Six Nations 2023: Ireland 29-16 England – Irish seal Grand Slam in Dublin

Eire gained their fourth Grand Slam as they wore down 14-man England in a tense Six Nations finale in Dublin.

England’s hopes of an upset have been dashed when Freddie Steward was despatched off simply earlier than half-time.

Robbie Henshaw and Rob Herring tries both facet of Sheehan’s second of the sport ensured Eire’s first Grand Slam in 5 years, and first gained in Dublin.

England, a lot improved from their humiliating defeat by France at Twickenham final week, scored a deserved second-half attempt via Jamie George, however have been unable to tug off a serious upset and spoil Eire’s large day.

Regardless of being examined by a resilient English facet, Eire – as they’ve so usually completed beneath Andy Farrell – discovered a technique to win as they gave talismanic captain Johnny Sexton the right send-off in his ultimate Six Nations match, though his day ended early due to damage.

The complete-time whistle was greeted with Irish celebrations at a jubilant Aviva Stadium as the house facet delivered on their immense promise, having entered the competitors because the world’s primary facet.

Irish nerves present in first half

With the prospect of being confirmed as champions earlier than kick-off ended by France’s 41-28 win over Wales, the stress contained in the Aviva Stadium was palpable from the beginning as Eire plotted the dream finale to a memorable marketing campaign.

However whereas few gave England a lot likelihood of spoiling the Irish get together following their record-breaking hammering by France final week, it was the guests who settled faster.

Their reward was two penalties, each scored by Farrell, the second coming after Alex Dombrandt stopped Johnny Sexton from scoring with an important deal with on the different finish.

Clearly nervous, Eire have been made to attend till the 18th minute for his or her first rating. Nevertheless it was an enormous one as Sexton thumped a penalty between the sticks to surpass Ronan O’Gara because the competitors’s file scorer.

Whereas Sexton’s record-breaking penalty settled a number of nerves, Sheehan’s rating produced a large roar from the Aviva crowd, the hooker crossing after a well-worked set-piece that noticed Josh van der Flier breaking from a line-out maul.

With Sheehan having given Eire a much-needed shot within the arm, issues went from dangerous to worse for England on the cusp of half-time when Steward was despatched off after colliding with Hugo Keenan.

After an Irish move went forwards, Keenan stooped to choose up the unfastened ball. The on-rushing Steward turned sideways on the final second and Keenan’s head collided with the England full-back’s arm, with referee Jaco Peyper ruling that the contact merited a pink card.

Regardless of their numerical drawback, England refused to lie down within the second half, and moved to inside a degree when Farrell booted his third penalty between the posts.

However Eire managed to regain management and exerted sufficient strain to prise open holes within the English defence, with Henshaw in a position to slip via earlier than Sheehan’s second rating seemingly put the hosts out of England’s attain.

Eire break English resistance to seal well-known win

To their credit score, England continued to plug away and scored their solely attempt when George crashed over, however after the guests’ Jack Willis was sin-binned, alternative Irish hooker Herring stretched to attain his first Six Nations try to full a well-known triumph for Eire.

Whereas England head coach Steve Borthwick can take coronary heart that his facet delivered on their promise to indicate extra battle than they did in opposition to France, a fourth-place end is a stark reminder of the duty going through Eddie Jones’ successor.

In distinction, Eire will now method the World Cup later this 12 months with relish as they give the impression of being to progress previous the quarter-finals of rugby’s quadrennial showpiece for the primary time.

That’s all to come back. For now, Eire can have a good time retaking their place on the high of the Six Nations.

Eire’s Grand Slam glory

• Eire have now gained 4 Grand Slams with triumphs coming in 1948, 2009, 2018 and 2023

• They’ve gained 5 Six Nations titles with their different wins in 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2018

• Andy Farrell’s facet set a brand new nationwide file of eight straight Six Nations wins, surpassing the seven-game streak they set between 2004 and 2005
• Eire are on a nationwide file run of 14 wins at dwelling

Evaluation – what they mentioned

Former England captain Matt Dawson on BBC Radio 5 Reside: “I am pleased with the best way England fronted up however they gave away far too many penalties.

“Their ill-discipline saved giving simple ball to Eire. An excellent efficiency by England however the focus ought to be on this super Irish facet.

“I simply can’t see anybody beating the Irish. They’re head and shoulders forward.

“This Eire crew have what it takes, not simply to win the Six Nations, however the World Cup as nicely.”

Former Eire quantity eight Jamie Heaslip on Radio 5 Reside: “It is an amazing day for the Irish. They’re a particular group with a special mindset to the previous. They’re snug with being the primary facet on the earth.”

Eire’s path to the Grand Slam

• 4 February: Wales 10-34 Eire

• 11 February: Eire 32-19 France

• 25 February: Italy 20-34 Eire

• 12 March: Scotland 7-22 Eire

• 18 March: Eire 29-16 England

Line-ups

Eire: Keenan; Hansen, Henshaw, Aki, Lowe; Sexton (capt), Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong; Baird, Ryan; O’Mahony, van der Flier, Doris.

Replacements: Herring, Healy, O’Toole, Treadwell, Conan, Murray, R Byrne, O’Brien.

England: Steward; Watson, Slade, Tuilagi, Arundell; Farrell (c), Van Poortvliet; Genge, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Ribbans, Ludlam, Willis, Dombrandt.

Replacements: Walker, M Vunipola, Cole, Isiekwe, B Curry, Mitchell, Smith, Marchant.

Match officers

Referee: Jaco Peyper (SA)

Contact judges: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ) and Pierre Brousset (FRA)

TMO: Marius Jonker (SA)