LONDON (AP) - To pull off a Grand Slam in Six Nations rugby, planning, talent and commitment takes you only so far.
“You need some luck,” Ireland coach Joe Schmidt added with a grin in the bowels of Twickenham on Saturday.
Schmidt and his side were celebrating Ireland’s third clean sweep in the championship, beside 1948 and 2009, after smothering England in a fabulous 24-15 win.
The Irish, who secured the championship a week earlier, put this result beyond doubt by halftime after spearing England with three converted tries to lead 21-5.
Two of those touchdowns involved knock-ons missed by the officials; in the first try by center Garry Ringrose, and the third from wing Jacob Stockdale which gave the newcomer an Irish-record seventh in this championship, one short of the overall best set in 1925.
“In big games against teams at least as good as you are, those moments make a difference,” Schmidt said.
Indeed. And nobody was begrudging the Irish a scoreline that flattered England, and a nine-point margin that was their biggest at the home of rugby in 54 years.
After attacking so decisively in the first half, Ireland spent most of the second on defense as England, the deposed champion, rallied to try and prevent a first home loss in the Six Nations since 2012.
A short spell after halftime stood out for Schmidt because of his side’s determination to repel England. In that period, England wing Jonny May nearly scored twice but was ankle-tapped by opposite number Keith Earls, then stopped by Earls and Conor Murray.
“Those eight minutes totally summed up this team,” Schmidt said. “We’ve scored a lot of tries this year, but that pure resilience, the ability to get back up in the defensive line, that was exceptional.”
Having not won at Twickenham in eight years, the Irish broke the fear factor with a fantasy start.
A Jonathan Sexton up-and-under was contested on the try-line by fullbacks Anthony Watson and Rob Kearney. The ball spilled and Ringrose dived over them to pounce, but television match official Ben Skeen missed the knock-on when the ball touched Kearney’s left hand.
There was no doubt about the second try by No. 8 CJ Stander. A set move off prop Tadhg Furlong in the backline saw Sexton double round him and England track him, missing Bundee Aki who burst off Furlong into space. He fed Stander whose momentum got him to the left post for 14-0.
Aki was fortunate not to be sin-binned for a shoulder charge on wing Elliot Daly, which began an England siege.
Penalty, lineout, maul: England repeated it three times only to be stopped on each occasion. Ireland flanker Peter O’Mahony was sin-binned for repeated fouls. On the fourth attempt, England overthrew the lineout. Ireland cleared but England came back and Daly scored from an Owen Farrell grubber kick.
England errors undermined further attempts to take advantage of the extra man, and when O’Mahony returned, Ireland went through the phases in injury time.
A nice Murray pass released Stockdale on the left touchline. He chipped, kneed the ball on, and dived on it before it rolled out the back. Again, Skeen missed Stockdale brushing the ball with his left hand before he kneed it.
“That was fortuitous,” Schmidt said.
But then fortune favors the brave. Ireland’s Grand Slam journey finished in snow flurries in London having started in the rain in Paris on the opening weekend when 41 phases finished with Sexton launching a dropped-goal winner deep in injury time. Then there was Stockdale’s late intercept to end a Wales comeback.
England used halftime to reset and come back, too. That’s when the Irish made the most of their 173 tackles, 40 more than England. The defense contained England to only two more too-late tries to Daly again, and May.
Long before then, the Irish began hugging and slapping backs on the sidelines, a record-extending 12th straight test win in the bag. Kearney and Rory Best became the first Irishmen to win a second Grand Slam.
“This feels more special, not only because I have started every game but also because of captaining the side,” Best said. “We had to make every moment count. We knew the reward would be worth the massive effort required.”
England coach Eddie Jones called out the “scummy Irish” for ending his side’s Grand Slam bid last year in Dublin. The revenge he sought wasn’t forthcoming.
A third straight loss sunk England to a fifth-place finish for the first time since 1983. Jones said it was part of the process champion teams go through.
Ireland has yet to lose three successive championship matches on Schmidt’s five-year watch. Give a little credit to luck.
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