Party atmosphere sweeps aside pre-match worries

YOUGHAL native Daniel Moloney happily threw a rugby ball in the air in front of Brian O’Driscoll as God Save the Queen boomed around Croke Park.

Like the majority of the 82,000 in the crowd, the seven-year-old Irish team mascot did not care what anthem was played in the home of the GAA as long as his hero Ronan O’Gara and his fellow Irish men beat the team in white.

They duly did that in impressive style.

Those familiar with rugby crowds know that they put sport at the forefront of their minds and are more than prepared to meet up with their temporary adversaries for a drink afterwards no matter what the outcome.

Hours before Saturday’s showdown, bars struggled to contain the deluge of fans from both sides as they watched Italy hand a shock mauling to the Scots.

As they were stadium bound, the Republican Sinn Féin protest was treated like a second-rate sideshow, only meriting a brief glance as the crowds converged on Croke Park.

American woman Mary Berhan was lambasted by one Irish fan for handing out leaflets protesting the England rugby team’s presence in a ground where 87 years ago British forces murdered 14 Irish men.

The fan pointed out that, firstly, Berhan is American not Irish, and, secondly, while the events on that day would never be forgotten, the country had moved on and she was painting the Irish in a bad light.

Her reply that she was Irish as her parents had left this country in the 1920s was met with derision.

Given the polite reception the English team was given there was little doubt Berhan’s sentiments were not shared by those gathered to watch the match.

There was more reaction to the warm kiss given by Bertie Ahern to President Mary McAleese to welcome her to her seat after greeting the teams. Broadcast on the massive screens around the park, it was greeted with good-natured catcalls.

Then it was time for the real reason why Saturday’s match will go down in history. Even the most optimistic would have been hard pushed to predict a 30-point winning margin. It became clear that even if God did save the Queen he apparently was unwilling to save her rugby players from a hammering.