February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
If France defeat England in Paris on Saturday, they will claim the Grand Slam, but the Irish still have a target as a win over hapless Scotland in Dublin on the same day will secure a first Triple Crown since 1985.
All the signs are that Scotland, who were crushed 31-0 by the French in Edinburgh, will be easy meat for coach Eddie O?Sullivan’s side. If the margin of victory over Italy was a little disappointing, the weather conditions were probably the worst ever experienced at Lansdowne Road.
The gale force wind that whipped around the ground meant that the match was a lottery, and as Ireland had wanted to play a fast, back-oriented game, they had to revert to a much more conservative pattern that was more to the Italians’ liking.
Not surprisingly, both teams found handling and kicking difficult, and the contest was, predictably, an error-ridden one. While the Irish scored three tries to none, there was bad news afterward when it was revealed that Keith Gleeson had broken his arm. The flanker will now miss the Triple Crown match.
“Because of the conditions, we decided that the only thing to do was to take the Italian forwards on at their own game,” O’Sullivan said. “Anything else would have been a high-risk strategy. I’m very happy, three tries in those conditions was good return.”
The first came after 28 minutes when the outstanding Malcolm O’Kelly, who equaled Willie John McBride’s record of 63 caps for a second row, grabbed an Italian throw at the front of a line out to dive over. The second was down to a piece of typical Brian O’Driscoll class when he switched the direction of the play to outpace the defense. This time, Ronan O’Gara was able to convert and Ireland led 12-0 at the changeover.
That margin was not one to make anyone in green relax, especially as Italy had been facing the gale, but when Shane Horgan cut through for the third try following a perfect O’Gara assist, with the out-half’s conversion making it 19-0, the tension was eased.
From then on, Ireland were able to run down the clock with the only scare coming when Denis Dallan dropped the ball when it seemed easier to score. “Italy are actually more physical than England, and we defended well,” added O’Sullivan. “I think we did a good job overall.”
David Wallace could come into the team to replace Gleeson, or O’Sullivan might select Victor Costello at No. 6 and move Simon Easterby to the openside flank. Either way, it shouldn’t matter that much. Scotland are so pitiful, that if Gleeson played in a plaster cast, the Triple Crown would still be won.