Ireland 29-16 England: Johnny Sexton leads hosts to Grand Slam glory

The game started long before the final whistle. A good couple of days, to be precise. Everyone knew how this one went, despite England’s best efforts to rain down on the parade.

Patrick Duffy, the former Dallas actor, pulled up in a 1965 Cadillac to kick off St. Patrick’s weekend celebrations on Friday and was treated to an emerald green birthday cake. “I’ll make a wish,” he said, closing his eyes, and not even the wishes of a million revelers could have turned this into an English victory.

During the final minutes of the game, 52,000 men, women and children rose to their feet to sing the Fields of Athenry in perfect harmony. It was like listening to the greatest choir in the world. The year 2023 will now sit alongside 1948, 2009, 2018 in Irish rugby history. His fourth Grand Slam. A Grand Slam built in the image of his English coach Andy Farrell, who may be honored with his own float when the parade returns to Dublin next year.

Outside the stadium, tickets were passed from hand to hand at a great price per piece. It’s safe to say they weren’t paying a lot of money to watch Steve Borthwick’s England, even if his team went home with some pride restored after last week’s thrashing at Twickenham.

Aviva Stadium gets a bad rap for its atmosphere, but the anthem here was sung loud enough to burst the strongest eardrums. The children sat with their fingers in their ears as the final verse of Ireland’s call reached a chilling crescendo.

Dan Sheehan put Ireland ahead just before half-time, scoring a try after a well-worked lineout

Freddie Steward was sent off on the brink of halftime for a dangerous tackle on Hugo Keenan

Ellis Genge drank a whole can of Red Bull before kick-off and his England team left with a point to prove. With the intention of crashing the party. Watching from the highest seats in the house, Ireland’s attacks were laid out in textbook-like images. Groups of runners drawn along lines so elaborate they could have been drawn with a ruler.

But every time they got the ball, there was a snarling Englishman waiting when they looked up. Jack Willis, Manu Tuilagi and Ellis Genge flew into each other, teeth bared, chewing the gears of the oiled Irish machine. They realigned at such speed that Ireland was forced to make mistakes. With his father watching, Owen Farrell took advantage and kicked two early penalties to give England a six-point lead. Hugo Keenan spectacularly sliced ​​a clearance shot and Irish passes came to the ground at an alarming rate. Pressure? Nerves? your bet

Ireland had to defend their line. James Lowe’s hair bow came undone as he brought Tuilagi into contact and tensed his arms, jet-black locks flying around him, cheering the crowd as if he were headlining a heavy metal festival. This one was tighter than we expected and the Irish needed all the help they could get.

As predicted, England was also far from perfect. They ran away from the innings and conceded 10 penalties in the first half alone. Genge and Alex Dombrandt took the men off the ball, Maro Itoje spilled a restart and Kyle Sincker was penalized on the break. Soon, it was Sexton’s turn with the kickoff.

His first kick saw him overtake Ronan O’Gara as the top points scorer in the Six Nations, drawing the number 10’s first standing ovation of the day. There were signs of danger as the Irish running backs broke through the England defence, led by the effortless lines of Hugo Keenan and Josh van der Flier. His first attempt since a perfectly executed lineout, with hooker Dan Sheehan exploiting the space around the edge of the maul. The kind of early stage brilliance we expect from the number one team in the world.

Robbie Henshaw’s try just after the hour mark gave Ireland a comfortable lead over England.

Sheehan again broke through the England defense late on, bringing Ireland one step closer to victory.

Suddenly, at the last minute of time, things got much worse for England. Freddie Steward, the kindest man in their ranks, tried to get away from Keenan and clumsily slammed his elbow into his face. No harm was intended, but Jaco Peyper saw no mitigating factors and deemed it worth one of the softer sendoffs of the year. ‘Red card?’ Farrell argued. Many in the crowd agreed with his surprise.

England adapted. They slowed down the game, taking their time with kicks into the box and taking the ball out of bounds. From time to time, Anthony Watson would send an electric shock through the stands with his footwork, throwing a few crumbs of comfort to those in the high Twickenham office.

Replacement fullback Jimmy O’Brien spilled a high ball and Genge won a penalty in the scrum, allowing Farrell to close the deficit to one with the first points of the half. Maro Itoje celebrated every small victory, cheering on his teammates when Peter O’Mahony spilled the ball on contact.

Jamie George’s try inspired hopes of a comeback for England ahead of Jack Willis’s yellow card

Rob Herring put the game out of doubt in the final minutes, scoring Ireland’s fourth try

Needing some extra charge on his green machine, Farrell sent in Jack Conan. Moments later, Ryan Baird won a turnover that changed the momentum on his 22 and Ireland sent the ball downfield. Watson was roughed up over his test line after claiming a Sexton cross kick and Ireland launched from the scrum. Bundee Aki pushed his way through midfield and rose to his feet to send Robbie Henshaw in for the try.

There was cheers as Dan Cole entered for his 100th cap, but he was given a front row seat to Ireland’s next try. Taking advantage of the numbers advantage on the blind side, Ireland made yardage. Sheehan, the best hooker in the competition, took advantage of a spectacular discharge from Conan to score. Finally, the scoreboard was comfortable enough for the home crowd to drink up.

There were controversial celebrations when Jamie George scored with the back of a driving mallet in the 72nd minute, with Sexton injured in the process. The second standing ovation of him as he walked away with his hands on his hips. And England finished the game with 13 players, with Willis binned for a tip entry.

Rob Herring added the extra point attempt for the hosts and the sounds of Bono echoed throughout the stadium. Nobody wanted to leave after the final whistle. They watched Sexton’s post-match interview in silence, waiting to see if tears streamed down his face as he walked off the Six Nations stage for the last time. They saw the children of the players running around the field, tying themselves with the golden ribbons of the awarding of trophies. The party started again, and will no doubt continue for a couple more days.