Peter O’Mahony’s lineout steal and other magic moments for Ireland against England
Peter O'Mahony of Ireland wins a lineout during the 2017 RBS Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Lansdowne Road, Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Peter O’Mahony is a late replacement for an injured Jamie Heaslip, who fails to complete the warm-up, and turns in a man-of-the-match performance as Ireland deny the visitors a Grand Slam on the final day of the championship.
Iain Henderson grabs the only try on 23 minutes and Johnny Sexton’s superb long-range penalty on 62 minutes prove to be the winning points but it is O’Mahony’s lineout steal 10 minutes later in a tense finale that confirms a dramatic win and ends England’s world-record-tying 18-Test unbeaten streak.
Robbie Henshaw’s first Ireland try and a stellar defensive rearguard keeps England tryless in a pulsating encounter. Three Johnny Sexton penalties push Ireland into a 9-3 half-time lead but the decisive moment comes early in the second half, Conor Murray’s clever chip into the right corner sets up a contest for the ball between Alex Goode and Henshaw.
England’s full-back comes off second best as the Irish centre leaps above him to collect and touch down on 53 minutes, Sexton’s conversion making it 19-3. England fight back but cannot add to two George Ford penalties and have two tries ruled out by Craig Joubert as Ireland hold firm for a deserved victory.
English hopes of a first Grand Slam since Martin Johnson led them to a 42-6 win in Dublin eight years earlier are scuppered by Declan Kidney’s side.
Johnson, now manager, has the consolation of the title despite this loss but the day belongs to Brian O’Driscoll and his team, the captain’s try early in the second half building on a 17-3 interval lead as he finishes off a sweeping attack to claim a championship-record 25th try and put the game beyond the men in white.
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