London Calling: In London’s green city, where the rugby ain’t pretty

Ireland completed only the third Grand Slam in their history after a stirring and surprisingly comfortable win over England at Twickenham in South West London. The “Grand Slam” means the men in green completed the six nation tournament with a 100% record. England, having also lost to Scotland and France, lost three games for the first time since 2006.

The 15-24 margin of victory gives the impression of a much tighter game but in truth Ireland’s three first half tries put the game beyond an insipid England’s reach.

Up 5-21 at the interval, Ireland defended superbly in defence of their lead in the second half and only a late England try after the 80 minutes had passed gave the scoreline any semblance of respectability.

England had been appalling in the first half versus Scotland but if anything they were even worse in the first 40 minutes here, worse as it was in front of their own fans. Ireland were disciplined and intelligent and you can discard any notions that old footage of the England coach Eddie Jones, referring to them as ‘scummy’ inspired them.

It was discipline, talent and sticking to their game plan against a side who have repeatedly shown themselves to be unable to think on the pitch if their Plan A goes awry that saw the green shirts dominate.

It was not pretty stuff and the neither back line saw much of he ball in the first forty minutes. Had it not been for the incredible storylines around the game, in which Ireland were seeking to secure a Grandslam on St Patricks Day, one might have called it dull rugby

But the backdrop and the high stakes to the game negated the lack of running rugby and made for one of the most absorbing afternoon’s of entertainment that the oval ball code has ever given the nations.

England scrum half Danny Care admitted later that the side let the fans down but claimed that the loss could be the boost the side needs for 2019 and former England star Jeremy Guscott said the side had not gone forward in the last year. The press were cruelr.

In London itself, the combination of gameday and St Patricks Day meant that the colour green was much in evidence across London and it was often difficult to ascertain who was heading to the match, who was heading to a bar to support Ireland and who was just out for a St Patricks Day drink.

St Patricks Day in London, or indeed in Ireland, is not the all out jamboree it is in the USA with bars cashing in and people who have never been to Ireland claiming to be Irish. However, London has a massive Irish community, estimated to be around the 750,000 mark and that does not include Irishmen from Northern Ireland.

Certainly in the Auld Shilelagh bar in Stoke Newington, there were plenty of Irish accents although attempts to introduce any of the more ‘political songs’ met with a frosty silence from the mostly young Irish folk. The mood was affable and English and Irish mixed happily as did the many foreigners from other rugby lands including New Zealanders, Scots and French. In the end, so dominant was the Irish performance that there was nothing left for the natives to do but heartily congratulate their Irish friends on a well deserved win.

The streets cleared of rugby fans and people getting gloriously hammered for St Patricks Day mingled with others brave enough to venture out in rare zero temperatures and even rarer March London snow.

The Irish will look forward to next year’s World Cup in Japan with some optimism while the pressure on England’s Australian coach Eddie Jones is massive following their fifth place finish and the revelation of his offensive comments about Ireland and Wales at a dinner a year ago. As well as referring to the Irish as “scummy”. he called Wales a “shit place”.

Whatever Wales may or may not be, they are in a better place than Eddie Jones!

Also See: Rugby’s 6 Nations thrown wide open after shock England loss in Edinburgh

The rugby World Cup seven-a-side tournament is coming to San Francisco. Look out for our photos and coverage in July.