A party for the ages as Sexton brings Grand Slam joy to Ireland

By NICK CAIN

Ireland…………………………. 29pts

Tries: Sheehan 33, 68; Robbie Henshaw 62, Herring 77 Conversions: Sexton 35, 63, 70 Penalties: Sexton 19

England………………………….16pts

Tries: George 73 Conversions: Farrell 73 Penalties: Farrell 8, 15, 51

Ireland eventually claimed their fourth Grand Slam title in style by notching a bonus point four-try victory, but they had to overcome dogged resistance from an England side that played with infinitely more heart than they did in capitulating against the French.

It is strange to talk about an air of inevitability when it comes to winning a Six Nations Slam, but Ireland had too much class to let this tilt at making history slip, and they scored three tries in the last quarter to accelerate clear of an England side which was playing to restore a semblance of pride.

Indeed, there were times before Freddie Steward was sent off on the stroke of half-time after an unlucky collision with his Irish fullback counterpart, Hugo Keenan, that they piled on the pressure. This was reflected by England pegging the Irish to a 10-9 lead until just after the hour mark, when a Robbie Henshaw try saw their 14-man resistance broken.

Further tries by hooker Dan Sheehan — adding to his barnstorming firsthalf touchdown – and by his replacement, Rob Herring, closed the Irish account with a flourish, England even managed a consolation driving maul try grounded by Jamie George.

However, with multiple prizes on offer, including the chance to sign off with a first clean-sweep in Dublin, and make it a fitting tribute to fly-half Johnny Sexton, the Irish focus was unwavering. The 37-year-old talisman, who has been a driving force in their ascent to become the number one team in the world, was playing in his last Six Nations match, and he marked the occasion in style with a flawless four out of four goalkicking display.

This saw Sexton surpass the tournament points record of 557 of his former Ireland rival Ronan O’Gara, to set a new marker of 566, and the ovation he received as he came off seven minutes from the final whistle signalled that Ireland was in the mood for not just for a St Patrick’s Day parade, but for a rugby party for the ages.

Inevitably, it was Sexton’s trusty right boot that played a key part in setting up Henshaw’s breakthrough try. His rifling long diagonal kick deep into the England 22 took a wicked bounce to put England’s depleted back three under the cosh.

Anthony Watson, who played with great verve throughout, did well to snare the ball, but the green horde arrived to force him to touch down in-goal. From the five metre scrum that followed the ball was first driven by Jack Conan infield towards the posts, but when it was moved wide from the ruck the quicksilver Jamison Gibson-Park found Bundee Aki, and the burly inside-centre’s pass sent his midfield buddy Henshaw storming through the gap to score.

At 17-9 Ireland had finally put clear water between themselves and England. They were helped because Jack Willis, the rugged Red Rose flanker who had been the main thorn in their sides in the loose, was off the field for running repairs to a head wound.

Willis had already made 22 tackles early in the first-half, but the high work-rate of the England forwards in hustling the Irish for the first hour took a toll. The 14-man handicap only added to the fatigue factor, and a touchline raid featuring Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen, and Conan saw Sheehan over in the corner.

Sexton nailed the touchline kick to make it 24-9, and although George’s try, converted by Owen Farrell, showed that at 24-16 England’s re-awakened spirit was not doused, Herring’s blindside break from a maul four minutes from time rounded off the late Irish scoring spree.

Although England started this match as no-hopers, if there is any team that deserved payback for scuppering England Grand Slam opportunities it is Ireland. They have spiked Red Rose hopes of a cleansweep three times in Dublin, in 2001, 2011, and 2017 – but what almost certainly motivated Steve Borthwick‘s team more was that they were playing for their international careers after last weekend’s Twickenham humiliation at the hands of France.

There was widespread incredulity going into the match that the England head coach made only one change to a pack that was monstered by their French counterparts, and that only because of an injury to Ollie Chessum.

They responded by showing an overdue tenacity and metal in the tackle against the Irish, and it meant that the hosts were knocked out of their stride in the first quarter.

Willis and Henry Arundell were conspicuous in winning early turnovers, and strong carries by Manu Tuilagi and Maro Itoje signalled that England were not going to be cowed into submission.

Two Farrell penalties, the second after Andrew Porter had taken out Kyle Sinckler at a lineout, gave England a 6-0 lead, although a Sinckler ruck infringement allowed Sexton to narrow the gap to 6-3 with a penalty in reply. However, although England put together some sustained phase pressure in the Irish 22 it was the men in green who looked more dangerous in attack, and that precision told when Sexton kicked to the corner from a penalty on the half-hour.

The lineout catch by Ryan Baird saw Ireland set up a maul 15 metres out, but instead of a drive Josh van der Flier broke infield. The Irish openside pulled his marker, Alex Dombrandt, wide before slipping an inside pass into the path of Sheehan.

The big, athletic hooker showed a sharp turn of pace to race clear for the opening try, and Sexton’s conversion eight minutes before the interval gave Ireland the lead for the first time at 10-6.

The Steward incident which followed reflected the conundrum in the current concussion safety protocol. Even though he a had a millisecond to react, and the ‘brace’ position he took was not dangerous, he was deemed by referee Jaco Peyper not to have shown enough “duty of care” to Keenan.

The England full-back did nudge Keenan’s head with his elbow, and the Irish 15 failed an HIA, but there was a still a sense that the dismissal was at odds with natural justice.

The same could not be said of the overall result. A Farrell penalty early in the second half may have made it a one-point game for 12 minutes, but Ireland showed that when it matters they are in a different league to England in terms of confidence, intensity, and execution.

They are deserved 2023 Grand Slam winners, and on the evidence of this tournament overall, England do not deserve anything better than their fourth place finish.