Second string Ireland humiliate Portugal with record-breaking 16-try rout

Ireland rounded off their two-match summer tour with a facile 106-7 win over Portugal in Lisbon that should have the authorities worried about the competitiveness of the expanded 24-team Rugby World Cup in 2027.

The Irish were 54-0 ahead at the break following a horrible eight-try defensive horror show by the hosts, and the chasm widened in the second to record-breaking proportions following eight more tries.

By the finish, a new mark has been set for the biggest win in their history, beating the 83-3 set in 2000 versus the USA.  The 16-try total also bettered the record of 13, also set in that American demolition at the turn of the millennium.

Interim Ireland boss Paul O’Connell, who was given the reins with Andy Farrell in Australia heading up the British and Irish Lions, had arrived at the Estadio Nacional looking to continue the depth-building mission impressively launched last weekend with a 34-5 win over Georgia in Tbilisi.

Here, he handed debut caps to starters Hugh Gavin, Shayne Bolton and Alex Kendellen and while two of them – Gavin and Bolton – struck for two first-half tries each, the lack of Portuguese fight meant that little or nothing could be taken by the Irish from this training-ground-like-runaround that was a terrible look for tier two international rugby in Europe.

Shambles

The Portuguese XV comprised seven local club players and eight earning a living in France’s Pro D2, but this team, marshalled by Simon Mannix, was a shambles compared to the side that flourished at the 20-team Rugby World Cup 2023 under Patrice Lagisquet.

There were a couple of fleeting reminders from two years ago; they still have some players committed to attempting to run it from anywhere and the sole try they scored was neat, but their unreliable in-structure play and their amateurish defence left much to be desired, and they looked well-beaten as early as the 13th minute following the concession of four early tries.

Ireland needed less than a minute to illustrate the gulf between the teams in what was the first Test between the countries.  A gallop from Jimmy O’Brien was the initial warning sign, and the danger became clear when Jack Crowley looked up and exploited the unfolding space.

He put in a well-placed kick ahead that bounced up into the hands of the scoring Stuart McCloskey, who benefited from Nuno Sousa Guedes’ hesitation.  Crowley converted from the touchline, and he also added the extras to his team’s other three early tries.

It was lineout ball that was the foundation for skipper Craig Casey to send Gavin racing through a massive gap on nine minutes.  Two minutes later, another break from full-back O’Brien set up his namesake, winger Tommy O’Brien, to sprint clear.

This early 28-0 surge was then completed by Bolton gathering a Casey box kick inside his own half, fighting off the resulting contact on landing and creating an unopposed run-in for himself from the halfway line.  Painfully, it was men against boys.

Even when they managed to raise a cheer on 20 minutes, the noise was quickly silenced by the TMO as the Sousa Guedes’ breakaway try they had been celebrating was chalked off due to a forward pass from Vincent Pinto.

The Portuguese cause was further damaged by the loss of Tomas Appleton, who exited injured on a stretcher following a lengthy stoppage for treatment.

Equipment malfunction

A communications issue added to this delay, referee Adam Leal returning to the field after a brief disappearance to explain there would be no more TMO in the game due to an equipment malfunction.  He insisted, though, that the Appleton incident had been checked and the Portuguese midfielder wasn’t the victim of foul play when cleared out at a ruck.

After play finally restarted, Ireland went on to usher Tommy O’Brien in for his second try on 24 minutes, the winger running the perfect support line on Crowley’s shoulder from a lineout move to take the pass and go in at the posts.

There was no staunching the Portuguese bleeding before the interval as three more tries were conceded.  A neat Cian Prendergast pass invited tighthead Thomas Clarkson to run free and round to score under the posts.

Next, Tom Ahern won an impressive breakdown turnover near his team’s 10-metre line and Casey went for a 50:22.  It looked like a poor kick but with two defenders idling and looking for the ball to roll out over the dead ball line, Bolton raced into the in-goal area to get the touch.

For once, Crowley didn’t have the accuracy off the tee to bag the extra points, but he was back on task less than two minutes later to make it 54-0.  A break from the back of a maul from Gus McCarthy scattered the Portuguese cover and when the ball came back infield, McCloskey gave the assist pass to Cooney for the try.

There was no let-up from the Irish when the second half began, as a scrum in their own 22 was the platform for Casey going in under the posts after a powerful Bolton break.

Tackling air

Crowley’s added points pushed the gap to 61, and it moved to 66 on 51 minutes when a low throw to the front of the lineout resulted in Prendergast successfully breaking down the short side off a resulting ruck.  Crowley scuffed his conversion, and he won’t want to be reminded either for tackling air two minutes later when Pinto breezed by him to set up Nicolas Martins for Portugal’s first converted try.

It wasn’t the cue for a consolatory fightback.  Within minutes, a Casey pass from scrum ball sent in sub winger Calvin Nash for an unconverted Irish score, and the 71-7 lead was added to by Ciaran Frawley’s converted try.  Next, Casey set up Prendergast and the records set in a 2000 hammering of the USA were now set to tumble.

Kendellen, the third debut starter in the Ireland XV, scored the record-making 14th try and another Crowley conversion left it 92-7, an 85-point margin greater than the 80 achieved in New Hampshire 25 years ago.  There was more to come, a converted Ben Murphy score and a penalty try completing Portugal’s humiliation.

The teams

Portugal:  15 Nuno Sousa Guedes, 14 Simao Bento, 13 Vincent Pinto, 12 Tomas Appleton, 11, Manuel Cardoso Pinto, 10 Hugo Aubry, 9 Hugo Gomes Camacho, 8 Diego Pinheiro Ruiz, 7 Nicolas Martins, 6 David Wallis de Carvalho, 5 Pedro Ferreira, 4 Antonio Rebelo de Andrade, 3 Diogo Hasse Ferreira, 2 Luka Begic, 1 David Costa
Replacements:  16 Abel da Cunha, 17 Pedro Santiago Lopes, 18 Martim Souto, 19 Guilherme Costa, 20 Francisco Almeida, 21 Vasco Baptista, 22 Antonio Campos, 23 Gabriel Aviragnet

Ireland:  15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Hugh Gavin, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Shayne Bolton, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey (c), 8 Cian Prendergast, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Tom Ahern, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Jack Boyle
Replacements:  16 Tom Stewart, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Cormac Izuchukwu, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Calvin Nash

Referee:  Adam Leal (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Anthony Woodthorpe (RFU), Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
TMO:  Matteo Liperini (FIR)

Sam Prendergast guides Ireland to victory over Georgia as Paul O'Connell's short reign begins in style

Paul O’Connell’s short reign in charge of Ireland got off to the perfect start as their understrength side cruised to a 34-5 victory over Georgia in Tbilisi.

Tommy O’Brien, making his debut after a fine season for Leinster, scored a brace within the opening 10 minutes as the visitors signalled their intent.

To their credit, the Lelos did respond just before the break through Tornike Jalagonia, but Ireland dominated the second period and sealed the win through Craig Casey and Nick Timoney tries, while Sam Prendergast added two penalties and four conversions.

O’Connell’s men travelled to Eastern Europe shorn of stars, who are of course with the British and Irish Lions, but they were still able to field a very talented squad in Tbilisi.

Plenty of players were seeking to prove their worth and their class showed in the early stages as they moved into an early 14-point lead.

From the kick-off, the visitors made ground with ball in hand and were across the whitewash after just two minutes when Prendergast’s chip through resulted in O’Brien touching down on debut.

The Leinster fly-half was given the nod over Jack Crowley for this encounter and soon after he had his second assist when the playmaker’s pass was once again collected by wing O’Brien.

It was the perfect start for the Irishmen but Georgia would soon get into the game and their scrum caused problems for the visitors.

The Lelos pressurised the opposition line and created a few opportunities but the try would not come as solid Ireland defence, combined with Georgian profligacy, harmed their hopes of a comeback.

Their all-time leading try-scorer Akaki Tabutsadze didn’t help matters by surprisingly failing to ground the ball with the line begging and that would ultimately cost Richard Cockerill’s men.

Although Jalagonia touched down at the end of the first half, they were unable to build on that score and duly found themselves out of the contest in the early stages of the second period.

Georgia once again switched off at the start of the half, but credit must also go to Ireland who manufactured an excellent try.

Calvin Nash was the instigator as the wing broke down the left before he found Ryan Baird, who then combined with Casey to finish it off.

Prendergast converted for the third time in the match and then added a penalty as Georgia’s hopes of a shock victory dissipated.

The Lelos were not helped by missing another try-scoring opportunity, this time through Vano Karkadze, who like Tabutsadze failed to keep control of the ball in the act of scoring.

Even with half-an-hour still remaining that was their chance gone as the visitors managed to control the remainder of the encounter.

Prendergast rewarded their dominance with a second three-pointer before the fly-half converted Timoney’s try with 10 minutes left to complete the scoring.

The teams

Georgia:  15 Davit Niniashvili, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Demur Tapladze, 12 Giorgi Kveseladze, 11 Alexander Todua, 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Tornike Jalagonia, 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Luka Ivanishvili, 5 Vladimeri Chachanidze, 4 Mikheili Babunashvili, 3 Irakli Aptsiauri, 2 Vano Karkadze, 1 Giorgi Akhaladze
Replacements:  16 Irakli Kvatadze, 17 Giorgi Tetrashvili, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Giorgi Javakhia, 20 Ilia Spanderashvili, 21 Mikheil Alania, 22 Tedo Abzhandadze, 23 Tornike Kakhoidze

Ireland:  15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Jamie Osborne, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Cormac Izuchukwu, 3 Tom Clarkson, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Jack Boyle
Replacements:  16 Tom Stewart, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Thomas Ahern, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Ben Murphy, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Calvin Nash

Referee:  Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees:  Adam Leal (England), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO:  Matteo Liperini (Italy)

Dan Sheehan hat-trick papers over ropey Ireland win over Italy

A hat-trick from Dan Sheehan propelled a poor Ireland to a 22-17 victory over Italy that keeps alive their slim hopes of a Six Nations three-peat on Super Saturday.

It was a ropey performance from the reigning champions as they struggled for fluency against the Azzurri, but still managed to come away with a bonus-point success.

Hugo Keenan scored Ireland‘s other try of the game but three missed conversions from Jack Crowley gave Italy an opening and they came agonisingly close to victory.

Monty Ioane and Stephen Varney scored Italy’s tries while Tommaso Allan converted both and fired over a penalty goal as the hosts picked up the losing bonus-point.

Ireland were out of sorts during the opening stanza and will have wondered how they went into the interval in front, this after they struggled for fluency against Italy.

It was a performance best summed up as clunky as they came off second best in most departments, except for the maul, which provided them with a half-ending score.

The Azzurri started the match in fine fashion as Tommaso Menoncello lit the touchpaper with a hard line before offloading to Paolo Garbisi, who sent wing Ioane over.

Mennoncello was causing Ireland problems with his big carries and made inroads again in the early stages, with Martin Page-Relo and Juan Ignacio Brex also on song.

However, Ireland’s maul cut loose from the outset and after Finlay Bealham was denied a try a five-metre scrum saw Crowley beautifully set up Keenan for the leveller.

Italy were then dealt a double injury blow to go with Dino Lamb’s earlier shoulder dislocation as both Lorenzo Cannone and Sebastian Negri came off after 30 minutes.

An Allan penalty after an obvious offside from Garry Ringrose helped to cushion those injuries for Italy, but they would rue a moment of ill-discipline before the half.

Replacement flanker Michele Lamaro was furious with himself for knocking the ball out of Jamison Gibson-Park’s hand at the base of a ruck and received a yellow card before Ireland went for the jugular.  It paid off as their maul bore fruit again and this time the try stood as Sheehan was at the tail of a fast moving set-piece for a 12-10 lead.

Crucially Ireland backed up that try with a score soon after the resumption when a penalty went to the corner and the maul yet again steered Sheehan over for a brace.

And things would get immediately worse for Italy from the ensuing kick off when replacement Ross Vintcent made head on head contact with Keenan which resulted in a yellow card that was later upgraded to red by the bunker, thus compounding the Azzurri’s third-quarter woes that have hindered their Six Nations over recent weekends.

Ireland sensed their hosts were there for the taking and they duly racked up their bonus point score on 58 minutes when Gibson-Park found Mack Hansen with a cross-field kick and the wing batted it back to hooker Sheehan who completed his hat-trick.  Crowley was wide from the tee and was replaced by Sam Prendergast shortly after.

Crowley’s missed conversions were suddenly amplified when a moment of Ange Capuozzo magic led to Varney going over and with Garbisi’s extras, Italy were in touch.

However, the Azzurri could not make their possession count late in the game and a red card for replacement hooker Giacomo Nicotera ended their hopes of a shock win.

The teams

Italy:  15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex (c), 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Joshua Zilocchi, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Michele Lamaro, 21 Ross Vintcent, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Leonardo Marin

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jack Conan, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Bundee Aki

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO:  Andrew Jackson (England)

Fantastic France thump Ireland despite Antoine Dupont injury as Simon Easterby's side suffer massive blow in search for historic Six Nations three-peat

France turned the 2025 Six Nations on its head as they produced a stunning display to hammer Ireland 42-27 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Much of the talk beforehand was about Fabien Galthie’s decision to go with a 7-1 split on the bench, but the decision paid off despite seeing their star man Antoine Dupont limp off in the first half and end with a forward in the backline after Pierre-Louis Barassi suffered a head injury.

Maxime Lucu came on for Dupont and was utterly magnificent as Les Bleus built on an 8-6 half-time lead given to them by Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s try and Thomas Ramos’ penalty.

Ireland had actually gone ahead after the break through Dan Sheehan, whose try followed two first-half three-pointers by Sam Prendergast, but the visitors would go on to thrash Simon Easterby’s charges.

They played some superb rugby at times and further tries from Paul Boudehent, Bielle-Biarrey, Oscar Jegou and Damian Penaud took them to a potentially defining Six Nations success.

France moved to the top of the table and, providing they beat Scotland next weekend, will end Ireland’s chances of claiming an unprecedented three-peat.

It was always going to be a brutal encounter and the opening quarter set the tone for the match as both teams went into contact viciously.

Ireland dominated the opening 20 minutes as they kept the French guessing with their dexterity with ball in hand.  Les Bleus did not help themselves by conceding a series of penalties, but the hosts were putting them under severe duress.

Somehow Galthie’s men managed to survive the onslaught with some incredible last-ditch defence and that proved crucial in the end result.

France eventually managed to edge themselves into the contest and, after having a try ruled out for a knock-on following a turnover, they opened the scoring minutes later.

It started with Thomas Ramos and Bielle-Biarrey linking up down the left-hand side before the wing chipped over the top.  Although Robbie Henshaw was there to clean up, earlier in the move Joe McCarthy cynically pulled Ramos back and was duly sin-binned.

With the lock off the field, the visitors took advantage as they mauled towards the line before Dupont spotted space out wide and Bielle-Biarrey was on hand to touch down.

However, the away side suffered what seemed like a huge blow when their talisman was taken off with a serious-looking injury after Tadhg Beirne landed on his leg.

Officials have clamped down on those type of acts over the past couple of years but not this time as it was deemed to have been an accidental collision.

Ireland would take advantage of that let-off as Prendergast’s two penalties to Ramos’ one kept them in the game at the interval.

They then moved ahead as Sheehan’s score from a dominant drive gave the hosts a 13-8 advantage, but from thereon in it was all about Galthie’s side.

The French were utterly magnificent and responded immediately to that effort from the hooker as a brilliant move resulted in Boudehent crossing the whitewash.

In that same attack, Calvin Nash took Barassi high and it resulted in a yellow card for the winger.

France would once again take advantage of the extra man when Penaud instigated a counter-attack and found Bielle-Biarrey on the left.  The youngster still had loads to do but, of course, the special talent found a way, kicking ahead and touching down.

At that point, Ireland were still just about in the game but the fresh French forwards were doing their job and another infringement enabled Ramos to extend the lead from the tee.

All the momentum was with the visitors and their ‘Bomb Squad’ made the desired impact as Jegou touched down from close range.

That was well and truly game over, with Ireland’s Grand Slam dreams fading, but they still wanted to really rubberstamp the win and that came through Penaud, despite a couple of late scores via Cian Healy and Jack Conan.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jamie Osborne, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Calvin Nash, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Ryan Baird, 22 Conor Murray, 23 Jack Crowley

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements:  16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Emmanuel Meafou, 20 Hugo Auradou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Anthony Jelonch, 23 Maxime Lucu

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO:  Ian Tempest (England)

Ireland in Wales scare but remain on course for Grand Slam

Ireland survived a huge scare to keep themselves on course for a Six Nations Grand Slam after they defeated Wales 27-18 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

In their first game since Warren Gatland’s exit, the Welsh were exceptional and gave as good as they got after a difficult start.

The visitors had controlled the first quarter, going 10-0 in front through Jack Conan’s try and Sam Prendergast’s penalty, but the hosts responded superbly.

A brace of Gareth Anscombe three-pointers got Wales back into the contest before Jac Morgan and Tom Rogers’ tries, which came following Garry Ringrose’s 20-minute red card, took them 18-10 ahead.

However, after Ireland returned to 15, the title favourites gradually assumed control.  Jamie Osborne’s score levelled the game while Prendergast added four more penalties in the second half to secure the win.

The build-up to the game in Cardiff had obviously been dominated by Gatland’s departure and the decision to bring in Cardiff’s Matt Sherratt on an interim basis.

Sherratt immediately made changes, bringing Anscombe and Max Llewellyn from outside the squad into the XV.

As a result, they looked a more balanced side on paper and it showed on the field, despite what appeared to be an ominous Ireland start.

Simon Easterby’s men have been impressive so far this Six Nations campaign and they looked to take their next step on the road to an unprecedented three-peat.

Like they did against Scotland, Ireland opened the match superbly, showing excellent intensity, physicality and skill set.  Wales struggled to cope and it was not a surprise to see Conan barrel his way across the whitewash.

Prendergast converted before the fly-half added a three-pointer as the visitors continued to control the gain line exchanges.

There were positive signs for Wales, however, with the scrum working well and the half-backs linking nicely to produce some promising moments.  That duly yielded two penalties for Anscombe as Welsh roars increased.

Belief started to seep into the hosts’ game and with Ringrose also in the sin-bin, they began to put the away side under real duress.  They pounded at the Irish line and Morgan eventually found his way over to remarkably take his team into the lead.

Ringrose’s yellow was then upgraded to red during the interval and with the visitors still down a man, they took advantage through Rogers’ stunning finish.

It was a hugely surprising turn of events, with serious questions being asked of the title favourites, but there is a reason why they have won this competition for the past two seasons.

Easterby’s men rode out the rest of the 20-minute red card period and in fact reduced the deficit through the boot of Prendergast before they levelled matters after Bundee Aki came onto the field for Ringrose.

Although there were a couple of customary bursts by Aki, it was fellow New Zealand-born star James Lowe who was the creator for the try as his incredible aerial skills allowed him to tap the ball back in-field for Osborne to touch down.

Ireland were back in the game but Wales were still vibrant and creating opportunities in attack.  However, the physicality of Ireland, combined with the kicking game of half-backs Jamison Gibson-Park and Prendergast, pinned the hosts back.

Under pressure, they conceded a couple of kickable three-pointers which the fly-half converted to take the Irish six points ahead with 10 minutes remaining.

Despite Prendergast’s kicking prowess, it was another mixed display from the playmaker and his errant clearance allowed the Welsh to get on the front foot.

They created a half-chance for Ellis Mee in the left-hand corner but, when it was deemed correctly that he had knocked on, that ended their hopes.

Wales duly succumbed to their 15th successive Test loss when a fifth Prendergast penalty rubberstamped the triumph for Ireland.

The teams

Wales:  15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau , 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Jac Morgan (c), 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Joe Roberts

Ireland:  15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Dan Sheehan (c), 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Bundee Aki

Referee:  Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO:  Ian Tempest (England)

Ireland make Six Nations title statement with dominant win over Scotland

Ireland took another step towards an unprecedented Six Nations three-peat as they secured a thoroughly deserved 32-18 triumph over Scotland at Murrayfield.

Following their victory over England last weekend, they made it two from two in 2025 with another impressive display.

Ireland effectively controlled the match from start to finish, going 17-0 in front via Calvin Nash and Caelan Doris tries after half-an-hour, while Sam Prendergast added seven points off the tee.

There was a brief surge from the Scots as Duhan van der Merwe touched down and Blair Kinghorn kicked two penalties, but further scores via James Lowe and Jack Conan secured another bonus-point victory for the Six Nations title holders.

After a slow start in their Six Nations opener against England, Ireland were quite the opposite in the early stages of this encounter.  They were fast out of the blocks, playing at a tempo and intensity which the hosts simply could not deal with.

Easterby’s charges were hugely impressive and Robbie Henshaw set the tone with a powerful drive through the heart of the Scottish defence.  They then moved the ball through the phases with typical accuracy, forcing their opponents to infringe twice deep inside their own 22.

Instead of going for the posts, the visitors went for the jugular and their bravery was rewarded when Prendergast’s long pass was collected and finished by Nash, who was a late replacement for Mack Hansen.

It was an outstanding opening to the game from Ireland and they continued to dominate as pretty much everything went wrong for Scotland.

Their only success came at the lineout, with the Irishmen not helped by quick fire HIAs for Tadhg Beirne and then his replacement, Ryan Baird.

However, it was not enough to alter the momentum with all the chances being created by the back-to-back defending champions.  The Scots were perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty try when Duhan van der Merwe impeded Nash, but it did result in a yellow card for the gargantuan wing.

Ireland were also held up twice over the line by the desperate hosts, who did well to keep their tryline intact for the next 20 minutes.

That was until captain Doris found his way across the whitewash.  By that point, Prendergast had extended their lead off the tee and Scotland had seen Darcy Graham and Finn Russell both go off with head injuries after a nasty collision, but the Irishmen’s second try was nothing less than they deserved.

Once again, their young fly-half was at the heart of it when he broke down the left-hand side.  He decided not to throw the off-load and it proved to be the correct decision as his captain was on hand a phase later to touch down.

Scotland had been comprehensively outplayed and the loss of Russell certainly did not help matters, but they at least got themselves on the scoreboard on the stroke of half-time thanks to Van der Merwe’s brilliant finish.

Considering how the opening period went, it seemed like just a bump in the road for an Ireland side in complete control, but Scotland appeared revitalised at the start of the second half.

Kinghorn immediately reduced the arrears with a penalty and, following a stunning Huw Jones break, the full-back added another off the tee.

All of a sudden, Scotland found themselves back in the contest and within a converted try of their opponents, but that threat was only brief and Ireland soon re-established their dominance to put the game out of the home side’s reach.

Lowe, Doris and Jamison Gibson-Park set up a fine position and it was capitalised on by the left wing as he showed his strength to cross the whitewash.

Then came the decisive blow as with a quarter of the match remaining Easterby’s men killed off the contest when Gibson-Park’s utterly stunning kick was collected by Hugo Keenan.  Although the full-back was hauled down just short, Conan was on hand to go over and secure their second win.

Prendergast then added a three-pointer to extend Ireland’s lead before Scotland had the final word through Ben White’s late try.

However, it was barely a consolation score given the title ambitions they had before the tournament.  Instead, they succumbed for the 11th successive time to Ireland.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Garry Ringrose

Referee:  James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO:  Richard Kelly (New Zealand)

Ireland's superb second half sees England shredded in Six Nations

Simon Easterby’s brief stint in charge of Ireland started in ideal fashion as they came from behind at the break to earn a 27-22 victory over England at the Aviva Stadium.

The Red Rose were impressive in the first half and held a 10-5 advantage at the interval through Cadan Murley’s try and Marcus Smith’s penalty.

Jamison Gibson-Park had responded for an Ireland side who lacked the fluency we’ve come to expect, but they rectified that in the second period.

They dominated the final 40 minutes, with tries from Bundee Aki, Tadhg Beirne and Dan Sheehan sealing the win.

It was yet another missed opportunity for England, who undid all the good work after the interval, despite Tom Curry and Tommy Freeman’s efforts giving them a losing bonus-point.

While few expected England to win against the defending Six Nations champions, most thought they would provide Ireland with stern opposition and so it proved as Borthwick’s side began on the front foot.

A mixture of accurate kicking and some fine moments in broken field kept the Irish defence guessing and they got their reward early on.

Marcus Smith had already shown the threat they can pose when he linked with Freeman to send the Northampton Saint scampering down the right.

Although that attack broke down, the visitors were deservedly on the board soon after.  Ollie Lawrence made the initial incursion before play was shifted left and Henry Slade’s grubber through was picked up and finished by Murley on his Test debut.

Following that fine attacking start, it was all about defence for the Red Rose as Ireland got into groove with the ball.

It offered a chance for Sam Prendergast to prove his selection and, at times, it worked well, but too often passes went to ground.

Ireland were certainly better than they were in the Autumn Nations Series, however, particularly with their intensity and physicality in the contact area, and it put the opposition under pressure.

It resulted in a string of penalties and eventually referee Ben O’Keeffe ran out of patience, leading to a yellow card for Smith.

The Red Rose held out well for the next 10 minutes but a simple missed tackle was eventually their undoing as James Lowe shook off Alex Mitchell and found Gibson-Park, who finished brilliantly.

Prendergast missed the conversion, though, and that proved costly as England moved five points clear at the interval through a Smith three-pointer.

Unperturbed, the hosts continued to dominate possession and territory, while the visitors’ discipline remained poor.  England were unfortunate with a few decisions but there were also some needless penalties and that gave Ireland front foot ball.

Eventually, the dam broke when they isolated Aki one-on-one with Smith, but the Ireland centre still did superbly to bounce him off and finish under pressure.

Ireland now had the momentum while the Red Rose continued to make errors and another infringement enabled Prendergast to make his first kick of the game.

The hosts were very much beginning to find their rhythm and they concocted a brilliant attack when Lowe took an outstanding line through the heart of the English rearguard.  It was Beirne who supplied the excellent support and the lock duly touched down to end the game as a contest.

All that Ireland required for the perfect evening was the bonus-point and that came through the returning Sheehan, who latched onto some more wonderful work from Lowe.

England did finish with a flourish thanks to scores from Curry and Freeman, but it was very much the hosts’ day.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Robbie Henshaw

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Tom Curry, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Tom Willis, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Fin Smith

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  James Doleman (New Zealand), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Out of sorts Ireland fight back against improving Wallabies to celebrate Cian Healy feat with a win

Ireland fought back from 10-0 down to overcome an improving Wallabies 22-19 in a tense Autumn Nations Series meeting at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.

Tries from Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris and Gus McCarthy along with the extras off the tee from Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley saw the Irish to a workmanlike victory.

Australia will look back on this match as one they perhaps should have won, with their only try coming from Max Jorgensen as Noah Lolesio kicked 14 points in the fixture.

It was a first period somewhat lacking in entertainment as Australia went into the break deservedly leading 13-5 thanks to a try from young Jorgenson and Lolesio’s boot.

Ireland did start strongly though and almost opened the scoring but for full-back Hugo Keenan having the ball stripped from his grasp just five metres from the try-line.

The Wallabies compounded the spillage by slotting a penalty on nine minutes, this after Ireland lock Joe McCarthy had made head contact with Australia’s Rob Valetini.

Australia had their tails up at this point and would cross the whitewash on 19 minutes, with an in-form Lolesio instrumental in Jorgenson diving over on the left wing.

Lolesio’s excellent touchline extras took Australia into a 10-0 lead but Van der Flier’s short-range carry soon brought Ireland back into it at 10-5.  However, the hosts would have expected Prendergast to add the conversion as a bad miss meant the Wallabies still had a nice cushion in their locker with just over a quarter of the match gone.

They extended the lead to eight on 33 minutes when prop Taniela Tupou’s interception and wayward offload resulted in a breakdown penalty which Lolesio coolly nailed.

It was perhaps symptomatic of Ireland’s first-half woes that the action finished with a misfiring lineout deep in Australia’s 22, with the latter trotting in feeling positive.

However, Ireland were much improved on their return and fly-half Prendergast chipped away at that lead on 43 minutes with a penalty from in front of the posts for 13-8.

Six minutes later they would hold the lead for the first time in the fixture when a kick to the corner led to quick ball and number eight Doris diving under the uprights.

That lead was snatched back by Australia though on 55 minutes when replacement Tom O’Toole was pinged for not releasing the ball carrier, meaning it was now 16-15.

Loleshio was on target once again on 63 minutes with a long-range effort as the Wallabies went 19-15 up and were looking in a positive space ahead of the game’s finale.

However, the bench saved Andy Farrell’s men as the injection of speedy service from Craig Casey coupled with a maul try from the promising McCarthy sealed the victory.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Garry Ringrose

Australia:  15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Joseph Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Max Jorgensen, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Billy Pollard, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Harry Potter

Referee:  Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO:  Eric Gauzins (France)

Ireland run in eight tries to hammer Fiji as Sam Prendergast and debutant impress

Ireland produced a clinical performance led by fly-half Sam Prendergast as they beat Fiji 52-17 in their Autumn Nations Series clash at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Tries from Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Craig Casey, Mack Hansen (2), Bundee Aki, Gus McCarthy and Ronan Kelleher saw them to a comfortable victory.

Prendergast, on his first Test start, hooker McCarthy and centre Aki impressed in a positive run-out for Andy Farrell’s youthful and much-changed starting XV.

Kitione Salawa and Setareki Turagacoke were Fiji’s try-scorers while Caleb Muntz kicked two conversions and a penalty as they suffered a heavy away defeat.

Ireland enjoyed a dominant opening period as they crossed for four tries that were all converted by Prendergast, who had an eventful first start in the jersey.

The fly-half was involved in plenty of his team’s success in the first half but might count himself rather fortunate to see his yellow card for a shoulder to the head of Fiji flanker Salawa on eight minutes remain that colour.  He certainly made the most of his reprieve as he returned in fine fettle as Ireland turned the screw.

Before his indiscretion Ireland had taken a 7-0 lead on five minutes when a kick to the corner led to a lineout move that saw debutant hooker McCarthy put the ball back inside to Doris who set the scoreboard in motion.  Prendergast added the extras before that contentious moment involving Salawa followed soon after.

Fiji came close to responding on 10 minutes through wing Jiuta Wainiqolo but his reach for the try-line out wide was just short and Ireland soon made them pay.

A tap and go seven metres out saw a slick interchange from the Ireland forwards before Doris found flanker Van der Flier, who crashed over for a converted score.

Fiji did manage to reduce the margin thanks to a long-range penalty from Muntz but a yellow card for Eroni Mawi soon after once again put them on the back foot.

Ireland were beginning to purr and despite being denied a try for Cormac Izuchukwu due to a forward pass, the hosts would cross twice more before the interval thanks to a diving finish on the right wing from Casey after a lineout maul before Prendergast’s cross-kick put it on a plate for Hansen in added time to make it 28-3.

It took Ireland seven minutes after the resumption to extend the lead and for the third time of the game hooker McCarthy was the provider, this time for Aki.

With Farrell’s charges sitting 35-3 to the good and plenty of time left there was a danger the match could get away from the Fijians but they refused to roll over.

In fact they were next to cross the whitewash when flanker Salawa scrambled his way over on 55 minutes, with Muntz’s conversion reducing the gap to 25 points.

The contest was becoming increasingly open as a try from the back of a driving maul from young hooker McCarthy was soon cancelled out by Turagacoke’s score.

But one always felt that Ireland were still very much on top and they were helped by Turagacoke’s yellow card before Casey put Hansen over for his second try.

There was still plenty of time for one final crossing and it came from replacement hooker Kelleher as Ireland put the seal on an emphatic win on home soil.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Cormac Izuchukwu, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Tom O’Toole, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Cian Prendergast, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Stuart McCloskey

Fiji:  15 Vuate Karawalevu, 14 Jiuta Wainiqolo, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu (c), 12 Josua Tuisova, 11 Ponipate Loganimasi, 10 Caleb Muntz, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Elia Canakaivata, 7 Kitione Salawa, 6 Meli Derenalagai, 5 Temo Mayanavunua, 4 Mesake Vocevoce, 3 Luke Tagi, 2 Tevita Ikanivere, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements:  16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Haereiti Hetet, 18 Samu Tawake, 19 Setareki Turagacoke, 20 Albert Tuisue, 21 Peni Matawalu, 22 Vilimoni Botitu, 23 Sireli Maqala

Referee:  Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (RFU), Sam Grove-White (SRU)
TMO:  Mike Adamson (SRU)

Ireland unconvincingly edge Argentina to bounce back from All Blacks defeat claiming a hard-fought three-point victory

Ireland bounced back from their second home loss under Andy Farrell to defeat Argentina 22-19 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday evening.

Jack Crowley led the charge for the hosts in the Autumn Nations Series encounter scoring 12 points including a try, a drop goal and two conversions while Mack Hansen and man of the match Joe McCarthy also crossed the whitewash.

For Argentina, Tomas Albornoz continued his stunning form in 2024 nailing all five of his shots at goal ― four penalties and a conversion ― while Juan Cruz Mallia scored Los Pumas’ only try of the match.

After losing their opening November international to the All Blacks, Farrell’s charges bounced back with a hard-fought and unconvincing victory over the Pumas who produced an inspired performance.

Ireland looked to apply pressure early on after a charge down following the restart but Argentina forced a turnover and cantered upfield with Argentina winger Bautista Delguy beating several defenders before Matias Moroni crossed the whitewash.  However, the try was chalked off after Moroni was judged to have tackled fly-half Crowley high and was sent to the sin bin with his tackle also being reviewed.

Andy Farrell’s charges quickly pounced and made the most of the man advantage as they struck from the resulting lineout with Rónan Kelleher powering off the back of a slick lineout move and moments later it was Crowley who forced his way over for his first-ever Test try which he duly converted.

Ireland scored their second try in just six minutes when Garry Ringrose tore through the defence after a spilt ball and raced into the Argentina 22.  Jamison Gibson-Park whipped a wide pass to Tadhg Beirne who unselfishly passed in side to Hansen to score his first try of the year after making his return from injury against New Zealand a week ago.

Moroni breathed a sigh of relief as his yellow card was not upgraded to a red one by the Foul Play Review Officer as they judged that it was a low level of danger allowing the centre to return to the action with Argentina down 12-3 after Albornoz converted a penalty moments before he returned.

Ireland looked to have gone even further ahead as Robbie Henshaw manufactured a stunning try-scoring opportunity only for the ever-impressive Beirne to spill the ball over the line with Moroni again involved with the Irish forward losing his control of the ball on the centre’s upper body.

In a helter-skelter 16 minutes, it was Ireland’s turn to go down a man as tighthead prop Finlay Bealham was sent to the sidelines for a croc roll on his opposite number Joel Sclavi ― and Albornoz added another penalty ― with his card also remaining yellow after an off-field review.  Ireland’s response came through Crowley again as the pivot nailed a drop goal to cancel out Los Pumas’ penalty on 21 minutes.  Kelleher ran an obstruction line four minutes later, allowing Albornoz another shot at reducing the lead and he duly took it.

McCarthy barged over for Ireland’s third when they were back to 15 men as James Lowe snuck through the smallest of holes after a lineout and the second rower crashed over as Ireland went 22-9 up after 32 minutes.

Argentina applied the pressure in the final moments of the half twice coming close to scoring a late try but were denied once by the bounce of the ball and another time by Beirne holding up the ball carrier, a turnover with the clocking going red denied the visitors as Ireland held a 13 point advantage at the break.

Argentina come out firing

After the break, it was the Pumas who drew first blood as Mallia scathed through the initial defence before racing into the Ireland 22 and skinned Hansen with a superb step to score the South American side’s first try of the game and cut the lead to six points.  Ireland were put under the pump in the early knockings of the second half and McCarthy paid the price after he was caught offside and was sent to the bin.  From the resulting penalty, Albornoz made it a three-point game.

There was no change to the score line for the next 20 minutes, with both sides enjoying long passages of play with the ball in hand, particularly Ireland with Farrell’s men notably turning down a shot at goal in order to run a set move from a tap and go ― they set a rolling maul from the tap but Argentina stalled them and turned the ball over a few phases later.

Momentum looked to have swung in Los Pumas’ favour after that turnover and a later pilfer at a breakdown but that was undone by a horrid Francisco Gomez Kodela clearout that resulted in the replacement prop being yellow-carded.  While the prop was off for the remainder of the match, his actions were deemed not to warrant a red card.

Ireland again went on the offensive but were denied by another breakdown pilfer giving the Pumas another shot at a famous victory, but Contepomi’s charges came up short despite working their way deep into the host’s 22 but they were shut out as the clock went into the red.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Jamie Osborne

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Matias Moroni, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Justo Piccardo

Referee:  Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees:  Craig Evans (WRU), Angus Mabey (NZR)
TMO:  Richard Kelly (NZR)

All Blacks put lacklustre Ireland to the sword to bring 19-game home winning streak to a swift end

A try from Will Jordan and 18 points from the boot of Damian McKenzie helped New Zealand defeat Ireland 23-13 in the Autumn Nations Series in Dublin on Friday.

The workmanlike result means it’s now back-to-back wins for the All Blacks over the Irish after their Rugby World Cup quarter-final victory in Paris last year.

Jordan scored New Zealand’s only try of the match while McKenzie dominated with the boot, landing six penalty goals as Scott Robertson’s team celebrated.

Ireland crossed through Josh van der Flier while Jack Crowley kicked a conversion and two penalties as their Autumn Nations Series starts with a dismal loss.

Indeed, Ireland were out of sorts in their first hit-out of the end-of-year campaign, with a high error and penalty count hampering their performance.

Much of the pre-game talk had centred on the spat between Rieko Ioane and Johnny Sexton following the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final.  It was therefore perhaps fitting that the centre led the haka and was the recipient of a chorus of boos when his name was read out.

Unfortunately the extra spice before kick off did not result in a Test match full of quality and entertainment as it was a cagey affair littered with mistakes and penalty offences.

Ireland took an early lead on seven minutes when an escort running line from soon-to-be Leinster centre Jordie Barrett was spotted by referee Nic Berry and Crowley made no mistake off the tee.

McKenzie would level soon after though as a break from scrum-half Cortez Ratima led to Ronan Kelleher infringing at the resulting ruck.

That would spark a period of dominance for the All Blacks but there was little to show for it on the scoreboard, with a crooked lineout in the Ireland 22 frustrating those in black.

McKenzie did eventually manage to put points on the board with penalties in the 28th and 37th minute, the latter coming after Ireland second-row James Ryan was pinged for not rolling away.

However, the hosts were given a shot in the arm just before the break when the aforementioned Barrett was yellow-carded for making contact with the head of the oncoming Garry Ringrose.  Crowley obliged off the tee to make it 9-6 to the All Blacks at half-time.

Ireland came out from the dressing room with their ears ringing and it showed as they pressed early on and were rewarded for their efforts when Van der Flier barged over from close range for a try converted by Crowley.

At 13-9 in front, the hosts were in a promising position but Asafo Aumua’s excellent work at the breakdown allowed McKenzie to step up and reduce the gap to one point, this despite having to put the ball back on the tee after it fell off.

The All Blacks fly-half struck the post soon after from long distance but made no mistake on the hour mark following a scrum offence, sending over the three points that put his side back in front at 15-13.

McKenzie was looking increasingly assured off the tee and made Iain Henderson pay on 64 minutes after the Ireland replacement offended at a breakdown.

But the best was still to come for the All Blacks as a slick passage of play saw the ball given plenty of width and eventually Aumua found Jordan for the key score on the left wing, wrapping up a famous victory that sees Ireland lose in Dublin for the first time in three-and-a-half years.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Jamie Osborne

All Blacks:  15 Will Jordan, 14 Mark Tele’a, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Replacements:  16 George Bell, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Stephen Perofeta

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (England), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

Ciaran Frawley drop goals stun Springboks as Ireland level series

Two late drop goals from replacement fly-half Ciaran Frawley helped Ireland claim a stunning 25-24 victory over the Springboks at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.

It had looked like South Africa would secure a 24-22 win as the seconds ticked down, but up stepped Frawley with time up to send over his second drop goal of the evening.

Conor Murray scored the only try of the game while Jack Crowley kicked a conversion and four penalties as Ireland’s success levels the epic two-game series at one apiece.

Handre Pollard kicked all of the Springboks’ 24 points as they could not break the Irish try-line, with Frawley’s incredible late efforts silencing a packed Kings Park Stadium.

The extraordinary twist came at the end of an undisciplined second period from Ireland during which stand-in captain Caelan Doris was sin-binned.

Victory was just Ireland’s second on South African soil and even more impressive given they were without five of their first-choice stars after injured pair Dan Sheehan and Bundee Aki joined tour absentees Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen and Hugo Keenan on the list of unavailable talent.

Farrell dropped skipper Peter O’Mahony to the bench as part of four personnel changes from the opening Test and warned his players to expect South Africa to be “twice as good” as seven days ago.

The hosts stuck with an unchanged 23, including selecting the most experienced starting XV in the nation’s history, following a first success over the Irish since 2016.

Springboks full-back Willie le Roux was forced off by a head injury, while team-mates Franco Mostert and Eben Etzebeth were left with bloodied faces during an intense opening in which Crowley calmly slotted a penalty.

Ireland’s physical start was deservedly rewarded with a superb 14th-minute try.

Slick interplay between Jamie Osborne and Robbie Henshaw opened up the hosts’ defence, leaving scrum-half Murray to add to his score in Pretoria with another diving finish.

A bruising encounter showed little sign of relenting and Ireland prop Andrew Porter was left bloodied for the second successive week after Pollard’s penalty put South Africa on the scoreboard.

The impressive away side dominated the opening third of the match.

Yet they were reliant on alert full-back Osborne producing a crucial last-ditch tackle just metres from the try line to preserve their lead after Kwagga Smith charged down a Crowley kick to race clear.

Pollard and Crowley exchanged further penalties, while Doris was held up on the line by Pieter-Steph du Toit moments before the break.

The Six Nations champions should really have turned their territory into a second try but had to settle for the consolation of another three points from the boot of Crowley to end a fierce first half 10 points in front.

South Africa returned fired up and moved within four points following two more Pollard penalties, the second of which was converted after stand-in skipper Doris was yellow-carded for a crocodile roll on Malcolm Marx.

Poor discipline was piling pressure on Ireland and proved extremely costly during a monumental shift in momentum.

The Springboks led for the first time in the 58th minute following Pollard’s sixth penalty of the evening and then quickly restored the lead through two more kicks from the same player after Crowley’s boot briefly stemmed the one-way traffic.

Ireland remained in touching distance going into the closing stages and, after again being held up on the line, reduced the deficit to just two points thanks to Frawley’s fine drop goal from distance.

Andy Farrell’s men were on the verge of suffering a second successive loss for the first time since the 2021 Six Nations before Frawley repeated the trick in a fascinating climax to stun South Africa.

The teams

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Ireland:  15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Stuart McCloskey

Referee:  Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (RFU), Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO:  Ian Tempest (RFU)

Springboks end Ireland hoodoo as Farrell’s men rue missed opportunities

The Springboks claimed their first victory over Ireland since 2016 as they overcame the Six Nations champions, winning 27-20 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

Kurt-Lee Arendse crossed for an early try for South Africa before Cheslin Kolbe went over in the second period, with a 78th minute penalty try from a scrum sealing the win.

Ireland’s tries came via Jamie Osborne, Conor Murray and Ryan Baird, while James Lowe had a stunning long-range effort chalked off due to an earlier ruck offence.

The Irish will also rue Caelan Doris going agonisingly close to grounding from a close-range carry and Lowe’s error that led to Kolbe’s try as the Boks go 1-0 up in the series.

In worrying scenes, Ireland also saw scrum-half Craig Casey carried off on a stretcher after he hit his head on the pitch during a forceful tackle from RG Snyman.

Andy Farrell’s tourists were seeking a fourth-successive Irish victory over South Africa following a captivating pool-stage win at last year’s World Cup in France.

The Springboks recovered from that 13-8 Paris defeat to retain the Webb Ellis Cup, while forthright comments emanating from their camp since have further stoked a growing rivalry between Test rugby’s two leading sides.

Home supporters humorously fanned the flames by adapting the words of Ireland’s unofficial World Cup anthem ‘Zombie’, chanting “in your head, in your head, Rassie, Rassie” in reference to the frequent mind games of head coach Erasmus.

South Africa responded to the big build-up and made a rapid start as jet-heeled wing Arendse collected Siya Kolisi’s pass to sidestep Osborne and cross on the left.

Ireland travelled to the southern hemisphere having bounced back from a familiar World Cup quarter-final exit by retaining the Six Nations title.

Jack Crowley’s 13-minute penalty put the visitors on the scoreboard before Handre Pollard twice split the posts at the other end to move the Springboks 10 points ahead.

Farrell’s men were struggling to build momentum amid a low-energy first-half display.

Crowley missed a routine penalty to reduce the deficit before Lowe’s magnificent offload as he was ploughed into touch by a combination of Kolbe and Jesse Kriel, after a slick pass from Dan Sheehan gave international newcomer Osborne a simple score.

Ireland were perhaps fortunate to only trail 13-8 at the break.

Erasmus brought on all six of his replacement forwards 10 minutes into the second period in an attempt to remain on top of the physical battle, just before visiting prop Andrew Porter departed with a bloodied hand.

Following his fine first-half assist, Lowe looked to have restored parity by darting clear to touch down.

But referee Luke Pearce disallowed the 58th-minute effort on review as replacement hooker Kelleher was deemed to have played the ball on the floor during the turnover.

Ireland’s misfortune was compounded by the worrying departure of Casey, before Lowe, in his attempts to keep the ball from going into touch, left Kolbe with an unchallenged run to the try line.

The contest then burst into life during a frenetic finish during which the Springboks were reduced to 14 men when Arendse was sin binned following repeated infringements inside the hosts’ 22.

Murray ― on for the stricken Casey ― dived over to put Ireland back in touching distance but a penalty try for the Springboks, prior to Baird’s consolation, ultimately decided a breathless encounter.

The teams

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Ireland:  15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Garry Ringrose

Referee:  Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (RFU), Mike Adamson (SRU)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Ireland seal back-to-back Six Nations titles after victory over Scotland

Ireland made it back-to-back Six Nations title triumphs after securing a hard-fought 17-13 victory over a rugged Scotland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.

Coming into the game on the back of a shock loss to England, the Irish regrouped and ground out the win thanks to tries from front-row duo Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter.

Jack Crowley added seven points off the kicking tee against a steely Scotland side who while struggled with ball in hand, put in a formidable defensive showing on the road.

Scotland’s only try of the match came late on through Huw Jones, with Finn Russell kicking a conversion and two penalties as they finish with three defeats and two wins.

Andy Farrell’s hosts were well below their free-flowing best in Dublin but avoided any major ‘Super Saturday’ drama to retain the championship title.

Underdogs Scotland crossed the Irish Sea with a slender chance of snatching the title but realistically seeking to secure a first Triple Crown since 1990 following a chastening round-four loss to Italy.

Their mission to rip up the script began in positive fashion thanks to an early Russell penalty before Sheehan was gifted his fifth try of the tournament by George Turner’s overthrown lineout.

The fortunate 13th-minute score, converted by Crowley, did little to settle Irish nerves and the fired-up Scots kept up the pressure with another three points from Russell’s boot.

Farrell’s men were struggling to gain meaningful territory during a cagey opening period punctuated with errors and frequent kicking exchanges amid a subdued atmosphere.

Crowley squandered a long-range penalty to stretch the slender advantage as resolute Scotland remained relatively untroubled, while offering a threat on the counter attack.

Ireland, who had been forced to replace injured full-back Hugo Keenan with Jordan Larmour just before kick-off, trudged down the tunnel leading by only a single point and with major room for improvement.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend acknowledged pre-match that his side needed to produce “something special” to spoil the Irish party and bounce back from a dismal display in Rome.

Crowley made their uphill task slightly harder with a straightforward penalty before the visitors received a major reprieve when Tadhg Furlong’s apparent touch down was chalked off following a lengthy review as referee Matthew Carley deemed the ball had been dislodged.

Heroic last-ditch defending was the only thing preventing a rampant home side showing renewed purpose from fully taking control of the contest.

Scotland flanker Andy Christie superbly halted the weaving Calvin Nash with the try-line in touching distance before rusty Ireland replacement Garry Ringrose inexplicably fumbled.

Ringrose, making his first appearance of the tournament following a shoulder injury, atoned with a lung-busting intercept run which led to Ireland’s crucial second try.

Robbie Henshaw was adjudged to have been held up on the line in the immediate aftermath before Porter subsequently powered over from a tap-and-go penalty following a yellow card for Ewan Ashman.

Supporters responded with a rousing rendition of the Fields of Athenry, fully believing the job was done.

However, home fans were forced to endure a nervy final couple of minutes after replacement fly-half Harry Byrne was sin binned for a head-on-head challenge on Russell and Scotland centre Jones broke clear to touch down.

Ireland duly avoided any further issues to jubilantly celebrate a fifth Six Nations title in 11 years ― and sixth overall ― to underline their status as the northern hemisphere’s leading nation.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Garry Ringrose

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Andy Christie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Kyle Rowe

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Marcus Smith drop-goal denies Ireland another Six Nations Grand Slam

A last-ditch drop-goal from replacement Marcus Smith saw an impressive England stun Ireland 23-22 in an absorbing Six Nations clash at Twickenham on Saturday.

The shock result denies the Irish a shot at back-to-back Grand Slams as they came off second best to a much-improved performance from the Red Rose in front of their fans.

Tries from Ollie Lawrence, George Furbank and Ben Earl were added to by a conversion apiece for George Ford and Smith before the latter landed that late drop-goal for the win.

The Achilles heel of failing to capitalise on visits to the 22 appeared to be harming England once again and their 8-6 lead was a poor return for half an hour of dominance that produced just a single try for Lawrence.

But they were inspired in the closing stages, soaking up James Lowe’s 72nd-minute try that appeared to have snatched the win for Ireland and then striking through Smith amid a late do-or-die assault.

England dazzled from the start and their first try had Furbank’s influence stamped all over it as he launched the counter-attack and then helped flash the ball to Lawrence, who finished in the left corner.

The early score developed into a full-scale onslaught as inspired England poured forward, directed by Ford and with Earl, Ollie Chessum and full debutant Immanuel Feyi-Waboso making telling contributions.

Bundee Aki made ground with every carry as Ireland’s main weapon but he was swimming against the tide as the white shirts pressed again and a second Lawrence try was ruled out because of a knock-on.

The crippling handling errors and turnovers that led to Scotland retaining the Calcutta Cup in round three had vanished, replaced by players running hard on to flat passes and punching holes in the visiting defence.

Yet for all the hosts’ dominance, successive Jack Crowley penalties meant they trailed 9-8 and as Ireland produced their first sustained attack the fly-half landed a fourth shot from the tee.

England were guilty of inviting pressure when Ford missed a routine penalty and Furbank took the ball into touch, but when their line were breached for the first time in the 44th minute it was because of their opponents’ killer instinct by exploiting Henry Slade’s positioning in the blitz defence to conjure a try for Lowe.

Furbank hit back quickly by racing over in the left corner after slick approach work from his team-mates and suddenly the pendulum swung again.

Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony was sent to the sin-bin for hands in the ruck and England seized their chance, battering away at the green wall through route one until Earl forced his way over.

Smith replaced Ford and Danny Care came on for his 100th cap but the Harlequins fly-half was unable to stop Lowe with his despairing late tackle attempt as Ireland crept back in front.

Elliot Daly missed with a long-range penalty attempt but there was still time for England to conjure the Six Nations win, Smith splitting the posts after his team had battered away at the whitewash.

😱 THE DRAMA!#GuinnessM6N @EnglandRugby pic.twitter.com/tdA5i2EPDl

― Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 9, 2024

The teams

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Chandler Cunningham-South, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Danny Care, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Elliot Daly

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Jack Conan, 22 Conor Murray, 23 Ciaran Frawley

Referee:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees:  Andrea Piardi (Italy), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Ireland keep Grand Slam hopes on track after Six Nations win over Wales

Ireland kept their Grand Slam dreams on track after they overcame a dogged Wales outfit 31-7 in their Six Nations clash at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.

Tries from Dan Sheehan, James Lowe, Ciaran Frawley and Tadhg Beirne saw Andy Farrell’s charges to the five points, their third try bonus-point of this Championship.

Wales had a penalty try to show for their efforts as they suffer their third defeat of the campaign after narrowly going down to Scotland and England in previous rounds.

Ireland‘s ominous march towards another clean sweep continues next month against England and Scotland, while winless Wales host France in round four ahead of a possible wooden spoon shoot-out with Italy.

A largely inexperienced Wales team crossed the Irish Sea as overwhelming underdogs on the back of narrow defeats to the Scots and Steve Borthwick’s side.

Visiting head coach Warren Gatland insisted he travelled with belief rather than hope and urged his players to make “everything uncomfortable” for the fancied hosts.

Wales’ bid to disrupt began with some colossal defending as the home team’s early dominance was initially rewarded only by a long-range Jack Crowley penalty.

Yet Ireland’s well-oiled machine persisted with wave after wave of attack to break down the staunch resistance and take control of the scoreboard.

Hooker Sheehan powered over at the end of a line-out maul in the 21st minute to claim his fourth try of the tournament before Calvin Nash later teed up Lowe to touch down in the left corner.

Wales finally enjoyed some forays into Ireland’s 22 just before the break.

But Sam Costelow’s decision to kick a penalty to the corner failed to pay off, while a couple of costly fumbles ensured they went into half-time scoreless for a third match on the bounce, at 17-0 down.

Any potential fears Wales had of joining Italy in being nilled in Dublin were extinguished within three minutes of the restart as Tomos Williams’ quick tap penalty led to a momentum shift.

Italian referee Andrea Piardi awarded a penalty try at the end of a lengthy review of a collapsed maul on Ireland’s line, with Beirne sent to the sin bin for illegally changing his bind.

Fired-up Wales were well and truly in the ascendancy at that stage but failed to make further inroads on the scoreboard in Beirne’s absence before Ireland restored order.

After the bulldozing Bundee Aki was denied a try on review for Robbie Henshaw’s knock on, Frawley, deputising for the injured Hugo Keenan, gleefully dived under the posts to celebrate his first Test start in style.

Wales came close to a consolation score in the closing minutes, during which Ireland replacement James Ryan was sent to the sin bin.

Yet, with Beirne’s late finish compounding their misery, they ultimately slipped to a 10th defeat from their last 11 Six Nations fixtures as their wait for a first championship win in Dublin since 2012 goes on.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Ciaran Frawley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Oli Jager, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Jack Conan, 22 Conor Murray, 23 Stuart McCloskey

Wales:  15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements:  16 Ryan Elias, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Mason Grady

Referee:  Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (England), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO:  Eric Gauzins (France)

Clinical Ireland nil Italy as perfect start to Six Nations defence continues

Ireland made light work of Italy in their second game of this year’s Six Nations as they cruised to a dominant 36-0 six-try victory at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Sunday.

After their outstanding performance against France in Marseille last Friday, the Irish were looking to make it two wins from two and completed another maximum haul.

Tries from Jack Crowley, Dan Sheehan (2), Jack Conan, James Lowe and Calvin Nash saw Andy Farrell’s men go into the Six Nations fallow week with 10 points on the table.

For Italy is was a hugely disappointing day at the office as they could not land a blow on reigning champions Ireland, with this their second successive loss in the tournament.

Ireland’s display could certainly have been more ruthless but it was more than enough to beat the perennial wooden spoon winners and secure a 17th successive home win.

Farrell’s men remain on course to become the first side to win back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams ahead of hosting Wales on February 24 and March appointments with England and Scotland.

Italy arrived at a sold-out Aviva Stadium as overwhelming underdogs and seeking a first championship success on Irish soil on the back of a positive performance in a three-point defeat to England.

Paolo Garbisi shanked an early penalty to give the Azzurri the lead, before Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey released provincial team-mate Crowley to gleefully register a landmark five points.

The seventh-minute score initially did little to settle the hosts amid a subdued Sunday afternoon atmosphere, which faded fast from eight-year-old Stevie Mulrooney performing a rousing rendition of Ireland’s Call.

Farrell’s starting XV, showing six personnel changes from Marseille, initially looked disjointed as the contest descended into a scrappy affair.

Energetic bursts from Hugo Keenan momentarily lifted the crowd and led to a second score in the 24th minute, with Crowley, Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Henshaw ultimately combining to tee up Sheehan.

Blasts of Zombie by the Cranberries ― the team’s World Cup anthem ― greeted each Ireland try and rang out again three minutes before the break when Conan bulldozed across the line after Joe McCarthy was held up.

Ireland had the bonus point in the bag within five minutes of the restart as hooker Sheehan, who also crossed against Les Bleus, claimed his second try of the afternoon.

Centre Henshaw was perhaps harshly denied a score due to an adjudged double movement before grounding.

But Ireland, who saw full-back Keenan limp off with an apparent leg issue, would not be denied for long.

Impressive Leinster wing Lowe added further gloss to the scoreboard with a powerful 62nd-minute finish, shortly after Italy centre Tommaso Menoncello was sent to the sin bin for illegally stopping him by sticking out a leg.

Following Garbisi’s wayward penalty, outclassed Italy offered little attacking threat and rarely entered the hosts’ 22.

Another fruitless trip to the Irish capital was compounded two minutes from time when Munster wing Nash collected Jamison Gibson-Park’s pass to score for the second week in a row, with replacement 10 Harry Byrne slotting the extras to add to two Crowley conversions.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Caelan Doris (c), 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Jordan Larmour

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Lorenzo Pani, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Michele Lamaro (c), 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosuè Zilocchi, Andrea Zambonin, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Martin Page-Relo, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Federico Mori

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Luc Ramos (France)
TMO:  Eric Gauzins (France)

Ruthless Ireland make perfect start to Six Nations against 14-man France

Ireland put in an outstanding performance as they kicked off their Six Nations title defence with a clinical 38-17 bonus-point win over France in Marseille on Friday.

It was a ruthless effort from Andy Farrell’s men as they capitalised on Paul Willemse’s early yellow card and then eventual sending off to pick up a maximum on the road.

Ireland‘s tries came via Jamison Gibson-Park, Tadhg Beirne, Calvin Nash, Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher, with Jack Crowley kicking 13 points in a classy game at fly-half.

Damian Penaud and Paul Gabrillagues crossed in defeat for the French on a forgetful night at the Orange Velodrome as they went down to a disappointing Six Nations loss.

The two teams came into a blockbuster showdown seeking to ease disappointment at falling short in their efforts to lift the Webb Ellis Cup in the autumn and having each lost influential captains.

Antoine Dupont’s temporary unavailability, as he focuses on his country’s sevens squad for this year’s Paris Olympics, afforded a start to scrum-half Maxime Lucu, while Crowley was given a chance to stake his claim as long-term fly-half successor to the retired Johnny Sexton.

Farrell’s men began in the ascendancy and led through an early Crowley penalty before Willemse was ordered off for ploughing into prop Andrew Porter.

A relieved Willemse had just learnt his yellow card would not be upgraded to red on review when Gibson-Park latched on to a fine Bundee Aki offload to ensure Ireland capitalised on their temporary numerical advantage.

Three points from France full-back Thomas Ramos’ penalty briefly improved the mood in the stands before Beirne collected Crowley’s pass to easily beat Jonathan Danty and dive over under the posts at the end of sustained Irish pressure.

Willemse’s reprieve proved only to be fleeting as he was dismissed eight minutes before the break following another dangerous challenge, this time on Caelan Doris.

Ireland were in complete control but head coach Farrell would have been frustrated to only hold a 17-10 half-time lead after Penaud, who moments early was repelled by a superb Hugo Keenan tackle, produced a spectacular finish to Matthieu Jalibert’s pass.

𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐳 𝐋𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬 🙌🇫🇷

What a response from @FranceRugby's Damian Penaud#GuinnessM6N #FRAIRE pic.twitter.com/v86eIKJvS7

― Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 2, 2024

The visitors set aside the setback to restore their 14-point advantage six minutes after the restart as Munster wing Nash marked his first Test start with a memorable maiden try after being freed by Doris.

Deprived of Dupont, France were largely rudderless in attack.

But Fabien Galthie’s side again cut the deficit when Gabrillagues’ score was awarded following a lengthy review, an incident compounded from an Irish perspective by new captain Peter O’Mahony being sin-binned for bringing down the maul.

Ireland once more earned breathing space 18 minutes from time when Sheehan peeled off a rolling maul to finish his own line-out.

The staggeringly-simple score secured a merited bonus point for the dominant visitors and proved to be the fatal blow to French resistance.

Yet there was more punishment to come for the ragged hosts as replacement hooker Kelleher bulldozed over to cap a fine Ireland performance and ramp up pressure on Les Bleus head coach Galthie.

The teams

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Yoram Moefana, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Gregory Alldritt (c), 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements:  16 Julien Marchand, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Posolo Tuilagi, 20 Paul Boudehent, 21 Cameron Woki, 22 Nolann Le Garrec, 23 Louis Bielle-Biarrey

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Jack Conan, 22 Conor Murray, 23 Ciaran Frawley

Referee:  Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

All Blacks knock out Ireland in thrilling Rugby World Cup quarter-final

New Zealand produced an incredible performance to beat Ireland 28-24 in a thrilling Rugby World Cup quarter-final at the Stade de France on Saturday.

It was a quite phenomenal game in Paris as the underdog All Blacks dug in to keep Ireland out in the closing stages after a breathtaking multi-phase attack.

Earlier, New Zealand tries from Leicester Fainga’anuku, Ardie Savea and Will Jordan were built on by Richie Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett’s extras off the tee.

Bundee Aki and Jamison Gibson-Park scored for Ireland and that was added to by a second-half penalty try, Johnny Sexton kicking seven points for his side.

A devastating defeat in Saint-Denis halted Ireland’s remarkable winning run at 17 matches, while signalling the end of the career of veteran captain Sexton.

Ireland came into a mouthwatering contest in the unfamiliar position of being marginal favourites.

Following a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of Friday’s school attack in the northern French city of Arras, Ireland’s raucous travelling fans drowned out the Haka with a rousing rendition of the Fields of Athenry.

Yet New Zealand shrugged off the hostility and a few nervy mistakes in the opening minutes to lead through early penalties from Mo’unga and Barrett.

Ireland had repelled 30 phases in the build up to the first of those kicks but, despite plenty of possession, were struggling to fully find their usual attacking fluidity.

Ian Foster’s men had no such issues and duly increased their lead when wing Fainga’anuku ― playing instead of Mark Telea, who was dropped for a disciplinary breach ― exchanged passes with Rieko Ioane to finish a flowing team move on the left.

Ireland were quickly staring down the barrel of another last-eight exit to add to seven previous ones.

A routine Sexton penalty eventually got them up and running on the scoreboard before Aki superbly evaded five failed tackles to touch down and significantly cut the deficit against the country of his birth.

However, as the tide threatened to turn, the All Blacks were not about to roll over.

With five minutes of the half remaining, Savea dived over on the right to shift the momentum of a helter-skelter encounter back in favour of the southern hemisphere side.

Resilience is a major facet of Farrell’s Ireland and they emerged from an intense opening period just a single point behind.

In the aftermath of Aaron Smith’s temporary departure due to a deliberate knock-on, Gibson-Park brilliantly wriggled over from a line-out maul and Sexton again added the extras to leave the contest tantalisingly poised.

New Zealand were doing a decent job of keeping Ireland at arm’s length.

They again stretched the scoreboard in the 54th minute when the impressive Mo’unga exploited a gap between Josh van der Flier and Dan Sheehan following a line-out to burst forward and send the jet-heeled Jordan darting for the right corner for a 25-17 advantage.

Ireland suffered another setback when Sexton skewed wide with a three-point attempt at the posts.  However, five minutes they were celebrating being awarded a penalty try as Codie Taylor collapsed a maul and was sin-binned.

The moment that sealed the win for the All Blacks! 🙌#RWC2023 #IREvNZL pic.twitter.com/iXWGEx6rZ2

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 14, 2023

Barrett missed a penalty but landed another to keep the scoreboard ticking over for the All Blacks going into the anxious final stages.

Ireland desperately pushed for a late twist but ultimately ran out of steam to suffer a first defeat since the opening match of last summer’s stunning Test series victory in New Zealand, leaving a distraught Sexton heading for retirement.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Jimmy O’Brien

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO:  Tom Foley (England)

Ireland enhance Rugby World Cup credentials as they knock out Scotland

Ireland further enhanced their Rugby World Cup title credentials after they dominated Scotland in their final pool fixture, winning 36-14 on Saturday.

It was a ruthless performance from the top ranked team in global rugby as Ireland ran in four tries in the first period and two more after the interval.

James Lowe, Hugo Keenan (two), Iain Henderson, Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose crossed the whitewash while Johnny Sexton kicked six points.

Scotland were shell-shocked by that opening 40 minutes and only late scores from Ewan Ashman and Ali Price came as consolation as they bow out.

Gregor Townsend's men required a heroic win by eight points or more at Stade de France to snatch progression at the expense of their opponents.

But the Irish emphatically underlined their status with a thrilling display of attacking verve to avoid major drama in a feisty encounter.

Lowe's early try settled any nerves before Keenan crossed either side of a score from the recalled Henderson to quickly take the game away from the shell-shocked Scots before the break.

Sheehan and Ringrose added to the embarrassment before Scottish pair Ashman and Price claimed quickfire consolations.

Ireland will take on the All Blacks in the last eight, seeking to avenge the 46-14 thrashing suffered at the same stage of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

Head coach Andy Farrell perhaps has cause for concern ahead of that showdown due apparent injuries suffered by wings Mack Hansen and Lowe.

Scotland, meanwhile, face an early flight home for the second successive tournament, with South Africa going through as Pool B runners-up to take on hosts France.

Premature departures for Blair Kinghorn, Jamie Ritchie and Darcy Graham due to fitness issues contributed to their woes, while Ollie Smith was shown a yellow card for causing a mass brawl.

The Scots came into the competition with one of their most talented teams in years but, following a chastening evening in the French capital, were left to rue being placed in the most difficult group alongside the reigning champions and the world's number one team.

Permutations, premature elimination and the slim possibility of the Springboks crashing out dominated the build-up to a titanic qualification shoot-out in Saint-Denis.

A deafening roar greeted the teams and the decibels were raised further among the dominant Irish support with just over a minute on the clock when Hansen sent Lowe over in the left corner after Ringrose dummied his way beyond Grant Gilchrist.

Scotland roared back and showed a statement of intent by kicking a series of penalties to the corner, forcing Ireland to ferociously repel prolonged pressure.

But their cause was not helped by losing full-back Kinghorn, whose 50th cap lasted just nine minutes, and captain Ritchie, while Ireland wing Hansen also went off.

Ireland's defiant defending was matched equally by awesome attacking enterprise and they stretched the scoreboard significantly with two quickfire tries.

Delightful slick interplay from right to left unlocked the Scottish backline, culminating in Ringrose teeing up the onrushing Keenan in the 27th minute, before Henderson marked his first start of the tournament by bulldozing over minutes later.

☘️ Hugo Keenan finishing a wonderful Ireland try. #IREvSCO #RWC2023pic.twitter.com/fPTrUWpNzy

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 7, 2023

Far from thinking about the knock-out stages, Scotland trudged down the tunnel at the break fearing humiliation.

Ireland's well-oiled machine led 26-0 ahead at that stage with a bonus point in the bag after Sexton set up Keenan's second and then sent over his third successful conversion.

Scotland desperately needed to show some fight and did so as tempers boiled over early in the second period during a melee sparked by Smith's off-the-ball trip on Sexton.

Players from both sides piled in, with Pierre Schoeman and Sheehan ploughing over an advertising board, before instigator Smith was sin-binned.

Sheehan was on the floor again minutes later, this time diving over to claim Ireland's fifth try before Farrell wisely withdrew talisman Sexton, in addition to five of his forwards.

Jack Crowley's fine cross-field kick sent over Ringrose before Scottish resistance finally materialised in the shape of a pair of well-taken scores, each converted by the largely subdued Finn Russell.

Replacement hooker Ashman made an immediate impact by galloping over on the right to ensure his side were not whitewashed, before scrum-half Price finished a fine team move.

Yet their endeavours mattered little as Ireland comfortably marched on thanks to a 17th successive win and a ninth in a row against the eliminated Scots.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Stuart McCloskey

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 WP Nel, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 Luke Crosbie, 22 George Horne, 23 Ollie Smith

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)