English dash Irish hopes on day to forget

on 11/02/2013 00:00:00

This was rugby that only the purist could love: Tough, uncompromising trench warfare of a type where wingers were relegated in the main to a watching brief and a battle against hypothermia.

All of which would have been bearable had Ireland won but they didn't. Matter of fact, they all but beat themselves.

Eight days ago, Simon Zebo set up one of Ireland's three tries in Cardiff with a deft flick of his heel that shot him to superstardom but it was all Declan Kidney's men could do yesterday to hold onto the ball with their hands.

Time and again they failed to do just that against an English team that offered defensive mettle and sheer bloody-mindedness. And by sticking to the basics they departed with a win that leaves them as the only unbeaten side in this year's Six Nations.

The day had dawned with the news that Brian O'Driscoll's wife, Amy Huberman, had given birth to the couple's first child - a daughter named Sadie - but the medical updates were of a less joyous nature at the Aviva.

Zebo was the first to hobble off injured, then Jonathan Sexton, and the aftertaste may be even worse if Cian Healy is cited for an alleged stamp on a prone English leg during a first-half that threatened to boil over despite the inclement conditions.

When it was done, O'Driscoll made a quick exit to be reunited with his wife and child but 50,000 and more punters had long since beat him to the exit.

One to forget.