Final quarter tries from Robbie Henshaw, Dan Sheehan and Rob Herring catapulted Ireland to their fourth Grand Slam, as Andy Farrell’s men were deservedly crowned Guinness Six Nations champions at the Aviva Stadium.
14-man England put it up to the hosts for long stretches of this edge-of-the-seat encounter, but Freddie Steward’s red card for a dangerous challenge on Hugo Keenan just before half-time was a huge blow to their chances.
Ireland led 10-6 at the break, player-of-the-match Sheehan’s 32nd-minute surge over the line adding to a lone Jonathan Sexton penalty as he became the Six Nations all-time top points scorer.
Owen Farrell’s third penalty increased the tension, yet similar to Edinburgh last Sunday, the Championship leaders produced two quick-fire tries, past the hour mark, as Henshaw and Sheehan extended the lead to 15 points.
After Jamie George and Herring swapped closing tries for a final scoreline of 29-16, Ireland could celebrate their first Grand Slam to be won in Dublin, their first Six Nations title since 2018 and fourth in ten seasons, and a record seventh Triple Crown of the Six Nations era.
Head coach Farrell paid tribute to all involved afterwards as his unbeaten Ireland team finished seven points clear of closest rivals France – with three bonus points added for the Grand Slam – and captain Sexton ended his Six Nations career with a new record of 566 points.
“I’m just elated for the boys, just to get it over the line. Because it meant so much for them, especially being here, at home,” he said, following the start of the post-match celebrations.
“Only the fourth one in Irish history, you know? And the first one at home (in Dublin), you know, it’s a special occasion. I would say there is a sense of relief to get the job done, but immensely proud.
“I’m just so glad for the group, it’s just so fitting when you look at the year that we’ve had. To be able to finish it off like that is so deserving in so many ways.”
Farrell added: “Garry Ringrose, getting his 50th last week and he couldn’t receive his 50th cap so we’ve just given it to him now in the changing rooms.
“Josh van der Flier, what a season he’s had. What a fitting moment it is to get his 50th cap on such an occasion like that.
“For captain Johnny here to finish his Six Nations campaign…he’s been saying all week that this is what dreams are made of, it doesn’t come around that often.
“It’s unbelievably fitting that in my opinion the best player ever to play for Ireland is able to sign off on a Grand Slam on St Patrick’s weekend, in front of his home crowd.
“Just, there’s a lot of stars that have aligned over the last eight weeks and accumulated into this evening.”
Part of the pre-match build-up was a fitting tribute to Niall Brophy, Caleb Powell, Tom Tierney and Brian O’Brien, who all sadly passed away in recent weeks. Four men who contributed handsomely to Irish Rugby over the years.
Once the action got underway, early turnovers earned by Willis and Henry Arundell, on his first start, offered England encouragement and their skipper Farrell slotted over a seventh-minute penalty for the lead score.
Keenan followed up his own kick with a well-timed tackle on Arundell, the breakdown spoils gobbled up by Andrew Porter before van der Flier’s half-break had England scurrying back in defence.
Sexton went quickly from a close-range penalty, but a combination of Alex Dombrandt and Farrell held him up. The latter doubled England’s lead soon after, punishing Porter for an early tackle on Kyle Sinckler, who was a lifter at a lineout.
Ireland’s usual accuracy and fluency in attack was missing, with England able to disrupt and force passes to ground. A sharp break by Keenan was swallowed up, but a Sinckler infringement allowed Sexton to split the posts in the 18th minute to make it 6-3.
That kick into the North Stand saw the Ireland skipper eclipse his former team-mate Ronan O’Gara as the Championship’s record points scorer, taking his haul to 560 points, before a promising English spell went unrewarded.
James Lowe bundled Manu Tuilagi into touch, and a lineout penalty leaked by Maro Itoje allowed Ireland to kick clear. The penalties increased against the visitors, although their aggressive defence continued to hold out the table toppers.
Those crucial minutes before the interval saw Ireland make the breakthrough, a tremendous aerial take by Keenan giving them momentum, allied to a Ellis Genge penalty, as Sexton found touch inside the opposition 22.
A crisply-executed lineout move saw van der Flier break from the maul and pass back inside for Sheehan to charge through a gap, using his impressive pace and power to absorb a tackle from Tuilagi, hold off Jack van Poortvliet and ground the ball.
Sexton’s conversion gave Ireland a four-point advantage, and it should have been more following a late Irish onslaught. England had Steward sent off, the full-back making ‘direct contact to the head’ of his opposite number Keenan in an unfortunate collision.
The TMO review resulted in referee Jaco Peyper reaching for his red card, with the South African official noting ‘a high level of danger and no mitigation’. Nonetheless, England dug in to prevent a second try as Ryan Baird knocked on a few metres out.
Keenan was unable to continue, meaning a Six Nations home debut for Jimmy O’Brien. In a kicking-dominated third quarter, Ireland’s best opportunity was spoiled by a loose offload from Lowe to the supporting Henshaw.
England survived Jamison Gibson-Park’s break and kick through, and while there were plenty of turnovers in some bruising exchanges, the scoreboard failed to move until Farrell turned a 49th-minute scrum penalty into three points.
With just the minimum between the teams (10-9), Ireland had to come through some anxious, scrappy phases. England were winning the kicking battle, a skewed Sexton touchfinder also giving them a boost, but the ever-alert Gibson-Park emerged from a maul with turnover ball.
In a key moment, Baird and the newly-introduced Jack Conan fought hard for a turnover penalty. O’Brien and Mack Hansen then hunted down a Sexton cross-field kick which bounced awkwardly for Anthony Watson who conceded a five-metre scrum.
Ireland’s clinical edge returned from the set-piece, using a penalty advantage to attack towards the posts before coming back to the right where Bundee Aki’s slickly-timed pass sent Henshaw over past Jamie George.
The conversion dispatched by Sexton from left to right, eight points now separated the sides. The Ireland captain and Aki soon swallowed up Ben Curry in a choke tackle, and the hosts’ next visit to the English 22 also resulted in a try.
Via a Baird-won lineout, soft hands from Hansen had Sheehan raiding down the right touchline initially. Possession was retained and the short side was the right route again when Conan’s excellent offload out of a double tackle put his hooker diving over in the corner.
That Sexton-converted try was cancelled out by a George maul effort, closing the gap to 24-16, yet Ireland – with Ross Byrne, Conor Murray, Kieran Treadwell and Cian Healy on for the conclusion – delighted the vocal home support with a bonus point score.
Willis was sin-binned for lifting Byrne above the horizontal in a tackle, and as the home side attacked the blindside off a maul, Herring reached over out of a Curry tackle to provide the icing on the cake. A fitting finish to an unforgettable day.
Source: Irish Rugby