireland’s ability to masterfully carry out Joe Schmidt’s latest game plan was tested as soon as we entered a frenzied Stade de France this evening.

 

Any doubts that France would provide their finest performance of the championship were quelled by the volume and simmering atmosphere of an unexplainable Parisian confidence.

 

The coaches boxes are situated in the lower tiers of the stand, in amongst the supporters; would the messages from Schmidt and his coaching team be clear?

 Paul O’Connell seemed confused when Steve Walsh informed him his team were playing from right to left in the first half rather than vice-versa; was the Irish focus in tune?

 

Discipline had been a cornerstone of Ireland’s Six Nations campaign, but there was Chris Henry being pinged in the first minute and allowing Maxime Machenaud to give the home team a 3-0 lead.

 

Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll have built their careers on chopping down bigger men, but here was the beastly Mathieu Bastareaud careering straight through them in the third minute.

 

Brass bands at either end of the Stade de France reacted to les Bleus’ explosive start, bouncing their tunes off each other as if teasing the Irish players. There was an early sense that this was exactly how Philippe Saint-André wanted the game to play out.

 

But Schmidt’s Ireland are made of sterner stuff than so many of their peers in the recent past. They rode out the storm as the Fields of Athenry bellowed out, managing the frenetic French attack and then showing an utterly clinical edge to score two superb tries midway through the first half.

The second in particular showed what Schmidt has brought to the international arena. Conor Murray knew space would appear to the right of the ruck after O’Driscoll’s carry, Andrew Trimble knew he would get a pass from the scrum-half if he ran the trailing run from deep; Ireland’s players trusting the plan, a joy to watch.

   

And France came back again to make it a thrilling encounter; what better way for Ireland to win the Six Nations than by winning away against a team performing at their seasonal peak.

 

The precision and skill shown by Huget, Talès and a host of tryline-battering forwards to create Dulin’s try would have made Schmidt himself proud.

It took something extra from Ireland to get over their crippling Parisian hurdle. The stunning Chris Henry offload for Sexton’s first try, the exuberance of the counter-attack to create the out-half’s second; Irish players imposing themselves on the game rather than hoping it would fall their way.

 

The end-game pushed those present and watching at home to the edge of their seats, as we had suspected it would. Ireland just don’t cope with these situations, the noise descending on them in Saint-Denis, that feeling that everything could again slip away at the last moment.

Paul O’Connell admitted that he was disappointed with how Ireland closed out the game in those final 10 minutes, but he was overlooking his own team’s input in halting the desperate last gamble of the French.

O’Driscoll did enough to rush Vincent Debaty into forcing his pass, Iain Henderson enveloped Damien Chouly at the back of a scrum, Ian Madigan found touch superbly from the Irish 22. All the little actions, the little details, added up to ensure Ireland did enough.

 

It was a celebration of O’Driscoll’s career, and the iconic outside centre signed off in style as he contributed hugely both physically and mentally. Ireland's record try-scorer and record world caps holder enjoyed a fitting finale to end a glittering career.

This was the certain end of something that has been magical, but quite possibly the start of something that can provide further joy.

 

The Schmidt revolution is not even a season old, but he and his players have delivered.

 

(c)Journal.ie

 

 

 

 

BRIAN O'DRISCOLL OUT FOR SIX MONTHS

Ireland's record try-scorer and talismatic Captain Brian O'Driscoll is to undergo surgery on his troublesome shoulder.

Sadly, this will mean he will be absent for the Six Nations, the Heineken Cup and the Rabodirect Pro-12 series of matches.

He will be fit in time for Ireland's Summer Test Series against World Cup winners New Zealand, that's ironic since it was down there in the British & Irish Lions in the 2005 tour that he was 'spear-tackled' early in the First Test where his shoulder was first badly damaged.

Its arguable that he has never been the same explosive player ever since and with Father Time not on his side I for one hope that he has a successful operation and is back playing and pain-free for the remainder of his playing days with Leinster and Ireland.