Looking back at Croke Park rugby memories
FIRST DAY OUT
IRELAND 17 FRANCE 20
February 11th, 2007
The first day out at Croker, the atmosphere not helped by the BBC-directed Sunday afternoon kick-off. Still, there was an acute sense of history in the air, and despite the absence of O’Driscoll and Stringer, O’Gara’s try and his fourth penalty in the 78th minute after hard-won inches by the pack looked to have done enough.
What happened next wasn’t down to “the bounce of the ball”, it was due to France winning their restart, patiently working themselves into position and the dastardly Vincent Clerc striking once again to leave Ireland crestfallen.
Damn and blast them.
THE NOT SO GOOD
IRELAND 12 WALES 16
March 8th, 2008
Not so much crestfallen as beaten far more convincingly than the scoreline indicates, two plays by Wales’ outstanding match-winner Shane Williams deciding the outcome as Warren Gatland made another triumphant return to Irish shores.
An Irish performance cravenly short of ambition would prove to be the penultimate game in the long-drawn out endgame to O’Sullivan’s reign.
IRELAND 3 NEW ZEALAND 22
November 15th, 2008
Blind faith in Declan Kidney’s Midas touch had convinced some of us this might be the day for that first scalping of the All Blacks.
Instead, the post-World Cup hangover lingered on and after Tommy Bowe’s binning for palming the ball into touch in goal and the penalty try on half-time, second-half tries by Ma’a Nonu (left) and Brad Thorn ensured something of a bloodless coup for the men in black.
THE GREAT
IRELAND 43 ENGLAND 13
February 24th, 2007
Coming off the defeat to France, O’Driscoll and Stringer returned, fears of demonstrations or trouble were dispelled as the crowd behaved impeccably. Eddie O’Sullivan pressed all the right buttons, Croker throbbed (in truth like no other Ireland Test here) and, best of all, Brian Ashton’s ill-prepared, injury-ravaged England were routed.
Ireland skill levels in the teeming rain were extraordinary, and you couldn’t have scripted Shane Horgan’s try off Ronan O’Gara’s perfectly pitched cross-kick. Glorious. One to tell the grandchildren about.
IRELAND 30 FRANCE 21
February 7th, 2009
A stunning game (probably the best) and a landmark, pivotal first leg of a first Grand Slam in 61 year.
France turned up and in style, Imanol Harinordooquy’s try putting them in front and throwing down an ominous-looking gauntlet.
A wonderfully executed try by Jamie Heaslip (the best seen at the venue?) put Ireland ahead but despite a classic Brian O’Driscoll score to confirm his re-birth, the French came back to two points before Gordon D’Arcy’s try confirmed his re-birth too after nearly a year out.
Hardly a dry eye in the place.
IRELAND 14 ENGLAND 13
February 28th, 2009
A taut arm wrestle as O’Gara’s radar went askew and the Red Rose blitz defence proving well nigh impenetrable. That is until Phil Vickery was the first of two yellows to incur the unforgettable wrath of Martin Johnson and Ireland went for the jugular when electing to go to the corner early in the second quarter.
A guttural roar greeted O’Gara’s kick to the corner and in his semi-conscious state O’Driscoll added to an earlier drop goal to do his impersonation of a mole.
THE GOOD
HEINEKEN CUP SEMI-FINAl
LEINSTER 25 MUNSTER 6
May 2nd, 2009
A sea of red blue as the pride of Irish rugby ensured a world record attendance for a non-Test match. Munster were hot favourites, having routed the Ospreys in the quarters while Leinster squeaked past Harlequins and beaten Leinster 22-5 in Thomond four weeks before.
But all the seismic moments went with Leinster, who carried all the chips and grievances into this one. After Isa Nacewa’s try-saving tackle on Keith Earls and Rocky Elsom’s hit on Ian Dowling, the stunning set-piece move from which Nacewa put D’Arcy over and then Luke Fitzgerald’s dancing feet left Munster with a mountain to climb.
O’Driscoll’s intercept was the coup de grace.
IRELAND 20 SOUTH AFRICA 15
November 29th, 2009
Ireland had the chance to finish a memorable year unbeaten by scalping the world champions. With a whiff of cordite in the air emanating from grievances on the summer’s Lions’ tour, which Schalk Burger’s try celebrations did little to defuse, a foreboding mist descended over Jones’s Road. Jonathan Sexton had made an encouraging debut against Fiji at the RDS a week before and once
again underlined his big-game temperament by nervelessly landing five of his first six kicks, but it still required endgame heroics from O’Driscoll and O’Leary to keep the Boks out.
