Ireland Rugby

Last Saturday’s Six Nations clash between France and Ireland at the Stad de France was postponed and has been rescheduled to take place on Saturday the 4th of March.

English referee Dave Pearson decided to abandon the game with 10 minutes left till kick-off because he deemed the pitch as unsafe to play on.

That first weekend in March is the only free one left during the rest of the Six Nations. The downfall to this is that both Ireland and France will have to play four matches in as many weeks, whereas the rest of the competing nations will get a week’s rest when the France/Ireland encounter takes place.

It was rumoured that French officials wanted the game to be postponed till early September so there would be no disruption to the Top 14 league as one of the teams, Stad Francais, plays in the Stad de France. But those plans were soon scuppered. 

Even though Pearson deemed the pitch fit to play 90 minutes before the match was due to start, the IRB are backing him and defend his decision.

In a press released the IRB had this to say: "Having witnessed and assessed the rapid deterioration of the playing surface between the final pitch inspection and the scheduled kick-off time, and following consultation with the match officials, both coaches (Declan Kidney and Philippe Saint-Andre) and tournament organisers, Pearson deemed the pitch unplayable on player welfare grounds."

Not only did the postponement of the match cause disruption to both teams' championship, but it also caused disruption amongst fans and spectators who had shelled out money for flights, accommodation and tickets in order to see their teams compete. Fans have been assured that they can get a refund on their tickets if they cannot make it for the new date.

In retrospect the match should have been called off days in advance as tournament officials knew what the weather was going to be like on the match day. By doing so, they would have reduced a considerable amount of stress on both teams involved and their traveling fans.

With Ireland crashing out of the Rugby World Cup in the quarters, and a number of the "golden generation" never to feature again at the highest level, the onus on Declan Kidney and Co. will be to rebuild and reconfigure a team that has left us with such bittersweet memories from this tournament.

While the victory against Australia was laudable, historic even, one cannot forget that Ireland have been on something of a downward trajectory over the past two years since their epic grand slam win in 2009, despite unearthing some fine talent and the good performance of its provinces.

So without further ado, here are three things I think Ireland could do to put us back on track and, hopefully, on to another grand slam or two before the next World Cup.  

Blood Young Players and Ease Out the Veterans

Without being too damning, in the great battle between youth and experience that was Wales versus Ireland, youth won and then some.

With many of the older players ending their World Cup careers, why play them in place of youngsters in preparation for the next World Cup? There's a lot of low-hanging fruit here with the likes of David Wallace, Paddy Wallace, Donncha O'Callaghan, Geordan Murphy, Gordon D'Arcy and Ronan O'Gara all about to exit stage left after fine careers.

Younger players like Donnacha Ryan, Jonathan Sexton, Andrew Trimble, Devin Toner, Sean O'Brien and Kevin McLaughlin should now be considered for full-time starting roles. O'Brien seems to have nailed one down with his top-notch performances, thankfully. Hopefully Sexton and Co. will follow.

The bigger question will be how to replace Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell—not easy. Not likely even.

I would like to see Trimble tried at outside centre. His passing skills are terrific; he has remarkable acceleration from standing starts, great movement and he can finish.

As for O'Connell, I think this could be tough, as locks tend to be molded over time and with experience—so the sooner we get started blooding Ryan and Toner, the better.  

Sort Out Halfback

 I personally have no idea what Kidney has been doing at half-back this past year. In the past eight games we've had five different half-back partnerships. Kidney has been in charge for three years and doesn't know who his best pairing is.

No other coach experiments this much in this vital area where split-second understanding between teammates are crucial (leaving Looney Lievremont aside). His defence of "picking horses for courses" shouldn't get much traction.

On the two occasions we've gone with the European Cup-winning partnership (Eoin Reddan and Sexton) from the start, we've beaten England and Australia handsomely.

He also dropped Tomas O'Leary completely from the squad prior to the tournament, calling up uncapped rookie Conor Murray—for test starts.

Has Kidney got a problem with an all-Leinster back line than no amount of rubbish form from Munster players will dissolve? Probably.

The lack of trust in Reddan in particular remains questionable. With due respect to four-cap Murray's fine contributions relative to his age, it remains to be seen whether his slower ball distribution and lack of experience even at provincial level can be overcome. To date, his performances against USA and France hardly merited dropping Reddan, who has done well when coming on.

O'Gara on the other hand is more of a slam dunk. He is 34 years old, and as the Welsh, French and South Africans have shown time and again, limited in pure rugby ability (as opposed to footballing, say. It's crucial Sexton starts, no questions asked, to improve his confidence. But it's Kidney, and so we might see Munster's schoolgirls in there before we see a Leinster partnership again.

End 10-man Leaning Rugby

This is why dropping O'Gara will be crucial in the coming months. All four semifinalists play attacking wide rugby. This isn't a coincidence, and aside from South Africa's brief peak during the height of the ELV era (which favoured forward-driven teams and made fetcher flankers like Heinrich Brussow even more potent), New Zealand have shown an unprecedented dominance of world rugby (even by their lofty standards) by—you'll never guess it—playing rugby.

It's a bit predictable at this stage knowing O'Gara will never attack the gain line, carry or pass out wide, thus limiting the team's back options outside the set piece.

The shambles at half-back means the ball is going through to the backs more slowly and guys are getting hit into touch—if by some miracle the ball does eventually make it out wide. You can count on one hand the amount of go-forward ball the centres are getting per game as we box-kick and garryowen ourselves to oblivion.

While Ireland's pack is, I think, one of the best in the world, modern rugby cannot be won just by running into people in the tight (again and again and again), so despite the best efforts of O'Brien and Stephen Ferris, I think Ireland will need a new game plan that doesn't rely too much on these two totem poles.

Back play isn't an area where Ireland have traditionally excelled, however, but one idea could be to model game play on Joe Schmidt's Leinster (who theoretically have less talent to choose from, but still play better rugby) or Australia, who were in similar position from the last World Cup, looking to ease young blood under Robbie Deans. 

Turning Ireland into a grand-slam winning team again will be difficult. But as the provinces have shown in recent years, success should be natural to Irish rugby. We have great fans, decent infrastructure and great players. Now all that's needed is some vision from Kidney.

Luckily for The Australian Wallabies, the weekend newspapers print on Saturday morning and cover the whole weekend, so the uninspired effort by the world's second-ranked team won't be reported to the Aussie public until Monday.

But, in the meantime, there is much for coach Robbie Deans and company to think about.

The Irish scrum was dominant over Australia in their 15-6 win, and Irish forwards kept continued pressure on the Australian defense.

As for defense, Australia seemed to struggle to match the intensity of the Irish, and played most of the game on their heels. As a result, the Wallabies couldn't score a single try and were forced into too many penalties.

Ireland's 15 points came off of four penalty goals and one drop goal. Australia scored six points off of two penalty goals.

Though both of these squads are expected to advance into the quarterfinals, things suddenly look much different for both times.

Ireland will end up winning Pool C and face the runner-up of Pool D (Wales in all likelihood).

Meanwhile, Australia will have to face the winner of Pool D, probably defending champion South Africa. Furthermore, Australia will now be sitting on the same side of the bracket as the New Zealand All Blacks, the world's No. 1 team, and a favorite to advance to the finals.

But the tournament continues.

Australia will face the United States on Friday, September 23. The United States is fresh off a win against Russia, but may end up being the punching bag at the hands of Australian revenge.

Ireland will next face the Russians, who will most likely finish the World Cup without a win.

Day six of matches in Rugby World Cup 2011 saw Argentina and South Africa predictably win, but a gutsy performance from Ireland saw one of the tournament favourites, Australia, drop their first game.

Ireland 15 Australia 6

Ireland have claimed an incredible win over the much-hyped Wallabies side in the feature match of the day. It was a win built on guts and determination, with Ireland tackling tirelessly and completely shutting down the dangerous Australia back line. 

Although there were no tries scored, it was an open game played at a very fast pace, with both sides looking to break their opponents out wide.

The difference was in the loose forwards, where Ireland completely outplayed Australia. Sean O'Brien, in particular, was outstanding, proving instrumental to the win.

The other area that decided the game came in the scrum, where Ireland put constant pressure on Australia, causing them to leak penalties from kickable positions.

Both defences were resolute, letting nothing through. Will Genia wasn't able to run around the fringes the way he normally does, leaving Australia to struggle with making breaks because of it. Kurtley Beale couldn't put away any of his outsides, despite producing numerous opportunities.

Controversial Australian first five-eighth, Quade Cooper, had a shocker and once again showed why many believe he isn't up to playing at test-match level. He looked very susceptible under the high ball and didn't handle the pressure applied by the Irish defence well at all.

The result sees the tournament completely changing, as Australia will now likely meet the Springboks in the quarterfinal. The winner of that match will go on to meet the All Blacks in the semifinals rather than in the final, which was the point most expected the two sides to meet should they get that far.

For Ireland, the win now means that they will likely meet either Wales or Samoa in their quarterfinal match—both which are winnable games that will give Ireland what could be their best opportunity to progress to the semifinals, something they have never done before. 

Argentina 43 Romania 8

A strong first half saw Argentina playing far too well for a Romanian outfit that was unable to reproduce the form that saw them surprise many and push Scotland last week.

The Pumas ran in four tries in the opening stanza, giving them a handy 29-8 lead at the break. Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino was particularly dangerous from the back on the counter-attack, setting up many opportunities for his team.

The second half saw Romania fight back and gain some respectability. They defended courageously for the first 20 minutes after half-time, before leaking some late tries and causing the score to blow out.

Up front, it was a relatively even contest, with the Romanian scrum looking particularly proficient. Out wide, however, it was a one-sided contest, as Argentina constantly cut through the Romanian defence, touching down for six tries in all.

In their next game, Argentina will take on Scotland—a game that will likely decide who finishes second in Pool B.

South Africa 49 Fiji 3

 South Africa have well and truly gotten their World Cup campaign back on track with a 49-3 thrashing of Fiji. After escaping with a one-point win over Wales last week, the form of the Springboks have been questioned. Today, they went some way towards answering their critics.

As was to be expected, the first 20 minutes was relatively even, as the Fijians used their unmistakable flair to give the South African defence problems, looking dangerous on multiple occasions during this time.

But it wasn't to be for the Pacific Islanders, as South Africa gradually wore them down and gained the dominance up front, allowing them to dominate for the rest of the game.

They would go on to score six tries to Fiji's none.

Jacque Fourie had a very strong game, proving to be very dangerous running, while Danie Rossouw was strong up front.

The magnitude of the win should see that South Africa will progress no matter what the result of their showdown with Samoa in two week's time, although this isn't guaranteed.

The conclusion of the 2011 Six Nations brought with it more questions than answers for Irish fans. Significantly Declan Kidney failed to settle on an out half as Jonathan Sexton started three games while Ronan O'Gara started two. Each player replaced the other in every game also.

Irish rugby fans aren't too unfamiliar with this situation.

It was just over a decade ago when Ronan O'Gara earned his first International cap. At the time David Humphreys had been setting Ireland's back-line in motion for four years. The Ulster man wasn't too dissimilar in his style of play to Jonathan Sexton, but as a 25-year-old O'Gara was kicking all the points in a famous 18-9 victory over Australia, Humphreys was six years his senior and in the decline of his career.

There is an even greater gap in terms of age between O'Gara and Sexton, as O'Gara is now 34 and Sexton 25, but the standard of play couldn't be closer.

The Munster out half has aged way better than Humphreys ever did because of his style of play. O'Gara has never been able to run over a defender or outpace even a half decent open-side flanker; he has always relied on his boot and, critically, his brain.

Understanding of rugby doesn't deteriorate as you get older like your body does. If anything, it gets better. O'Gara's experience and nous gives him a huge advantage over the less experienced Sexton. 

Game management is the key to his game. O'Gara's forte is his kicking from hand and reliability when in front of goal. He has scored 1,006 points for his country and more than double that for Munster. He is as consistent as a kicker across the board as anyone else in world rugby whether it be drop goals, kicking from hand or garryowens.

He has been a mainstay in the Munster team that has dominated European rugby for the past decade, relentlessly making his opposition turn backwards and play the game in their territory.

His composure in the biggest of moments is well documented with a Grand Slam winning drop goal for Ireland in Cardiff, a crucial conversion against Gloucester in the miracle match of 2003 for Munster and a combined 24 points in two Heineken cup finals to go with his winners' medals.

O'Gara is easily a world class out half and has notable advantages over Sexton as an overall kicker, a leader and for consistency.

It's impossible for me to say Sexton is the better option, now isn't it?...

Not so much.

Jonathan Sexton SHOULD start for Ireland.

The Leinster man's all-around game is better than his Irish compatriot. For all of Ronan O'Gara's positive kicking abilities, he is limited as an attacking threat and struggles defensively.

O'Gara is a weak tackler while Sexton is able to hold up his own against international opposition. Managers don't have to worry about forwards running down the out half channel with Sexton opposed to O'Gara.

Even at provincial level, Munster have often moved O'Gara from first receiver to avoid having the opposition back rows running over him.

Sexton does not have the same defensive frailties. He is stronger and shows better tackling technique when wrapping up. His pace also makes it harder for players to get around him.

The 25-year-old's speed makes him a more dangerous threat offensively also. Sexton is versatile in that he can take on his opposition as well as set his outside backs free depending on what the defensive line of the opposition shows him.

There are countless examples of Sexton successfully looping around his centers from the recent Six Nations campaign, at which time he is able to decide whether to take advantage of any gap available or look to play in one of his teammates. The difference between when Sexton decides to run with the ball is that he can actually escape defenders. O'Gara can make line breaks but must almost instantly look for a teammate because he is not a threat to take the ball to the line from distance.

Sexton finding himself in the channel between center and winger has quickly become one of the staples of the Irish team when he plays. That kind of move has been so successful because it plays to the strengths of the back line: taking advantage of Brian O'Driscoll's deft passing, or decoy running in midfield, before setting one of the talented wingers down the line.

The extra dimension of Sexton's game as a runner allows Declan Kidney to play more than just a 10-man rugby game based on field position.

There is nothing wrong with playing the Munster way but the more successful team as of today in Irish rugby is Leinster (Last team to win the Heineken Cup and remain in this year's competition). The Irish pack is not good enough to dominate international opposition on a consistent basis. They need to play a balanced game. Sexton makes that possible.

Can you really justify leaving one of the greatest kickers to ever play rugby on the bench though?

Why not? Sexton is not a bad kicker. As of late he has struggled but not been disastrous. Remember that he scored pressure kicks and scored all the points in a 15-10 point victory over South Africa in only his second ever Irish appearance. Lest we not forget that he has also kicked a Heineken cup final winning penalty for Leinster, as well as the conversion to tie the game.

England have left an even better kicker, Johnny Wilkinson, on the bench in favour of Toby Flood and you're not going to tell me that you think Flood is a better player than Sexton, are you?

The major difference between these two players remains defensively, however. Sexton may be a slightly worse kicker than O'Gara, but he is a vastly better fit for an Irish team that is too talented to continue to just play for field position.

It is essentially a win-win situation for Ireland. Either player would bring a lot to the fold and any nation across the world would be delighted to have them in their squad. 

I'm a Munster man born and bred, but I'm choosing Jonathan Sexton over Ronan O'Gara. Who do you prefer?

www.twitter.com/ICsportscentral

This is an article that originally appeared on the Sports Central Blog at www.irishcentral.com:

http://www.irishcentral.com/story/sport/sports-central/ireland-rugby-the-ronan-ogara-v-jonathan-sexton-debate-118531294.html

Cian Fahey is the author of both articles.

The two pre-tournament favourites meet at the Aviva Stadium—or Landsowne Road, as most of us still call it—in the final match of the weekend. France had an easy ride against Scotland last weekend, whilst Ireland were almost undone by Italy and will want to bounce back hard.

Irish Overview

Ireland know that they only avoided embarrassment against the Italians because their opponents—literally—dropped the ball. If they had held the kickoff having gone 11-10 ahead with two minutes left, the game was theirs. There wasn’t one Irishman who could say that they had a good game that day and only a vastly improved performance on Sunday will do.

Irish Pack

Even the return of the fit-again Jamie Heaslip cannot disguise the fact that this is one of the feeblest Irish packs in many years. After the way that Scotland were battered by the French scrum, Ireland are going to have their work cut out to even compete up front.

Irish Backs

Gordon D’Arcy was so poor against Italy that he can count himself very lucky to keep his place, but Ireland may be forced into one change to their backs as Tomas O’Leary is struggling with injury and may be replaced by Eoin Reddan at the last minute.

French Overview

France had a soft time of it against Scotland, and don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise. They were able to soft pedal from about 60 minutes in and two of Scotland’s three tries came in that period. The Irish will be a much sterner test.

French Pack

Unsurprisingly, the mighty French pack is unchanged, the only alteration being the return of Sylvain Marconnet to the replacements bench. This in itself suggests that the French are expecting more of a forward battle than they had on Saturday, although the way that the Irish struggled against the Italians suggests that this may not necessarily be the case.

French Backs

A huge blow for France has been the loss of Maxime Mermoz, who has failed to recover from the shoulder injury that he suffered in the last game. Damien Traille moves from fullback to his more natural position of inside centre, whilst Clement Poitrenaud regains his old spot.

This makes France slightly less of an attacking threat—there was something ethereal about the way that Mermoz slid past defenders in the last game—but does give an extra kicking option from midfield that may make it easier to pin back the aging Irish centres.

Where the Game Will Be Won or Lost

Ireland’s pack could be destroyed before the game is 20 minutes old if they allow too many set pieces to develop. The real battle could be in the loose, where so long as Ireland keep their patience and keep driving over the gain line they can give themselves a chance. The important thing will be not to turn the ball over and not to give the French backs any space; if they don’t do this, they lose.

Prediction

France to win by at least seven points.

These sides both emerged from the opening weekend with wins, but France were able to do so in a far more convincing fashion. They overcame Scotland with a winning margin of 13 points and never looked in danger of losing the game, whereas Ireland had to snatch victory in the dying minutes in Rome with a Ronan O’Gara drop goal.

The French will have been particularly pleased with the way their scrum performed against Scotland, and considering that Ireland were second best in that area against Italy, this could be an area where France will apply serious pressure. It will also be important for Ireland to secure their own line out ball and not gift possession to France like Scotland did.

France produced the most aesthetically pleasing rugby of the opening weekend of the championship, and this enabled them to score four tries. They have dangerous runners in their back line such as Maxime Medard, and ball carriers in the forward pack such as Imanol Harinordoquy. Consequently, any Irish missed tackle is likely to be heavily punished, and the Irish defence will have to be at their very best if they are to get something from this game.

One weakness in the French performance last weekend was that they conceded three tries, two of which were from forwards driving over the line from close range, and they will need to tighten up this area of their defence if they want to stop Ireland scoring tries. If they do this, then Ireland will have to use their backs, which will worry them because they looked out of form against Italy, in particular the experienced Gordon D’Arcy, who will have to perform better this week if he is to keep his place in the side.

On paper it would appear that France should be able to win this game with relative ease. However, the possibility of a humiliating home defeat may spur Ireland onto a far better performance than they were able to muster in Rome. Even if Ireland do raise their game, they will still need France to perform badly if they are to have a chance of causing an upset.

If it is February, it must be time for the Six Nations, the rugby competition so venerable that it makes every other contest—the World Cup, the Tri-Nations—look like a pretentious young upstart.

In the tournament's second game, Italy—wooden spoonists of the last three competitions—take on an injury-depleted Ireland.

Italy overview

There are two ways of looking at Italian rugby.

One is that, like Bangladesh in cricket, they made a good case for being admitted to a competition that they were not ready for yet. They lack world class players and have struggled in every Six Nations.

That said, though, if they are going to beat Ireland then this is their best chance.

Italian pack

Last season, they were without their one truly great player, Sergio Parisse.

This year, the former captain is back at No. 8 and will be the man whom everything revolves around.

Martin Castrogiovanni and Santiago Dellape are not far behind him in pure positional ability, but both lack that extra bit of class that makes a standout player. The rest of the pack is comprised of journeymen who would struggle to make most Premiership teams.

Italian backs

The back line is the usual Italian mix of natives, plus displaced Argentines and antipodeans.

Gonzalo Canale is the one truly decent player, although Mirco Bergamasco remains a threat with both his kicking and running from deep.

Irish overview

Like England, Ireland could probably pick a full team from the players they have missing and injured: Jamie Heaslip, Stephen Ferris, Rob Kearney, Geordan Murphy, Tommy Bowe—the list goes on and on.

If you had to pick a team to play with an injury depleted side, though, it would be Italy and although this will be a testing game for them, it will not be as tough as those to come.

Irish pack

Debutant prop Mike Ross is perhaps the most talked about player in Ireland at the moment. However, the loss of the experience of the man he replaces, John Hayes, is tempered by the fact that Hayes has been almost immobile for two seasons; the more you can move the ball against Italy, the harder they find it.

With the exciting Sean O'Brien to replace Heaslip and the dependable Denis Leamy coming in for Ferris, the back row should still match Parisse and co at the back of the scrum, whilst the return of former captain Paul O'Connell from suspension gives considerable power to the second row.

Irish backs

Everything will, of course, hinge upon the veteran centre pairing of captain Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy.

There is not a lot of experience around them, with Fergus McFadden making his Six Nations debut on one wing and Luke Fitzgerald playing full back for the first time behind them.

Where the game will be won or lost

Italy's strength is in their pack and they will look to keep the ball tight as much as possible. They should achieve parity in the scrums, but as soon as the ball goes to the backs they become very predictable.

Ireland, by contrast, will want O'Driscoll and D'Arcy to have as much of the ball as possible, and this is the time for the promising half back pairing of Tomas O'Leary and Johnny Sexton to really stamp their authority on the game.

Prediction

A close first half, before Ireland run away with the game in the second.

              The most memorable moments in sport come when a game isn’t so much a game as it is a moment in time. These come when something unexpected happens, like an underdog rising to the occasion, or when something historical is achieved, i.e. four Stanley cups in a row for the NYI.

                For America, the pinnacle of all sporting moments in the existence of the country came in 1980, when in the midst of a cold war a group of amateur college players were assembled by the late great Herb Brooks and beat the greatest hockey team in the world against all odds. The game gave America something to take pride in, something to relish during one of the coldest times in our history.

For the city of NY, particularly Met fans, one such moment came when Mike Piazza homered off of Steve Karsay of the Atlanta Braves on September 21^st, 2001 – ten days after the most infamous attack on our country. The image of firemen and police officers smiling in the crowd overshadowed any thoughts of a pennant race; it brought the city together no matter who you rooted for.

One of the most underrated moments in the history of sport came in the small island off of the English coast. Ireland, for those of you who are unaware, has a long history of repression under English rule. After the Easter Rising in 1916, a war of independence ensued that eventually led to the creation of an Irish Republic.

The heart of Irish Sport, and the country’s crowning jewel, is Croke Park; an 80,000 plus capacity stadium created by the Gaelic Athletic Association for the playing of Irish games (hurling and Gaelic football). Croke Park’s history dates back to the turn of the twentieth century, and thousands upon thousands of Irish have flocked to the center of the city to see their countrymen play for their counties.

Even though the main use of the stadium is sport, the stadium has a definite and absolute place in the history of the Irish republic. Rubble from the Easter Rising in 1916 was used to construct a grassy hill on the railway end of Croke Park to afford patrons a better view of the pitch, now known as Hill 16. During the ensuing Easter Rising, British troops and tanks entered the ground, during a Gaelic Football match between Dublin and Tipperary, and recklessly fired into the crowd killing eleven spectators and Tipperary’s captain, Michael Hogan (a day that became known as Bloody Sunday). Hogan’s name now titles one of the stands in Croke Park as a solemn and sure reminder of what the stadium means to Ireland.

For the longest time the GAA, with some exceptions of boxing and American football, disallowed any use of Croke Park for foreign games. Rule 42, which prohibited the playing of non-Gaelic games in GAA stadiums, was the roadblock for any thoughts of playing rugby (a sport that Ireland excels in) or soccer on the field. It was Ireland’s field, the GAA’s field, the people’s field and there was no way after the massacre that occurred on that Sunday that the GAA would let a foreign game, in particular an English game, on the field.

Well in 2006 the Irish sporting union had a problem. Lansdowne Road, which served as the home for the soccer and rugby national teams, was set to be closed for extreme renovations. Irish Rugby had a problem: the ensuing Six Nations Championship couldn’t be played in Lansdowne. The heads of Irish Rugby had two choices: One, to play the match on foreign grounds, probably England. Or Two, to beg and plead with the GAA for the temporary relaxation of Rule 42. They took the second choice and after a bitter struggle marked by protests and controversy the GAA okayed the temporary relaxation of rule 42.

The firs t rugby match to be played at Croke Park pitted Ireland against England. It was seemingly perfect for the home crowd as the world got to see a stadium that should rank as one of the most beautiful ones in the world, except for the fact that France took the game 20-17.

This is now an afterthought because what happened next is something that is Irish Sports’ greatest achievement. It didn’t occur on the field, it wasn’t an act by the players. When England came up for the next Six Nations match, it was the first time since Bloody Sunday that English found themselves inside Croke Park. The nervousness and apprehension about what would happen when “God Save the Queen” plays prior the game was enormous but when the music started the 75,000 Irish in the stands did something extraordinary: nothing. No boos, no hisses, no fights. A respectful silence for an enemy that had persecuted and tormented them for years. And when the Irish got their chance to belt out their national anthem, the sounds could be heard all throughout the Emerald Isle. The rendition made players of perhaps the meanest, toughest sport in the world cry. There are no words to describe what happened during that anthem; it brought together a country divided by a decision to invite an old enemy into the nation’s cathedral to play a game.

Ireland beat England that day. There was no way they were losing that game, not after what just happened. England perhaps were looking for those boos as a rallying cry for them to go out and defeat their neighbors, but when nothing came they must have not known what hit them.

It’s moments like these that bring chills to your arms and tears to your eyes, it’s the reason we all love sports, and it’s moments like these that we’ll never forget.