Six Nations Rugby-English young bloods too strong for Ireland at Twickenham

England comprehensively defeated Ireland on a score of 33-10. Ireland opened this game in whirlwind fashion and after ten minutes led England by 0-10. An expansive Irish move led to a try by Rob Kearney. Ronan O'Gara converted and it was 0-7. Iain Balshaw was penalised for holding on. Ronan O’Gara duly converted the penalty. This was the final Irish score. In the first twenty minutes-ably marshalled by Ronan O’Gara- Ireland played an exciting brand of open rugby.

Cipriani the twenty year old English out-half orchestrated the English revival. Gradually the English pack asserted its dominance. A penalty by Cipriani made the score 3-10. Sackey scored a fine try for England and Cipriani duly converted. It was 10-10 and the writing was on the wall for Ireland. A penalty by Cipriani made the score 13-10.
The first half had its share of errors but nevertheless it was brimful of exciting rugby.


In the second half England assumed total dominance. Further tries from Matthew Tail and Noon, both converted by Cipriani and penalties converted by Cipriani made the score 33-10. Ireland did not fail for want of effort. However the centre pairing of Horgan and Trimble lacked the cutting edge of O’Driscoll and Darcy. The loss of Geordan Murphy in the first half further weakened Ireland as an attacking force. Several promising Irish attacks broke down as the moves lacked the required subtlety to unlock the English defense. Generally Irish moves broke down for lack of support as Irish players regularly found themselves outnumbered. The English forwards dominated.

Cipriani, Noon , Lipman, Croft, Borthwick, Shaw were among the English stars.
For Ireland O ’Gara, Luke Fitzgerald and Kearney had their moments.


In recent years Eddie O’Sullivan has failed to blood sufficient new players. Now the day of reckoning has arrived for Ireland. It is time to rebuild the team. Whilst new players such as Fitzgerald, Kearney, Heaslip and Buckley have been blooded they need much more playing experience to compete at higher levels. Fortunately there is a reasonably good pool of talent from which to draw. In 2007 Ireland produced a fine U-20 team. Ireland can recover.
Brian Ashton has fashioned a new English side brimful of exciting young talent. The future for England is bright

England defeats France in Paris and opens up Six Nations Championship

In a power packed performance England defeated France by 24 points to 13. The French persisted in running the ball from their own line and yielding up possession.
The French scrum was -at times -pulverised by the English. England’s number eight Nick Easter was man of the match whilst the half-back duo of Wilkinson and Wigglesworth also played starring roles.

Wales hammered Italy by 47-8 at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. Italian errors contributed partly to their downfall. Lee Byrne and Shane Williams were the Welsh stars. Each scored two tries. Tom Shanklin scored the remaining Welsh try. Undoubtedly Warren Gatland will take comfort from the Welsh performance. Nevertheless grave doubts remain about this Welsh team.

At Croke Park Ireland hammered a very poor Scottish team by 34-13. Geordan Murphy-who had been dropped from the panel by Eddie O’Sullivan -certainly answered the coach in no uncertain terms with a stunning performance. Assuming that Girvan Dempsey is fit for the Welsh game O’Sullivan will face a major selection quandary when it comes to choosing a full back. Full back is certainly Geordan Murphy’s best position. Brian O’Driscoll has begun to rediscover his old form whilst Andrew Trimble had his best ever performance for Ireland. Tommy Bowe certainly answered his critics with a fine performance. He scored two tries. His first try was of exceptional quality. Rob Kearney justified his selection and scored a try. The Irish back row was effective as a unit and also individually.
Nevertheless there are some problems in the line out which must be ironed out before Ireland take on Wales in two weeks time. Also Bernard Jackman will come under pressure to hold his place. Paul O’Connell is likely to return to strengthen the line out.

Eddie O’Sullivan partly by accident and partly by design has managed to field a powerful team. With the addition of Paul O’Connell the team is more than a match for a suspect Welsh team. Ireland is capable of defeating Wales comprehensively. The Irish scrum is far superior to that of Wales. Ireland can starve high scoring Shane Williams of the ball.

However Ireland must play England at Twickenham on Saturday March 15th.
England is probably a greater threat to Ireland than Wales.