Rugby

[Bizz]

OK Moss I know you will understand we are hammering them at the moment. It is a joy to see US depriving the English of the GRAND SLAM

there is the joy there is the power of our will.

24-8 I'm moo don't know if I'm there to reply oh by god what a game we hammered them really.

GRAND SLAM DREAM SHATTERED

Edited March 19, 2011 by Bizz

[Bizz]

80 YEARS and the Irish Hammered them

[Bizz]

80 YEARS and the Irish Hammered them

what a pleasure to be able to wipe the smirk off Martin Johnston face after the game.

pure 8 years President pleasure. what an assho**

Edited March 19, 2011 by Bizz

[Bizz]

Ireland destroyed England's Grand Slam hopes as Brian O'Driscoll became the all-time leading try scorer in the history of the Six Nations.

Three Jonathan Sexton penalties gave Ireland an early 9-0 lead which they extended as Tommy Bowe scythed over.

Toby Flood finally got England on the board with a penalty but Sexton made it 17-3 at the break.

O'Driscoll crossed for the record 25th try before Steve Thompson collected a consolation score for England.

The result was a crushing disappointment for the visitors who were chasing a first Grand Slam since 2003 when England manager Martin Johnson captained them to a thumping 42-6 win in Dublin.

But the youthful visitors - 10 of the side were 25 or under - were on the back foot from the first whistle and Ireland never looked like losing as they secured a seventh win in eight attempts against England.

The hosts looked far more fired up than the visitors, were the better side at the breakdown for much of the match and looked much more threatening with ball in hand as they ended a disappointing championship on a vibrant note.

Ireland butchered England at the first scrum and soon took the lead as Sexton - back in place of Ronan O'Gara at fly-half - popped over a penalty after the visitors were off-side at a line-out.

The hosts dominated early territory and possession and doubled their advantage when Chris Ashton was penalised for a high tackle on Sexton and the fly-half landed his second penalty.

Ireland were doing a great job of turning over possession as they prevented the England ball carrier from getting to ground, and Declan Kidney's side were also playing with pace and width in attack.

They looked to have pulled further clear with a marvellous try, but Bowe's final pass to O'Driscoll was correctly ruled forward.

It was a disappointment for the captain as it would have taken O'Driscoll clear as the all-time leading try scorer in the history of the Five and Six Nations, but his side had been awarded an advantage and Sexton duly made it 9-0 with just over a quarter of the match played.

England, who had been forced to bring on Simon Shaw in the second row for the injured Tom Palmer, had barely registered as an attacking force.

And when they finally earned a very kickable penalty, Flood's kicking boots deserted him and he pulled it badly to the left of the posts.

The mistake was immediately compounded as Ben Foden was forced into a desperate defensive kick and Jamie Heaslip carried the ball back with menace.

The entire England defence was caught off-side and Sexton tapped the resulting penalty and committed the defence before sending Bowe striding over.

Sexton missed the conversion but with less than half an hour on the clock England's dreams of the Grand Slam were as good as over.

They finally managed to get on the board through a Flood penalty but a bad half continued for the visitors as they lost Ben Youngs to the sin-bin.

The 21-year-old England scrum-half had endured a difficult time, not helped by conceding a silly penalty at a scrum.

And when England just managed to halt a David Wallace charge for the line Youngs took the ball into touch and then threw it into the crowd.

Sexton made no mistake with the penalty and England were 17-3 down at the break, a margin which got worse as O'Driscoll crossed for his record-breaking 25th try seven minutes after the re-start.

The iconic Ireland captain finished off another sweeping move by rounding Louis Deacon and diving over in the corner.

The resounding chorus of the Fields of Athenry was hushed only as long as it took Sexton to drill over the conversion and make it 24-3.

England gave themselves some hope as replacement hooker Steve Thompson intercepted an Eoin Reddan pass and scampered over from 40m, but the normally reliable Wilkinson could not convert.

As the game wore on the visitors enjoyed increasing possession but they rarely threatened to score and their Grand Slam hopes had disappeared long before the final whistle sounded to spark a party in Dublin.

I'm go,en to bed now

Edited March 19, 2011 by Bizz

[bkkmick]

Jeez, that was great.

[MSingh]

St Patrick's an Englishman, yet you revere him..

[craigt3365]

How about we move this over to the Sport Forum? This is not really Thai related.

[ukrules]

It was a very bad result

[QED]

Hmmm..... 6 Nations Champions, Calcutta Cup, not a bad result methinks.

An annoying defeat due to attitude rather than ability, but a hollow victory for the Irish, coming 3rd in the competition.

England - 6 Nations CHAMPIONS 2011