Joe Schmidt just lives in the moment after Ireland defeat England

Ireland 19 England 9

Mon, 02 Mar, 2015 - 00:00

Simon Lewis

Forever the man who refuses to rest on his laurels or allow those in his charge the same comfort, Schmidt allowed himself a deep breath last night following this hugely impressive victory over England.

Few would deny him or his squad a brief window of relaxation, for though nothing is yet assured in this championship and a resurgent Wales side lie in wait in Cardiff in two weeks capable of derailing supporters’ hopes of a Grand Slam, yesterday’s victory represents a significant milestone.

After four straight defeats to the English, three of them in the Six Nations, Ireland have finally put one over on a Stuart Lancaster side and in doing so notched a 10th successive Test win to equal the record run set by Eddie O’Sullivan’s team in 2002-03.

So Ireland remain the only unbeaten team in the championship with two games to play, and the way they have overcome Italy, France and now England suggests they have forgotten how to lose.

This latest win— built on the peerless kicking of half-backs Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton with a try scored by man of the match — Robbie Henshaw was the best yet, the felling of a side ranked higher than the Irish and which had looked so potent in beating the Welsh and Italians.

That there was little evidence of that attacking threat at Aviva Stadium yesterday was a credit to Schmidt and his players. The set-piece was solid as two strong packs cancelled each other out in the scrum and Ireland shaded the lineout battle with a couple of important early steals to set the tone but it was with the boot and at the breakdown where the home side excelled. They outmuscled England at the ruck with some ferocious intensity and then capitalised on the indiscipline that pressure prompted, Sexton kicking Ireland into a 6-0 lead after eight minutes before opposing fly-half George Ford landed a drop goal in the 12th. Sexton ensured it was a 9-3 half-time lead and that became 12-3 after 47 minutes.

And after a fortnight-long build-up during which the English management and media had hyped up Ireland’s kicking game and their reliance on the high ball, the men in white became victims of their self-fulfilling prophecy, knowing it was coming but unable to find a way to deal with it.

That was evident from Ireland’s exit strategy from Ford’s kick-off, Murray sending a high, hanging box kick down the right flank which Ford fielded but then found himself engulfed by Tommy Bowe and phalanx of green shirts. Jordi Murphy stripped it and at the next ruck, England conceded the first of eight first-half penalties.

There had been another one coming in the 53rd minute when referee Craig Joubert played an advantage and Murray spotted an opportunity with the free play, directing Henshaw into the space and aerial duel with full-back Alex Goode. As sure as eggs are eggs, the kick was right on the money and the GAA skills highlighted at length across the water in Blighty were executed to perfection, Henshaw beating his defender to the ball and planting it in the right-hand corner. It was the only try of the game and Sexton added the conversion from the touchline to send Ireland into a 19-3 lead that allowed them to see out the game without the usual anxiety, two Ford penalties England’s meagre reward for a late surge.

“For once I didn’t have my heart in my mouth,” Schmidt said. “I’m just going to enjoy this 24 hours.

“I snuck home last night to read a bedtime story to my son. He was pumped for the game because as long as we win he doesn’t have to do homework and so he is a massive Irish supporter as a result. We’re a pretty grounded bunch and you stay pretty grounded, but at the same time you do get a little bit excited. It’s exciting to have beaten England, it’s exciting to be in the position we are in. You don’t look at history because you can’t necessarily affect history, once it is there it’s there but you try to influence what is coming in the immediate future and that is what I will do in 24 hours but I am certainly just going to enjoy this and I’m pretty fatigued actually.”

Of course it was not a perfect performance and once Schmidt has enjoyed his 24 hours away from the video analysis room, he will return to assessing what his team could have done better.

Elements of the Ireland effort, he agreed, were a benchmark display, but the head coach added: “I still think there’s some things that you go back to 2013 (versus New Zealand) where we got over the line a few times early in the game and the ball was put down (for tries).

“To have got over the line a few times and not quite got the full reward for it (yesterday, in the first half) ... we got a couple of three-pointers which in the context of an England Test match, they’re crucial and they allowed us to build a little bit of scoreboard pressure early in the game, and thankfully that scoreboard pressure accumulated through the second half, to the extent that really they were forced to play maybe outside their comfort zone. Having said that, they looked pretty comfortable playing against us and put us under a lot of pressure in the last quarter.”

Plenty of meat to feed his players, then, when they reconvene in Belfast on Wednesday for an overnight camp to begin their preparations for Cardiff and for all the joy, there will be a swift return to Earth delivered by Schmidt.

“The Welsh have stepped up steadily. I watched as a spectator two years ago when they lost to Ireland in the first game and by the time they got to the end of the tournament, they put a big score on England to win the championship. So I have had a look at them, watched the game yesterday and I felt they were in control for the bulk of it. France had a purple patch just after half-time but the longer the game went the more comfortable Wales looked. They are going to be very, very tough.”

IRELAND: R Kearney; T Bowe, J Payne (F Jones, 70), R Henshaw, S Zebo; J Sexton (I Madigan, 54), C Murray; J McGrath (C Healy, 59), R Best (S Cronin, 73), M Ross (M Moore, 58); D Toner (I Henderson, 65), P O’Connell — cpt; P O’Mahony, S O’Brien (T O’Donnell, 25), J Murphy.

Not used: E Reddan.

ENGLAND: A Goode; J Nowell, J Joseph (B Twelvetrees, 68), L Burrell, A Watson; G Ford, B Youngs (R Wigglesworth, 68); J Marler (M Vunipola, 65), D Hartley (T Youngs, 53), D Cole; D Attwood (N Easter, 65), G Kruis; J Haskell (T Croft, 61), C Robshaw — cpt, B Vunipola.

Not used: H Thomas, D Cipriani.

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa).

Key moment

Ireland are 12-3 up, there’s still 26 minutes on the clock and they have a penalty advantage. Conor Murray has a free play, he looks up from the back of a ruck, points to the corner and sends an inch-perfect kick to the corner. Robbie Henshaw v Alex Goode and there’s only one winner. Try Ireland and Sexton’s monster conversion from the touchline gives them 19-3 lead.

Talking point

Forget all the talk about being a championship decider, the title chase remains wide open. Ireland may be in the ascendancy with three wins from three but they have to go to Wales next and defeat in Cardiff makes it a three horse race again if England overcome Scotland and make inroads into the points differential. A long way to go.

Best on show

Robbie Henshaw did not just score the only try with a brilliant aerial take from Conor Murray’s box kick, he and Jared Payne won the midfield battle against the highly-rated English pairing and the Connacht youngster topped the tackle count, no mean feat when the back-rowers usually top the charts. Brilliance and workrate, it’s a priceless combination.

Ref Watch

Craig Joubert had an uncontroversial outing in Dublin, presiding over a free-flowing game that was a breath of fresh air after the stop-start mess Wayne Barnes officiated a fortnight ago when France came to Ireland. Pen conceded: Ireland 8 + 2 free-kicks; England 13 + 2 free-kicks.

Injuries

Sean O’Brien will have to go through player concussion protocols this week. Jared Payne passed his Head Injury Assessment pitchside but Johnny Sexton felt a twinge in his hamstring after the 53rd minute conversion and was subbed immediately. The fly-half will be assessed further today.

What’s next?

The second down week of the championship, a mini-camp in Belfast and then a visit to Cardiff to take on a rejuvenated Wales on March 14, the same day England have a Calcutta Cup match with Scotland at Twickenham.

Ireland: the numbers

Attack

Possession: 59%

Territory: 58%

Ball Carries: 132

Metres made: 289

Kicks from hand: 44

Line breaks: 1

Defenders beaten: 21

Offloads: 4

Rucks/Mauls won: 117

Rucks/Mauls lost: 1