Ireland emerged from the carnage of the Six Nations’ pivotal match on course for what may yet prove their second grand slam in six years while Stuart Lancaster was forced to concede England’s indiscipline had cost them dear.
The 19-9 triumph at the Aviva Stadium means Joe Schmidt’s side know victories in Cardiff and Edinburgh will seal only their third grand slam in history.
If so, it would be a fitting tribute to Paul O’Connell, captain now that his fellow hero of Irish rugby Brian O’Driscoll has left the stage. If this proves to be O’Connell’s last Six Nations game in Dublin, he went out in style, a ferocious presence from start to finish in a game Ireland dominated for the most part, breaking it open in the third quarter.
“It could have been my last,” he said with a glint in his eye, “but I just don’t know yet. I’ll probably make the decision soon enough. I really want to play to the World Cup, and we’ll see after that.”
O’Connell did concede, that glint turning into a smile, that this was almost certainly his last home Six Nations game against England. “There’s no point conning myself, that was probably it against England. I’m not trying to make a big deal by not saying anything. I just genuinely haven’t decided what to do yet. I’m really enjoying playing in the Ireland setup at the moment.”
England’s wait for a first grand slam since 2003 goes on. After the highly impressive win in Cardiff on the opening weekend, their relative inexperience felt far more obvious in Dublin. They rallied strongly in the final quarter and were unlucky not to score a try but they entered that final quarter chasing a 16-point deficit, having been squeezed for an hour by Ireland’s greater precision and ferocity. The pips popped out in the third quarter, when Jonathan Sexton then Conor Murray broke them with deadly kicks to the corner. Robbie Henshaw crowned a superb game with the only try.
“It was a tight Test match of small margins,” Lancaster said. “Going down 19-3 gave us a big hill to climb but Ireland managed the game well and deserved their win. It’s too early to talk selection but we have some experienced guys coming back into the equation. Discipline was key, and Ireland were able to build a 9-3 lead on the back of the penalties we conceded. We were still in the game then, without having really got our game going, but there were a couple of key moments in the second half, none more so than the try.”
This was Ireland’s 10th win in a row – since their defeat to England at Twickenham in last season’s championship – and O’Connell suggested this is as good an Ireland team as he has played in.
If anyone were celebrating this win as much as the Irish, it would be the Welsh. The fact this may be O’Connell’s last Six Nations match in Dublin is a function of the fact Ireland have now played all their home games and will have to win the title, let alone grand slam, on the road. Next stop Cardiff in two weeks’ time. If Wales can win that, the title is wide open again, a fact not lost on Schmidt.
“It’s nice to be in the position we are,” he said. “Even our points differential is aided by this 10-point win, which amounts to a 20-point swing over England. Grand slams don’t happen that often. It’s going to be very hard at the Millennium Stadium. Wales have got themselves back in the championship. The last time they won it, they lost their first game at home. They are no doubt eyeing up doing something similar this year.”
England finish with home games against Scotland and France and will try to rack up two big wins in the familiar mission to improve their points difference, their destiny having been placed in the hands of others. Rather it is Ireland who enjoy the luxury of a destiny they can control. And those hands of O’Connell are mighty indeed.
