Ireland hold off 14-man England to win Six Nations Grand Slam
SIX NATIONS REPORT: Hooker Dan Sheehan scored two tries to help steer Ireland to a 29-16 victory over England on Saturday for their fourth Five/Six Nations Grand Slam.
Ireland skipper Johnny Sexton became the Six Nations’ all-time record points scorer after landing a penalty, also going on to convert Sheehan’s double and another try by Robbie Henshaw.
It was a dream final Six Nations Test for the talismanic Irish fly-half.
Ireland went into the game knowing a victory or draw would be enough to seal the title, but were made to work by England, who had full-back Freddie Steward sent off on the stroke of half-time.
England started brightly and put the first points on the board with Owen Farrell slotting over a penalty in the eighth minute, and a second three-pointer shortly after.
The Irish were turning the pressure on but were let down by unforced errors with James Lowe throwing away possession with a loose blind pass.
Sexton set his own personal landmark for Six Nations points scoring and got the hosts on the board with a penalty from distance in the 19th minute.
His watchword being always for the team not himself the personal landmark mattered less than Sheehan’s try in the 33rd minute.
The Irish hooker, beautifully fed by Josh van der Flier, stormed through a gaping space in the English defence to touch down.
Sexton converted for 10-6 to put Ireland’s noses in front for the first time and rouse a previously subdued crowd.
The Irish ended the half not only up on points but also a man to the good.
England fullback Steward was sent off after prolonged debate when he turned sideways and connected with Hugo Keenan’s head, a collision that saw the Irish player replaced by Jimmy O’Brien.
The English, aided by Irish handling errors, took the game to the home side, Farrell reducing the lead to just a point in the 51st minute with his third penalty.
Ireland were rattled, epitomised by a nervy clearance kick by Sexton — the captain holding his hand up to apologise to his teammates and then waving his hands in the air to gee them up.
Tempers were fraying with Ireland prop Andrew Porter having a go at Owen Farrell but following that Ryan Baird calmed them down with a brilliant turnover.
A few minutes later the Irish eased the pressure considerably as Henshaw, who missed the Grand Slam-clinching match in 2018 due to injury, crashed over.
Sexton, whose sublime crossfield kick led eventually to the try, converted for 17-9 with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Ireland finally put it to bed as a brilliant offload by Jack Conan to Sheehan saw the hooker go over in the corner, Sexton converting brilliantly from the touchline.
The English, however, did not bow their heads with Jamie George going over for a try Farrell converted.
Seconds later Sexton limped off the pitch for a final time in a Six Nations match – shrugging off a medical staff member who wanted to help him – and receiving a standing ovation.
England lost another man with the clock ticking down as Jack Willis was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle.
Appropriately just as Sheehan was being named man of the match his replacement as hooker, Rob Herring, went over — Ross Byrne’s conversion went wide.
However, that mattered not a jot as the seconds ticked down, the crowd burst into a rendition of ‘Fields of Athenry’, and the perfect Six Nations farewell for Sexton in his hometown.
Man of the match: Fullback Hugo Keenan looked dangerous with the ball in the first half, but he will be remembered for being knocked down by Freddie Steward just before half-time. Lock Ryan Baird also had a strong performance up front, while Robbie Henshaw looked lively in the second half. However, the award goes to hooker Dan Sheehan, who scored two tries in the win. He was just powerful with ball in hand when he was on the field.
Moment of the match: The red card for Freddie Steward just before half-time is the moment that will stand out. It will go down as a controversial call from Jaco Pepyer and fans will be wondering if the result would have been different had England had a full team in the second half.
The scorers:
For Ireland:
Tries: Sheehan 2, Henshaw, Herring
Cons: Sexton 3
Pen: Sexton
For England:
Try: George
Con: Farrell
Pens: Farrell 3
Red card: Freddie Steward (England, 40′ – foul play, elbow to opponent’s head)
Yellow card: Jack Willis (England, 76′ – foul play, tip tackle)
Teams:
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (captain), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 9 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan, 4 Ryan Baird, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Jimmy O’Brien.
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 Owen Farrell (captain), 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 David Ribbans, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Joe Marchant.
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
