Irish News , Features & Sport

As they always tend to be, this calendar year of rugby for Irish teams was a seriously mixed bag of highs and lows. The year kick started with some massive turnouts in the Heineken from all provinces, with six wins from eight over rounds five and six, including two massive wins from Ulster over Leicester and Munster over Northampton, as well as the magic night in the Sportsground where lowly Connacht proved they could compete with an attritional elimination of Harlequins. The most under performing of the provinces over the two weeks was arguably Leinster, but they had massive days ahead of them. The Rabo also provided some excitement with Ulster fighting for a place in the top 4 and all the rest trying to catch Leinster and their massive margin. Once again it was only Ospreys who could fell the Blue giants, and they would of course go on to do it again. Munster had to live with a shock loss to Aironi away from home and for the remainder of the normal league looked a little hit and miss, winning in Cork against Glasgow by 14 points less than they should have and drawing against Scarlets. They had qualification in the bag for both knock outs however, job done. Ulster kept business as usual, except for their April losses against all three provinces. Each one deserved to the victor however, especially Connacht. Connacht finished last season’s league in the same vein as they have begun their European campaign this season. In the final weeks of the Rabo they notched up wins over Ulster and Aironi, a narrow loss to Munster as well as a draw against Glasgow. Their finest hour of the domestic league came with their emphatic win over Dragons though, the game that this current season may be measured against.

Then of course we had the resumption of the Heineken and the fixtures for Irish fans were mouthwatering, particularly due to meeting of Munster and Ulster in Limerick. Few gave it to the men in white, fielding mostly the same fifteen that had turned out for their biggest victories of the season, Munster surely had to have this one due to squad depth over anything else. But nobody could have predicted the wunderkind that is Craig Gilroy doing what he did. His try stands as one of the finest individual efforts ever seen in this competition, made all the more amazing by the fact that there is at least three occasions upon watching replays where one would say he should have passed the ball. But no, not Gilroy. He sees the line, the rest does itself. His miracle try proved decisive in a hard fought victory for the Ulstermen, and credit to Munster who fought valiantly having won their pool unbeaten and exorcised the demons of the season before. But it was Ulster’s day, one that sent them all the way to a final they had craved for 13 years. Leinster had an easier ride it has to be said, thumping Cardiff in the Aviva in a game that was over by half time and featured the now famous “psychic” pass from Sexton to Fitzgerald that had Will Greenwood drooling in the sky studio. Their battle was yet to come though. The Heineken Cup semi finals were surely one of the biggest Irish highlights of the Irish rugby year. Ulster had an arguably easier draw welcoming Edinburgh to the Aviva, a team that realistically had made it as far as they did with a serious rub of the green. As it turned out Ulster were possibly not as clinical as they could have been, though the result was never much in doubt thanks to a try from Wannenburg and the boot of Pienaar, though a late score from Edinburgh set up a final few minutes of expert defence from Ulster.

The real tension was across the seas though, Le Crunch indeed. The Leinster Clermont rivalry has become a joy to behold over the last few years, both teams seeming to endlessly run into each other in the Heineken and until this season Leinster always had a tendency to come away victorious. Their last victory over the French giants was this fixture, moved to Bordeaux and thus keeping Clermont unbeaten for now 51 ganes in Stade Marcel Michelin. Leinster arrived in the finest form they have ever been in to date, Clermont had just come off hammering Saracens away from home in the Quarter Final. Clermont stayed true to their class and held a deserved 12-6 lead after a first half where Leinster did look slightly sluggish. Then came an exhilarating ten minutes as the second half resumed with Rob Kearney doing what he does best, slicing defenders in two to offload for Healy to score a most important try. Kearney followed up his incredible display with a monster drop goal from the half way line and with a Sexton penalty, Leinster led 19-15. What followed was a shut up shop from the visitors and Clermont couldn’t seem to find a way forward. Then, that moment. Fofana stretched an arm over, Wayne Barnes went upstairs. For all the world it looked like the TMO could give it, inconclusive as it seemed. Save for that split second where it was clear enough anyway, that the ball had hit ground before receiving downward pressure. Scrum Leinster. Surely it was over? Not in a game like this as Clermont found themselves with a penalty. What followed was a flurry of tap and go as the French sought the try they wanted so badly, Barnes incurred the wrath of the crowd with what seemed like endless advantage, Leinster defended for their lives whilst Leo Cullen received a merciless attack at the posts, one which went on for an age and wasn’t noted by a citing commissioner. All until Sean O’Brien put rhe doubters at bay with a magnificent poach that led to Clermont holding on, penalty Leinster, on to Twickenham.

To be fair the final was slightly anti climatic after the displays in the knock outs. That isn’t to take away from either side, but for Irish fans it wasn’t exactly ideal to have two Irish sides in the game. Win for Leinster and they secure the glorious two in a row at the expense of Ulster. Win for Ulster and they finally follow up on the glorious team of 1999 that brought the cup to Ireland for the first time, but again at the expense of Leinster. As it played out it was Leinster who wanted it more, leaving the scoreboard looking grossly against Ulster and their talent, though the truth is they were in the game for much longer. By the final whistle it had come down to championship calibre and Leinster just had more. Paddy Jackson versus Jonathan Sexton was the pitch of the day and unfortunately for him, Jackson just didn’t have one of his better days. Thankfully he has composed himself in the Heineken much better and once more looks like the promising prospect he is, but on the day Sexton and Leinster won out. It was however still a great day for Irish rugby as a whole, with ample funds headed back into the system as a result of both teams progress, as well as Connacht once again securing qualification.

The summer was a dark one for Irish fans, as we woke up with the sun still struggling to shine to watch three tests against the mighty All Blacks. Kidney turned heads with selections such as Zebo but unfortunately heads quickly turned away as Ireland were thumped 42 – 10 in a game where after the first two tries against them, they very much did seem to just give up. Kidney for once could not take all of the blame, though his selection still fielded some of it. Then came that spectacular second test. It was New Zealand’s return to Christchurch, so horrifically ravaged by an earthquake and now reopening for its mightiest sons. Ireland didn’t stand a chance if you asked anyone. Yet somehow, after forty minutes, Ireland led 10-9, New Zealand only managing to capitalise on Irish infringements whereas the visitors had a wonderfully taken try under their belt. Further kicks from Sexton and Carter saw the game at 19 apiece with precious little time on the clock. Then came the scrum, the scrum that somehow has gone unmentioned since this test, but the scrum that arguably cost Ireland the game. With the Kiwis down to 14,Ireland won a scrum at the opposition 22. If nothing else it would have meant game on for a drop goal from Sexton. The scrum engaged, and wheeled. Penalty New Zealand. In defense of himself later on Nigel Owens argued that the scrum had wheeled due to a sideways movement from the Irish pack, an illegal wheel essentially. Whether or not this was actually the case, upon viewing again and again it is in no way blindingly obvious. What is obvious is that Ireland’s scrum was clearly more dominant all game and nine times out of ten decisions like this favour the dominant pack. Yes, it stinks a little of the Irish fan crying for a gimme from the ref, so what? No big time grand stand win has ever come without at least one. As it played out however New Zealand escaped and with a second drop goal attempt from Carter secured the win. A week later Ireland would go on to an absolute hammering at 60 nil and the summer came to a close on a whimper, with dark days looming for Ireland. And so we arrive in more present surroundings, after a shaky early season Leinster are hanging on for dear life in Europe but still stand a mathematical chance of qualifying. So too Munster who have had similar on/off form. Ulster have lost only one game since the season began and are odds on favourites of the Celtic and English teams to win the tournament whilst Connacht have already doubled their rewards of last season with wins over Biarritz and Zebre. In the national camp we had an underwhelming performance against South Africa, a barnstorming but ludicrously uncapped game against Fiji and then something that looked somewhat like the complete package against Argentina where Ireland seemed to find some form of a spark and crucially stayed in the top 8 of the world rankings. All in all it has been a rough and tumble year for Irish rugby, reaching extreme highs and even more extreme lows. One thing is for sure though, nothing is done and dusted with yet and we will be there every step of the way to cover it for you.