Ireland v England: Down memory lane

It’s now been 10 long years since the Red Rose bloomed in Dublin, with England sent home to think again on each and every occasion since 2003. Clive Woodward’s side may have crushed Ireland’s Grand Slam hopes a decade ago at the old Lansdowne Road, but Ireland have lorded it over the auld enemy on home soil in the intervening years – if one chooses to ignore, which we happily will, the rather meaningless 2011 World Cup warm-up game at the Aviva Stadium.

Setting that blip aside, we look back here at the last five meetings in Dublin.

Sunday, March 30th, 2003

Ireland 6 England 43

A bleak day to be an Irishman, as hopes of a first clean sweep since 1947 were brutally crushed by Martin Johnson and his horde of 'orcs on steroids'. The side that would go on to lift the World Cup in Australia gave no quarter, getting their retaliation in first and knocking Ireland out of their stride before a ball was even kicked in anger. What happened before the anthems may have been bad manners, but once the match got underway it was clear England had plenty of bite to go with their bark. Playing into a swirling wind the visitors were limited to 13-6 at the interval. What happened after the break was sheer carnage.