Sunday, March 22, 2009
Ireland beat Wales to win the Grand Slam in Cardiff
Ireland completed the unbeaten five match run with the win in Cardiff, after tries scored by Brian ODriscoll and Tommy Bowe, and seven valuable points kicked by Ronan OGara, including a drop goal in the dying moments of the match.
While Wales needed 13 points and a win to take the Six Nations Championship themselves, in the end they simply lacked the firepower, but did have the chance to take the Grand Slam away from Ireland, through a last ditch penalty kick from Stephen Jones.
Jones kick sailed straight and true, but landed just under the cross bars, meaning Ireland won the Grand Slam for the first time in 61 years.
"We've been close before but it's an absolute delight that finally we achieved our goal we set out to do," said iconic captain O'Driscoll.
"The guts of this team have been together for a number of years and we wanted a big one, we wanted a slam."
"You need the occasional kick to drop short, you need the bounce of ball now and then, and the odd referee's decision. It all helps," he said.
"I felt that on overall performance we deserved it, but you need that bit of lady luck and thankfully 10 years of luck came today."
So 15 000 fans welcomed them home on Sunday, lining the streets of Dublin, desperate to catch a glimpse of the heroes who did their country proud.
It was an excellent Championship, and in the end, Ireland come out tops, and well deserved too. Congratulations to them.
Time: 04:38
Posted at 11:12 pm | 63 comments
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Viewing 63 comments
Anonymous March 22, 2009 11:39 pm
So glad for ireland! deserved it! and the welsh do like the irish, dont listen to gatland!
mise March 23, 2009 12:12 am
i think the jones o gara Jesery swop straight after their respective kicks at the end said it all on the bullshit Gatland was comin out with.great day, beyond hollyword ending -unscriptable really.Delighted for those players who've been good for a long time. Thought fitzgerald backed himself well in the second half - underrated player overall
mise March 23, 2009 12:28 am
should have added this to the last one, but those bbc clips are v convenient, but I think pverall crap. They are dead athmosphere wise, thanks to the commentator who may as well be reading out the train timetable.Also the wrong choice of highlights are often choosen. or more specifically the wrong parts- often too little of the important build up, and too much of the guy running backwards having scored a kick.I'd recommend changing this clip for another one RD
TheRealSlimShady March 23, 2009 12:58 am
Fuckin Delighted....What a game, well deserved for us...Proud day to be Irish with Bernard Dunne becoming the WBA Super-Bantamweight champion of the world aswell:)
opfazonk March 23, 2009 1:02 am
@mise: than you'd better find one - it's hard enough to get any highlights xDabout the game: well... i love wales, but this year they didn't deserve it :) ireland created some magic moments and tries, that will go down to rugby history books! and when i hear this prick henson talking about how much wales' fourth place does not reflect their efforts, i can't resist to say: sorry, gevin, but it absolutely DOES show wales' effort! those idiots should have nailed italy... if they had, they'd lay 2nd and not 4th... i guess every welshman agrees with that :)
roddymac March 23, 2009 1:03 am
Mise what you goin on about??? Cant you just congratulate the irish on a fantastic win!! They were the most consistent team and scored some great tries. Well done Ireland
elliot March 23, 2009 1:12 am
I was in the Dublin airport leaving town that night...when the game was over, a huge cheer went up and everyone went wild. Jesus, I wish I could've stayed in town for just one more night...would've been a helluva party.Well done, Ireland!
Get Outta The Car! March 23, 2009 1:13 am
Thought it was a great tournament all round. Parisse once again proved to be the best all round rugby player in the northern hemisphere, Ricky Flutey can feel hard done by if he doesnt feature for the lions on the form he showed, Wales bled new players like Lee Halfpenny and A.W. Jones really came to the fore. The Evans brothers rejuvinated a scottish backline that looked barren in the first few weeks and Ireland got their only second grand slam with a mixture of youth and experience with players like Bowe, Kearney, Fitzgerald and Ferris proving that there are players in line to fill the boots of Dempsey, Horgan and Hickey. Not to mention Keith Earls who didn't even feature. The future looks Green.Eire abu!
WelshDoode March 23, 2009 1:46 am
Henson should of taken that last kickbut hats off to ireland well doneEpic game as everyone predictedCant bloody wait for the lions!!!
Anonymous March 23, 2009 2:31 am
I can't beleive a team this average are NH champions. Not very impressive.
Gyro March 23, 2009 2:48 am
To the anonymous aboveNobody really performed well, ireland are champs because they were the most consistent
Anonymous March 23, 2009 4:17 am
at 3:50-3:55 he says scottish 22 anyways, I am delighted for Bowe to have run in such a great move, and maybe outpaced wee man Williams in the process. Where was Trimble this year? Could have used his physicality and pace at times...
Anonymous March 23, 2009 6:39 am
yeh not sure why henson didnt take that kick.not complaining though!!time for Lions predictions.Heres my team:15:Byrne14:Bowe13:O'Driscoll12:Henson11:Williams10:Jones9:Phillips8:Heaslip7:Williams/Wallace (still cant decide)6:Croft/Jones5:Wyn Jones4:O'Connell (C)3:Murray2:Flannery1:Gethin JenkinsAny thoughts??
Ted March 23, 2009 8:07 am
As tempting as it might be to make a team up of entirely Irish/Welshmen, I think the strongest Lions teams are the ones with players from all four Nations. I would like to see Flutey in there, as Henson goes missing sometimes, and I'd also like to see either an English winger or fullback. The Scots have a few claims to make in the pack as well.
Tom March 23, 2009 8:16 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFbe7vvEqjA&feature=related - its Irish commentary and its funny as hell, they cant keep in their excitement!Congrats Ireland, ye have done us proud!And to the begrudgers harping on about a bad six nations, get a life. It was a championship full of thrills and spills and what a final game.
Willie March 23, 2009 8:19 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2CcvAUST8ISome match highlights with Irish commentary
Tom March 23, 2009 8:36 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS5rpt70L64Paul O Connell interview - hilarious!
Flooz March 23, 2009 9:21 am
well deserved for ireland!they weren't far from victory previous years (2003,2007) and finally achieved itBut i must say that 6 nations level was lower than other yearsMay due to France and England [re]construction times.But lions selections will be interesting to follow
Anonymous March 23, 2009 10:21 am
Gyro, you're right. Ireland aren't a bad team, but they aren't exactley awesome.
Anonymous March 23, 2009 10:24 am
Dont know why people are saying Henson should have taken the kick in last minute. Jones' comfortably landed his 2nd penalty in the 1st half from the same distance. You could see by his own reaction that he was surprised when it landed short
Anonymous March 23, 2009 11:05 am
was due to tiredness he missed it. after 80 mins of rugby i couldnt kick a ball 5 metres let alone nearly 50.wales suffered at times from a lack of creativity. did s. williams score any tries?
Shaft March 23, 2009 11:51 am
Congrats to the Irish. Great game for the neutral. All the intensity of a grand final, which it effectively was. I did feel that Wales were more bad than Ireland were good.. if that makes sense. But having said that, Ireland played the Munster game pretty well at times, so they deserved the win. And ROG - cometh the hour cometh the man. Fantastic. Cant wait for the Lions tour now. :)
themull March 23, 2009 12:58 pm
People may disagree but it was most definitely Irelands defense that won them this years championship...If their defense had not performed today they would have been wiped off the pitch because they gave away much too many penalties...
Abs7 March 23, 2009 1:35 pm
it was just like watchin munster for me.. but do you know what mr kidney is an awesome coach. and ireland's defence was very good.. and i like the way they protected o'gara lol.. I'm a welshman my father was half irish and we made 55 on that game and ireland,, happy days lol.. As for the lions, it has to be a physical and very fit squad going to south africa. but i'm confident! paul o'connell captain for sure.one last time well done ireland, now bring on the lions.....bbbboooooyyyyaaaaaa!! lol
geraint March 23, 2009 4:04 pm
Well done ireland, even i (a proud welshman) was sort of hoping we'd miss the last kick. Would have been harsh and we didnt deserve it. Great game but wales have lost their spark in the backline, we looked completely void of ideas all tournament. Overall, poor tournament for wales, brilliant for ireland. After so many years waiting, you deserve it.
TommyStrongbowe March 23, 2009 4:19 pm
Wow reading some of these comments really makes me admire the welsh for losing gracefully and not making excuses like england and other countries do.Well done ireland though!!
Matt March 23, 2009 4:37 pm
Has to be said Ireland deservedthat game:)Im welsh and i thought that was a great game to watch even though we lost. Ireland played superb and their forwards are immense. O'connel for captain of the Lions for sure:)Il be mortified if armitage gets the fullback position over lee byrne though!
Anonymous March 23, 2009 4:41 pm
15-Kearney/Byrne14-Bowe/Sackey13-O'Driscoll/Roberts12-Shanklin/Flutey11-Williams/Evans10-O'Gara/Jones9-O'Leary/Blair8-Heaslip/Powell7-Wallace/Williams6-Jones/Ferris5-O'Connell(c)/O'Callaghan4-Jones/White(Even though hes a flanker)3-Murray/Hayes2-Flannery/Ford1-Jenkins/SheridanThe top two contenders for each positionO'Driscoll the vice CaptainO 'Connells interview was class"ROG has some pair of balls"
JJM March 23, 2009 5:40 pm
Welsh supporters are amazing. Possibly the only nation who can sing and chant in harmony and lose so graciously. Fair play, from an Irish man whos mates all think the same.
Eoghan March 23, 2009 6:13 pm
Sub-par six nations ? Perhaps. But the way I see it Ireland beat France, England and Scotland at their best prior to the decider; that's part of what makes it a good slam irrespective of the fact that those teams underperformed on other occasions.I'll leave it to the Welsh fans as to whether Wales were at their best on Saturday. I thought they absolutely did themselves justice, and left it all on the pitch for a truly rip-roaring, sporting and intense match up. Ultimately the Irish Defence (3 tries conceded all championship) brought us home - but when it was time, they went out and won the game with two excellent tries. What was Gatland on about regarding Welsh/Irish relations - no evidence of this at all on the day, quite the opposite. Fair play to the Welsh team & supporters - true sports men and women.
Kenny March 23, 2009 6:21 pm
Anonymous said... Poor VI Nations this yearWhat the f**k does that mean, what a stupid comment. And another anonymous gobshite here"I can't beleive a team this average are NH champions. Not very impressive."well go watch the highlights again mate and get used to it. Here ill spell it out to you.IRELAND BEAT EVERYONE ASSHOLEAnd yet another idiot.."Gyro, you're right. Ireland aren't a bad team, but they aren't exactley awesome."IRELAND ARE THE SLAM CHAMPS, GET IT INTO YOUR NON-BELIEVING HEADS..Been waiting about ten years to type that commment phew!! feels good!!
Anonymous March 23, 2009 6:38 pm
WTF?! I can't see the video, fucking 6N rights
Bearded Clam March 23, 2009 6:56 pm
Copyright claims on vids are crippling the site, so many of the vids are gone it's depressing.
Third Centre March 23, 2009 9:13 pm
The Welsh fans have been most gracious. Thanks very much lads. You're a class act. Like all the rest of the 6N fans to be honest !I also agree that it was Ireland's defence that did it for us. Discipline should have been better in the last game though
Anonymous March 23, 2009 9:16 pm
8-Heaslip/PowellNOO'CallaghanNOOOOO, for fuck sake, are you high?
SlamdogMillionaire March 23, 2009 10:06 pm
Fuck off Anonymous Heaslip has to be number 8, scored as many tries as IRB World Player of the Year this Championship u fuckhead.I would hate to be Sergio Parisse
Anonymous March 23, 2009 10:24 pm
That's the whole point Kenny, the standard of play was shithouse, Ireland are an avergae team, the fact they won the whole thing indicates how crap the standard of play is.
Anonymous March 23, 2009 10:50 pm
to be honest lads some of these comments are pathetic people go on about how high the standard of rugby in the s14 is in comparison to the heiniken cup and nh rugby...to be honest the s14 defence is shithouse last weekend there were some of the worst attempts at tackling i have ever seen in any age or level of rugby that vultimately led to tries...why cant so many sh fans get it into their heads that many sh teams are very close behind them if not on par with them...and whats this about ireland being average they have some of the finest players in world rugby and are finally hitting some form..o driscol , o connel , kearney wallace , heaslip , and some more im sick of o driscoll being portrayed as a has been this year he has been the outstanding player of the tounament... face it lads give credit where its due..ireland have grown into a great team
mise March 24, 2009 1:04 am
Ireland were pure defense, and that is a skill in itself. Its also engrossing to watch if you are really into rugby, rather than just looking for League.Ireland leaked hardly any tries. The way the worked that last drop goal. Rodge went on in interview about the fact that it was a rehersed move. To have that level of control, while beign matched and often beaten in the scrum speaks wonders of their organisational level.One pity of the kidney style is that its often defensive unless the opposition go at Ireland out wide - e.g. France. Then the likes of Kearney are let loose. Otherwise, Kearney seems under orders to kick rather than run.Crucially, Kidney has winning form, so ireland might go further again with him.(I know it was miles back but roddy mac u misunderstood me completly - i was referring to the style of the clip. not the rugby played)3 english men and one scot in the Lions, for geo-political harmony. And Eoin Reddan as the wild card scrum half. !?!@^~#:-0
Anonymous March 24, 2009 2:22 am
Ireland have never ever beaten New Zealand. How you can possibly say they are a great side when they have gone over a hundred years without ever beating the best team in the world (not for lack of trying), is insane.E.g, Australia has beaten NZ over 40 times, Ireland exactley 0 times.Ireland are a good side, solid. Nothing spectacular though, certainly not good enough to win the world cup, which is kind of the whole point these days, to build a side capable of that.So you can get upset and say all you want about how the NH is great and at the level of the SH, but it doesn't make it true and it's obvious when you examine the facts logically that it's not the case.Since 2003 the 6 nations teams have beaten the 3 nations teams exactley 14 times out of 87 attempts, always at home, never away. That's a winning ratio of about 16%, 0% away from home. That's terrible.Martin Johnson came out just a couple days ago and basically said that the 6 nations is off the pace. He's right, he'd know. He was captain of the last 6 nations team that actually managed to get to the point where they could compete, and do better than the 3 nations teams.Anyway, congratualtions to Ireland, all the same, they are a decent side. But not great and against NZ, SA or Aus they'd have about a 10% of winning on any given day.As for the S14, they're the same players that dominate internationally, if you can't see the correlation, you're either stupid or delibratley obtuse.
Ted March 24, 2009 7:40 am
Quite how this discussion has come down to NH vs SH YET AGAIN is beyond me. What on earth do you guys (on both sides) think you're proving? Open up a discussion on the forum and you can sling your mud at each other there. Leave the rest of the site for grown-ups who want to discuss rugby rather than have a dick-measuring contest.
MyNeutralTwoCents March 24, 2009 7:59 am
Regarding Ireland being a 'great team'... They've been great on paper for years. They've finally achieved something now only though. Lets not forget - if Wales had fielded a stronger side vs Italy and put more points on them, then they'd never have needed that 13 point differential... and if Jones' kick had gone another 2 meters... Ireland would still just be a great team on paper.. A matter of inches. Lets not get ahead of ourselves and forget the facts. That said - I couldn't agree more with Ted's comment above...
Kenny March 24, 2009 10:13 am
I cant wait for the world cup to see Ireland take on the weakest of the SH teams, the "mighty" Australia!!
Anonymous March 24, 2009 11:28 am
Just to clarify for some Aussie tosser - Aus have played NZ 132 times and won 39, thats a 29% win rate. Ireland have only played NZ 21 times, so shut the fuck up. COME ON IRELAND
Third Centre March 24, 2009 12:46 pm
Lot of ifs in your argument neutral two cents........
Anonymous March 24, 2009 3:25 pm
15:Byrne14:Williams13:O'Driscoll12:Flutey11:Kearney10:O Gara9:Blair8:Powell7:Wallace6:Ferris5:O'Connell (C)4:Kennedy3:Murray2:Flannery1:Sheridan16:Ford17:Horan18:O Callaghan19:Williams20:Philips21:Jones22:Sackey
Will March 24, 2009 5:25 pm
That team above me is good but Heaslip instead of Powell, Heaslip hadda great tournament, bitta recognition for it anyone?????
Anonymous March 24, 2009 5:41 pm
Team above is good, i'd have Alun Wyn Jones with O'Connell in at 2nd. And call me crazy but for a tour like this to SA where it's going to be f*cking physical Worsley could be quite handy to have on the bench. Although he's not fantastic at much else he'd bully the saffa's off the park when needed.
themull March 24, 2009 6:01 pm
15:Byrne/Kearny14:Williams13:O'Driscoll12:Shanklin/Flutey11:Fitzgerald10:Jones9:Phillips8:Heaslip7:Williams/Wallace6:Ferris5:O'Connell (C)4:White3:Murray2:Flannery1:Sheridan16:Ford17:Hayes18:A W Jones19:Whichever of the two for no7 i dont choose20:Philips21:O' Gara22:Bowe
Anonymous March 24, 2009 7:02 pm
I would go for the ospreys back 3 (byrne, bowe, williams) as they know eachother well.
Grrrrubber March 24, 2009 7:06 pm
every player that moves to the ospreys turns to goldlee byrne? tommy bowe? mike phillips?ian gough?All lions contenders.
Fucking Irish March 24, 2009 8:06 pm
Lions XV15. Byrne14. Williams13. O Driscoll12. Flutey11. Sackey10. Jones9. Phillips8. Heaslip7. Williams6. Ferris5. Wyn-Jones4. O'Connel ( Captain)3. Murray2. Rees1 JenkinssubsSheridan FlanneryGoughWallaceEllis Flood ArmitageSheridan and Powell were shoe-ins pre tournament, now theyve played their way out of contention.
Anonymous March 24, 2009 11:08 pm
"Fuck off Anonymous Heaslip has to be number 8, scored as many tries as IRB World Player of the Year this Championship u fuckhead.I would hate to be Sergio Parisse"You're really an asshole
Anonymous March 25, 2009 6:49 am
I tell ya what, if Sackey gets into the team, the Boks will be pissing themselves laughing.
Anonymous March 26, 2009 9:04 pm
15:Byrne14:Bowe13:O'Driscoll12:Flutey11:Kearney10:O Gara9:Blair8:Heaslip7:Wallace6:Jones5:O'Connell (C)4:Shaw3:Murray2:Flannery1:Jenkins16:Ford17:Horan18:O Callaghan19:Williams20:Philips21:Jones22:Williams
winger March 28, 2009 1:13 pm
There is a mistake in the video at 3:53 the commentator says "and ireland are in Sotlands 22"
Leinster fan 4 life May 14, 2009 8:33 pm
wud yez ever shut up bout ireland bein shit were best in eurpoe have 2 best clubs in N hemisfere apart frm mayb leicester so give us sum cred lol
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