That’s all from me. Ireland get the win they were always going to get, by about as many points as expected. There was no way that Canada were ever going to live with them physically and that showed, as the Irish simply smashed them backwards for the first couple of tries.
Once those were on the board they got a bit more experimental, putting width on the ball and varying their kicking. Not everything came off, but this was always more about shaking off rustiness before the competitive games.
Cheers for reading and thanks for all your emails and tweets. Sorry I couldn’t use them all. Simon Burnton has South Africa v Japan, which might be less competitive than this match, right here for you. Bye!
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Full-time: Ireland 50-7 Canada
Right they go off the back of the scrum, but Rob Kearney’s final pass is behind brother Dave and into touch.
80 min Reddan brings out out the back of the scrum and finds Dave Kearney on the right flank, 50m out with a perfect cross-kick. He takes it up, then Ireland batter away at the line one last time. Five, six, seven phases, then from the eighth Healy thinks he’s there. He isn’t, but then Henderson picks it up and touches down. We’re going to the TMO though and he decides Healy has knocked on. Back we go for a penalty advantage. Ireland take the scrum under the posts.
79 min Sexton is named man-of-the-match. That’s fair enough; aside from one kick out on the full, his tactical kicking has been magnificent. He’s had an easy ride from his forwards, sure, but this execution has been near-flawless.
78 min This time the restart is shallow and O’Mahoney does brilliantly to rise and take it. Madigan sends up the kick and the chase is decent, pinning Canada back in their own half. Ah but then Earls goes a touch high in the tackle and is penalised.
Try! (Payne 76 + Madigan con) Ireland 50-7 Canada
Madigan nips past a tired defender from 35 metres and has Payne running a good support line. Fly-half pops it left to centre and that was like a training ground move. Madigan adds the extras from under the posts.
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75 min The final replacements are made as Richard Thorpe, of London Welsh, replaces Moonlight and Ryan comes on for O’Connell.
Try! (Kearney + Madigan con 74) Ireland 43-7 Canada
The ball is spilled forward and Ireland have a massive overlap. Left it goes, via a big looping pass, to Earls and he dashes up the flank from 80 metres. He doesn’t have the gas to get there, but he has the composure to find Kearney inside him and the full-back dots it under the sticks.
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72 min Mack does well, scurrying round the back of a ruck and making ground. It goes left towards Van der Merwe, but then when it comes back inside Hirayama drops it and Reddan clears. He misses touch though, and back come Canada.
71 min The penalty is on the 10 metre line, but Hirayama’s kick to touch is poorly sliced and doesn’t quite make the 22. They win the lineout ball though and recycle it left across the pitch, the back right and into the 22.
70 min Canadian tails are up now, as Hearn looks to arch his way through a gap. Said gap is closed, but Ireland go offside.
Try! (Van der Merwe 68 + Hirayama con) Ireland 36-7 Canada
From the restart, Kearney slaloms his way up to halfway and there’s another try on as they go right through the hands. Payne gets it and looks to chip ahead, but it’s straight into Van der Merwe’s hands and he sprints over unchallenged from 51 metres! Hirayama curls over the conversion.
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Try! (Cronin 66 + Madigan con) Ireland 36-0 Canada
Cronin rumbles towards the posts, but the maul is stopped short. Two phases later the ball is back in the hooker’s hands and he’s right under the posts after Payne had crashed it up to the line and he has no problem going over.
66 min We have a chance now as Madigan gives his side a lineout just inside the Canada 22. Reddan on, Murray off. Tiedemann on, Wooldridge off.
65 min Ireland with a lineout on their own 10m line. It goes right and Kearney chips into the hands of Underwood, but we go back for a penalty advantage. Someone, please, score!
64 min The Irish pack splinter the Canadian maul effectively enough, before Sears-Duru concedes a penalty for holding on.
63 min It goes back to Hirayama, standing deep, and he puts a very nicely angled grubber kick into the in-goal area. Sinclair dives on it to score, but he was a good three metres in front of the kicker and there’s no try. We’re going back for a penalty advantage though, so Canada go to the corner again.
Henry on for O’Brien, Piffero for Barkwill.
62 min Canada go right now, Hirayama shipping it on nicely but Underwood just unable to get through...
61 min Canada come forward, but there’s so little cohesion to their play. “Give it to Van der Merwe” seems to be the best plan and he puts Cudmore away to crash up to the 22.
60 min Hirayama’s penalty finds touch on halfway. Cudmore taps it down, but Henderson is the man to gather it. He can’t hang on though, knocking on, as Ireland change their entire front row. Welcome back, Cian Healy.
59 min Ireland go wide but D Kearney’s chip over the top drifts out. Probably the wrong call that, but no time to analyse it as Canada look to go quickly. Sean O’Brien puts paid to that idea by killing the ball before they can go anywhere though.
58 min Canada win lineout ball under pressure on their own 22, before Hirayama smashes it out on the full. I thought that was carried back in, but the lineout will be near the 10 metre line.
57 min Canada win the scrum and kick clear, so Ireland will have to go again. On halfway, Heaslip bursts through a hole and gains 30 metres. It’s back to Madigan and he chips left for Fitzgerald to chase, but it’s too high and drifts into touch.
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55 min Ireland get the ball from the lineout and launch another siege on the Canadian line. Six phases, then it comes to Earls in the middle of the park with a massive overlap to his right, but the Munster man drops it under no pressure!
@DanLucas86 Can you explain why O'Connell was offside? Can't work it out for the life of me #IREvCAN
— Niall Cummings (@NJCRules) September 19, 2015
The referee deemed the ball to still be in the ruck when he came through and booted it. I’d need to see a replay, but I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the decision at the time.
54 min Lovely stuff from the London Irish man Sinclair, as he manages to twist Rory Best into touch just as it looked as though the hooker might barrel through Underwood and over. The replacement full-back has hurt himself it seems.
Madigan on for his World Cup bow in place of Sexton.
53 min The throw under pressure is good from Barkwill, but then Canada turn it over inside their own 22. It goes right and Fitzgerald tries to shimmy through. He’s just short...
52 min Ireland might just want to slow down a bit here. Through the phases they go and Sexton kicks well again, spinning it right-to-left and into the corner. O’Connell returns.
@DanLucas86 Ireland are up & running, we shud put at least 70+ on Canada. Big statement if we do just need 2 keep the foot on the gas!
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) September 19, 2015
51 min Incidentally it was McRorie, Buydens and Gilmour who took their leave. From the lineout, Sexton goes for the cross-kick and Van der Merwe gathers it very well. He exchanges passes inside his 22 with Underwood, but Dave Kearney is just about alert enough to scragg his man.
50 min The ball goes loose, but loose is Sexton’s kick ahead too and Underwood has little difficulty in gather the ball and returning it, to touch, on the right, on halfway.
49 min Kicked ahead and kicked away by Sexton, then O’Brien goes offside. Hirayama goes to touch on the right.
48 min Three more replacements for Canada as Sears-Drury, the Leicester academy prop, Mack and Sinclair come on. Ireland pinch the lineout ball and maul forward.
47 min Ireland crash it up over halfway through Henderson, but when they go wide the ball goes to ground and McCrorie kicks ahead. He’s blocked off but Fitzgerald gets away with that, before Sexton spins a kick to space out on the full. Getting very messy now, this.
46 min The maul is pretty poor and Canada turn it over. Fitzgerald slips a kick through and Canada gather, but they lose their composure as they try and fling the ball around. It’s knocked on and Ireland have a scrum about five metres inside their own half, on the left.
45 min Ireland reclaim it from the 22 drop-out and put width on the ball, going right. They play the ball on the floor though and Van der Merwe goes quickly. He’s tackled before he can make 10 metres and Canada go to touch again. Here comes the driving mall from 15 metres.
44 min Canada keep it though and Hirayama, who has been central to every Canada move so far, goes for the cross kick to Trainor. It’s too deep though and goes dead.
43 min Moonlight takes it and Canada pile towards the line. Barkwill offloads nicely out the back of the hand to Van der Merwe, but three men are there to drive the Scarlet back.
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42 min A chance for Canada as Hirayama comes round on the loop, but they can’t get it through the hands quick enough. At the ruck though, O’Connell comes offside and – after a word from Cudmore – Jackson sends him to the bin. Canada go to the corner.
41 min Hirayama starts this up again, with another one of those kicks down the middle that has proved entirely unsuccessful so far. Ireland eschew the box kick and go through the hands, before kicking to Liam Underwood, whose chip ahead is volleyed back into Canadian hands by Sexton.
There have actually been two changes, with Canada taking Evans and Hassler off, with Underwood and Trainor on.
Back come the players. Can’t see any changes at the break.
Predictions, anyone? I can see Canada nabbing a try, but I’m sticking with Ireland by 50-60.
Half-time Ireland 29-0 Canada
Canada are allowed to have the ball for a couple of minutes and a nice offload off the floor puts Van der Merwe sniping through a gap. They’re deep into Irish territory and Hirayama straightens and gets to within five metres! Evans goes for the line and is short, but Ireland go offside. The penalty is tapped and they go through the phases, before Hirayama flips it first time left towards Van der Merwe. The ball bobbles, before the wing picks it up and goes over! Ahh but they go to the TMO, who decides it has bounced fractionally forward. The players go in at half-time to boos.
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39 min Ireland go left from the scrum – they can do what they want out there – and Fitzgerald is the man to take it out wide on the loop. He stabs a kick through but Evans gathers and looks to launch a counter, spreading it left. Henderson wins turnover ball, but then Payne puts his chip over the top out on the full.
38 min A rare mistake at the restart, as O’Connell fumbles. Not that it matters, as the ball arrived to him by way of a Moonlight knock-on.
Guys, send me puns around Moonlight’s name.
Conversion (Sexton 37) Ireland 29-0 Canada
Normal service resumed.
Try! (Dave Kearney 35) Ireland 27-0 Canada
You know the drill. Quick ball and it goes in the blink of an eye, through the hands to O’Brien out on the left wing. He breaks one tackle, takes it into the 22 and Ireland recycle. With Canada’s line stretched, there’s a huge overlap and Dave Kearney waltzes over.
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34 min From the lineout, Murray puts it up high and Cudmore is penalised for offside. Sexton slices his kick a touch, but gives his side a lineout 10 metres inside the Canada half.
33 min Right go the Canadians and to ground goes the ball, but Kearney can’t gather it up and sprint clear from 80 metres. Ireland win the turnover though and Sexton goes with an audacious kick-pass inside his 22 for Payne, whose kick ahead is charged down and into touch.
32 min Hirayama goes short-side off the back and gives it left to Van der Merwe, but there’s no ground to be gained.
31 min Canada get some possession and see what they can do with it, spinning the ball right to Evans on the touchline. They don’t get anywhere, then O’Connell goes in for the huge hit on Barkwill. The Ireland lock gets his hand on the ball but knocks it forward.
30 min From near the left touchline, Sexton takes a breath, has a look up and scuffs his kick a touch, hooking well wide to the left. Cudmore returns from the bin, his side 19 points worse off than when he went there.
Try! (Sexton 28) Ireland 22-0 Canada
Canada go with the short lineout and Blevins runs it out, getting up to his own 22 and allowing McCrorie to clear. Earls gathers and Ireland bring it back through the phases. Oh no as I say that they throw it left to Sexton, isolated and 40 metres out. He goes searing between the forwards in the defensive line, no one can touch him and over on the left he goes.
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27 min That’s 14 points in Cudmore’s absence now and there are a couple of minutes of that left. Ireland are entirely untroubled as they run it up to the halfway line, whence Sexton sends a perfect reverse kick tumbling into the corner.
Try! (Henderson 25) + Sexton conversion Ireland 17-0 Canada
Ireland look to walk the scrum over the line, but can’t quite make it. Heaslip goes, Heaslip is stopped, so Henderson picks it up and crashes through two men and under the sticks. Canada are getting smashed to pieces in the tight here.
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24 min O’Mahony crashes up towards the line. He can’t quite make it, but O’Connell can, only for the brilliantly bearded hooker Barkwill to get his body under the ball very well indeed.
An email from Richard Crabtree: “From what I’ve seen so far, especially Nigel Owens earlier this afternoon, it looks like the referees have been told to be severe on not rolling away after the tackle. Tough for Ireland especially (here comes the controversial bit), who are masters of the art of hanging on just a little too long to slow down the recycle. Unlike Wales for example.”
I actually thought Tipuric did that magnificently against Ireland three weeks ago.
23 min Finally the scrum is complete and Ireland zip it left. Earls takes it into the 22 and...
22 min Fun fact: the Canada No8, Aaron Carpenter, is a converted hooker. I just thought I’d add that while we wait for this scrum to actually happen.
21 min Kearney takes the restart, which was again down the centre, majestically, before Murray’s box kick is gathered in again by Irish hands. They sweep left, then fling it right, but the ball is knocked out of Sexton’s hands as Blevins wraps him up. Rather harshly, Glenn Jackson blows up for a knock-on. I mean, he doesn’t literally blow up, but you know.
Conversion (Sexton 20) Ireland 10-0 Canada
From wide on the left, a total distance of 31 metres, Sexton steps up and carries his side into double figures.
Try! (O'Brien 18) Ireland 8-0 Canada
The ball squirts loose out the back of the ruck, but there were hands in there. It’s painfully blatant and Cudmore goes to the bin. Sexton sticks it in the corner and, from the lineout, O’Brien is driven over against the lightened Canada pack. That felt inevitable.
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17 min It’s taken quickly and Kearney, then Heaslip carry it into the 22. They go left and Henderson ignores the overlap, before Murray darts for the line...
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16 min Good work from Rob K, sending up a big high one and putting pressure on, winning the penalty from the chase.
15 min Rob Kearney takes the restart on his own 22. We go through another phase that achieves literally nothing, before Murray sends a long box kick to Evans. He and Sexton exchange kicks. The Cornish Pirates 15 has started impressively. Payne has the ball on halfway for Ireland and scorches off on a long arch round the outside, but the brilliantly named John Moonlight hauls him down and wins the turnover.
Penalty (Sexton 14) Ireland 3-0 Canada
Seven metres out, right in front, Sexton puts the points on the board.
13 min Murray flips a kick over the top but it goes dead, so we’re going back for the penalty. Sexton will go for goal and he’ll get this.
12 min As solid a scrum as you’ll see and Fitzgerald crashes it up the middle. Odd to see him at 12. Ireland recycle it and go left, then back inside. Patient stuff and Ireland have advantage five metres out.
11 min The throw isn’t straight and Ireland get a scrum 15 metres out.
10 min Sexton restarts with a shallow drop out and Ireland regather possession, then carry it back into the 22. Murray sends up a high box kick and a kind bounce sees the ball back into O’Connell’s arms. It’s recycled and Sexton fires a brilliant kick into space 70 metres up the pitch, finding touch in the 22 on the right.
9 min Bloody hell, Gordon McRorie, the scrum-half, is having a shot at goal from about 52m, right in front but in his own half. It just drifts wide to the right.
8 min Ireland win the lineout ball cleanly again, but then Sexton loops around and throws his long pass into touch on the bounce. Canada win their own lineout and then, even better, win a penalty as Heaslip fails to roll away on the floor. Looks a bit harsh to me, that one.
7 min Sexton finds touch on the left, midway inside the Canadian half. Incidentally my colleague Simon Burnton has said Ireland to win this by 15. I said 50.
6 min That’s a good steady scrum from Canada and Hirayama shimmies through a gap and takes his side into the Irish half. It’s recycled, but two phases later the fly-half is isolated and holds on in the ruck.
5 min Quick ball off the top of the lineout, on the right and midway between the halfway and Candian 10 metre lines, but O’Brien takes his eye off the ball and knocks on in midfield.
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4 min Quick hands from O’Connell and Sexton on the loop, of course, but Canada are doing a decent job of protecting the gainline. Earls loops round and Kearney scissors inside, but the former’s pass goes behind his full-back. Sexton chips across and Evans gathers and clears.
@DanLucas86 Canada bringing some majestic beards to the party it seems...
— Paul Waggott (@paultwaggott) September 19, 2015
3 min This could be nasty. Ireland’s pack smashes the Candian scrum and Murray breaks down the shortside from halfway. They swing it right, to R Kearney and he’s stopped, but Ireland take it back across the park. 35 or so metres out now.
2 min Canada win it and look to crab towards the halfway line. That doesn’t work so they spread it and Evans flicks it brilliantly out the back of the hand to Hassler. The wing knocks on in the tackle though.
1 min Sexton switches to the backs and gets Ireland’s World Cup underway, Scarlets’ DTH van der Merwe gathering and carrying up to the 10 metre line. Hirayama kicks down to Dave Kearney, then it’s recycled and Sexton puts one up that Matt Evans can only knock back.
The anthems are done and we will be underway shortly. It’s worth noting that things are going to be even harder for Canada given the absence of their regular captain, Tyler Ardron. Into his shoes steps walking red card lock Cudmore.
The players in the tunnel. “I’m not sure if it’s irony that Ireland had their 2011 campaign ended by Wales and begin their 2015 campaign in Wales,” says Mr. ITV commentator. It’s not.
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On the earlier match, this is not wrong:
Beyoncé could walk into Kingsholm giving out £50 notes and she wouldn't be as popular as Gorgodze right now. #mobbed #TGAvGEO
— Graham Jenkins (@grahamajenkins) September 19, 2015
Don’t know anything about Canada? Martin Pengelly has got yer covered.
Heartwarming scenes at Kingsholm, where Georgia, led by the mighty Mamuka Gorgodza, have beaten Tonga 17-10. The sheer delight on the Georgian faces – they’re going absolutely mad – is heartwarming.
Meanwhile, Robin Hazelhurst gets in the first email of the day. “Torn has one of my favourite coyly euphemistic bad lyrics: “I don’t care, I’m out of luck, I don’t miss it all that much”. I mean really Natalie, couldn’t you think of a word that rhymes with ‘luck’ and describes the thing you don’t want? A quite reasonable investment of four minutes while waiting for the match otherwise though.”
Don’t blame her. A little-known fact, this, but it’s a cover (it’s also produced by effective-sixth-member-of-Radiohead Nigel Godrich).
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I’m really tired. So much so that I apparently missed out a bunch of my preamble when I filed it in the wee hours of the morning.
Kick-off is at 2.30pm BST, or 9.30am Toronto time. Here are your teams:
Ireland
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster); Dave Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster), Jared Payne (Ulster), Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster), Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster), Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Paul O’Connell (Young Munster) (capt), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Sean O’Brien (UCD/Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster).
Replacements: Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Nathan White (Connacht), Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster), Chris Henry (Malone/Ulster), Eoin Reddan (Old Crescent/Leinster), Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster), Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster).
Canada
Matt Evans (Cornish Pirates); Jeff Hassler (Ospreys), Ciaran Hearn (Unattached/Atlantic Rock), Nick Blevins (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack), DTH van der Merwe (Scarlets); Nathan Hirayama (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears), Gordon McRorie (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack); Hubert Buydens (Unattached/Prairie Wolf Pack), Ray Barkwill (Unattached/Ontario Blues), Doug Wooldridge (Lindsay RFC/Ontario Blues), Brett Beukeboom (Cornish Pirates), Jamie Cudmore (Clermont Auvergne) (capt), Kyle Gilmour (Rotherham Titans/Prairie Wolf Pack), John Moonlight (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues), Aaron Carpenter (Cornish Pirates/Ontario Blues).
Replacements: Benoit Piffero (Unattached/Atlantic Rock), Djustice Sears-Duru (Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues), Andrew Tiedemann (Unattached/Prairie Wolf Pack), Jebb Sinclair (London Irish/Atlantic Rock), Richard Thorpe (London Welsh), Phil Mack (James Bay AA/BC Bears), Liam Underwood (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues), Conor Trainor (UBCOB Ravens/BC Bears).
Preamble
Afternoon, folks. I say “afternoon”; it is 2.33am right now. I’ve just got home from a late subediting shift. The World Cup opener, tense as it may have been, was not the greatest advert for rugby to the casual viewer. This match is less David v Goliath, more Goliath v Cyril Figgis. But you know what? To hell with all that: it’s the World bloody Cup! People who can’t get excited about this think that Terminator 2 is “OK” and that Natalie Imbruglia looked a bit dowdy in the video for Torn.
OK yeah, I just took four minutes to watch the Torn video heyshutupitsatune. Ireland come into this match on the back of two straight warm-up defeats, yet could barely have asked for more. They don’t play anyone decent – France are the only team in this pool with a hope in hell of beating them – for a month yet and this match, against a pretty ordinary Canadian side, gives them a chance to spread their wings.
Ireland will win, by a lot. But that’s beside the point, really. In their warm-up games their half-backs – so important to the way they play – were a touch rusty, there was a distinct lack of creativity and the lynchpin of their scrum, Cian Healy, will probably get his first run-out since recovering from injury off the bench. This match is a nice soft reintroduction for Healy, a chance for Murray and Sexton to gain confidence by bossing the game and for the backs to show they can create chances rather than just relying on their forwards’ set-piece dominance.
As for Canada? Well they have their own totem, recently returned from injury, in the veteran Jamie Cudmore. The Clermont lock is one of their few … oh bugger it, their only world-class player and Canada are relying on him to make life a pain in the backside for the Irish. The big question is how well he can straddle the line between being a nuisance and getting himself sent off. He and Paul O’Connell, who joins John Hayes on 106 appearances to become Ireland’s joint-most-capped forward today, have history you know.
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