Ireland 43-13 England: Anticipation builds for the two sides' first encounter at Croke Park during the pre-match formalities Girvan Dempsey attempts to run through England's defence but the early scoring is limited to penalties from both teams Jonny Wilkinson is first on the scoreboard but Ronan O'Gara puts Ireland 9-3 ahead with three penalties of his own England hit trouble when Danny Grewcock is shown a yellow card and Olly Morgan has to be replaced by Mathew Tait Dempsey then makes the most of Grewcock's trip to the sin-bin to go over after slick hands by the home side's backs Flanker David Wallace caps an impressive first half for the hosts when he extends Ireland's lead just before the break England's Grand Slam ambitions are on the rocks as O'Gara adds the extras and puts Ireland 23-3 ahead at the interval O'Gara adds another three points after the restart but a try by debutant David Strettle hauls England back to 26-10 The sides trade penalties but England know the game is up after Shane Horgan and O'Gara combine for Ireland's third try A fourth try from replacement scrum-half Isaac Boss inflicts the final damage as Ireland seal a record win over England Coach Eddie O'Sullivan and Gordon D'Arcy savour their 43-13 demolition of England and a revitalised Six Nations campaign
|