A final victory for a historic title. Ireland won the fourth grand slam in their history in the Six Nations Tournament on Saturday March 18, overcoming a diminished but tough England team.
With the three bonus points granted in the event of a grand slam, Ireland ends up with 27 points out of a possible 28. The men of the XV of Clover affirm their current domination in the most beautiful way and confirm their status as favorites for the Rugby World Cup which will be played in France this fall. The Blues, who were counting on an English victory to hope to retain their title, finished second after their victory against Wales.
But nothing seemed to be able to prevent this Irish team from winning the tournament, not even the palpable nervousness of its players during this last match. In front of their public, Andy Farrell’s men were rough, and the clamor that rose in Lansdowne Road at the final whistle sounded almost like a sigh of relief, after a success that was anything but simple.
England diminished but eye-catching
The English striker was responsible for punishing their first mistakes with two penalties (0-6, 14th). But the inevitable Johnny Sexton put his men back in the running direction with a penalty that made him the best scorer in the history of the Tournament by overtaking his compatriot Ronan O’Gara. At the time of his penalty, Sexton received a standing ovation from the public for the last match of his 14th and last tournament, since he will retire after the World Cup in France this fall.
Lansdowne Road began to breathe easier when, on an inside return from Josh van der Flier for Dan Sheehan, the hooker resisted the percussion of Manu Tuilagi and Jack van Poortvielt to flatten in the in-goal and restore the advantage to the Greens (10-6, 34th). The expulsion of England full-back Freddie Steward, just before the break, should have definitely reassured them, but it took a try from Robbie Henshaw on the hour mark for Ireland to make the hole (17-9 , 62nd). But England, humiliated at home by France a week ago (53-10), never capitulated and finished with their heads held high, despite an unflattering record of three defeats for two successes.
An unchallenged domination
This victory in adversity is a good summary of this season where Ireland has more than justified its rank as the world’s first nation by overcoming all its main rivals. It is therefore with the flattering and cumbersome label of favorites that the Irish will land in France in September for the World Cup. As formidable in physical impact as they are capable of attacking at speed and in the open sea, Ireland are a marvelous machine for producing play and have no obvious weak points.
There was, last summer, the historic double victory in New Zealand (23-12 and 32-22) to win their first series of tests in the country of the All Blacks. The reigning South African world champions then came to break their teeth in Dublin (19-16), as did Australia (13-10) in the fall. And the most significant victory of the Tournament was the demonstration against France (32-19), in February. The Blues therefore have a lot to do to get back to the level of what could well be their opponent in the quarter-finals of their World Cup.
