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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Kevin Taylor

Ireland's win over England in 2007 Six Nations - Remembering historic Croke Park celebrations and media reaction

Fans of Irish sport have been looking back on some of the more memorable moments of recent times with the Covid-19 pandemic shutting down the sporting schedule until further notice.

It's 15 years today since the GAA's Rule 42 was relaxed after people like Anthony Delaney helped to pave the way for soccer and rugby internationals to be held at Croke Park.

Ireland's incredible performance in the 2007 Six Nations hammering of England at GAA HQ probably goes down as the most memorable of the lot.

What happened on the Croke Park pitch in that 43-13 mauling has been well-documented. Virgin Media Sport is set to recap the action on TV for rugby fans this week to take a trip down memory lane.

Here, Mirror Sport takes a look back at the emotional scenes of celebration and some of the media reaction from the time.

Brian O'Driscoll applauds the crowd after the game (©INPHO/Billy Stickland)
Ronan O'Gara with Shane Horgan and Girvan Dempsey (©INPHO/Billy Stickland)

One report in English media remarked how 'England flew home from Dublin yesterday with the kind of hangover that takes months to cure'.

England boss Brian Ashton described the mood in the English dressing room after the thrashing as 'like being in a mortuary'.

The BBC explained: "No game has matched the power, passion and emotion shown at Croke Park."

A delighted Ireland head coach Eddie O'Sullivan after the game (©INPHO/Billy Stickland)
Ireland's Denis Hickie and Gordon D'Arcy celebrate victory (©INPHO/Morgan Treacy)
An Irish fan gets celebrations started early (©INPHO/Morgan Treacy)

A report on the official Six Nations website reported how some Ireland fans revelled in the victory, chanting 'easy, easy' as Isaac Boss went over for an intercept try to add to England's misery late on.

Another English outlet talked up Ireland's chances at the World Cup that year, reporting how Eddie O'Sullivan mentioned that English captain Phil Vickery rated Irish chances at the tournament.

"Phil was very gracious after the defeat on Saturday," O'Sullivan said.

"He told me he thinks Ireland are on a good track at the moment

"He sees us as a team that could do very well at the World Cup. He said that in all sincerity. He's been around a long time - he's had good and bad days against Ireland."

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