Ireland came to Twickenham to play and in doing so produced a performance for the ages. The result will give Andy Farrell and his players huge satisfaction, but it was the component parts, the courage, commitment, application, diligence, and the willingness to play without inhibition that will warm the cockles. And the muscles of those tired, aching limbs for the green-shirted dervishes.
The visitors have enjoyed some phenomenal days under Farrell, this will rank with the best of them. The hope travelling to Twickenham was that Ireland would go and play. They did and then some. There were passages of rugby that were as good as any Ireland team has produced. They sliced and diced England, ripped them asunder. It could have been an even greater margin, although that is an aside.
Farrell will enjoy the victory. The external noise in advance prophesied doom and gloom, partially attributable to the in-game sticking points of Paris and Dublin. And while that always looked overblown, few outside of the Ireland set-up would have countenanced a day like this one. Unless of course, you were in the Ireland camp.
Ireland played without fear, without inhibition, they played from deep in their own half, sure footed and accurate. They had a blueprint, parameters, but within that the players were empowered to play. Jamison Gibson-Park was magnificent, Stu McCloskey, a hair’s breadth behind.
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Players were questioned. They stepped up. Joe McCarthy, Josh van der Flier and Dan Sheehan all produced big games. Jack Crowley ensured that the commitment to be fluent, to chase the spaces out wide and force the gaps inside never relented. James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne and Caelan Doris had colossal games at the coalface.
Rob Baloucoune was immense, Tommy O’Brien superb when coming on for James Lowe. Have Ireland ever had pacier wings. Jamie Osborne and Garry Ringrose played their parts too, handsomely. The way the game panned out, not everyone could be central casting.
The scrum had been ripped from the pages of a Stephen King novel in the build-up, the horror and foreboding that awaited Ireland. But it didn’t materialise. It was only until the change of referee and changes to the twin pillars that the visitors started to suffer. Referee Andrea Piardi liked what he saw for the most part, the work of Jemery Loughman and Tadhg Furlong agreeable.
Piardi’s replacement, Pierre Brousset, took a different view, the scrum pictures, suddenly distorted. It didn’t have a bearing on the outcome. They referees missed a lot, but winners have the solace of the result. England’s frustration was palpable at times.
There’s been plenty of chat about Ireland’s lack of cutting edge in attack but at Twickenham it was razor sharp. Andrew Goodman and the players found the right pressure points in the England defence, often in the midfield, where they cut a swathe through their hosts.
Part of that space comes from England’s concern about defending the edges. Ireland exposed them in that regard early on and it seemed to play on their minds as they raced to resource the wider channels. The Irish kicking game – Gibson-Park’s steepling box-kicks were on point – was first class, complemented by the quality of the chase. Baloucoune and O’Brien, in particular, were exemplars.
The defence. Ireland’s goal-line, red zone, call it what you will, ferocity and the capacity to nick turnovers or force penalties was exemplary. There was a passage of 90 seconds which summed up the attitude, the desire, and the selflessness that underpinned the victory.
On 73 minutes Marcus Smith intercepted a pass outside his 22, raced clear. McCloskey, who punished his body relentlessly on both sides of the ball, ran Smith down. The game was won but players don’t pick and choose. That exemplified the attitude.
He then stepped in to stop an England counterattack dead, batting the ball to a team-mate. And as Ireland looked to move forward again, it was McCloskey that carried Henry Pollock and his mates through and beyond the gainline, for the umpteenth time. The O’Brien/Baloucoune corner flagging tackle on Tommy Freeman was another example.
What else? The breakdown. Brilliant Doris, Beirne, Nick Timoney and Gibson-Park all came up with crucial turnovers.
England were left to rue some missed opportunities: lineouts, missed kicks to touch or one pushed into touch and goal. But even allowing for that largesse there is no way that they could find any purchase that would have nudged them towards a win.
But this was Ireland’s day from the opening whistle. It was a homily to the team they can be, one that can play rugby at the highest levels. They got the mix right; running, passing, kicking, playing with intent and ferocity, bright mentally and strong physically.
