Scouting Report

Another exhibition of Celtic courage saw Ireland claim top spot in Pool D and avoid a quarter-final meeting with their coach’s native New Zealand.

Given the nature of the performance their could have been no better setting for this rousing performance which saw them up their levels hugely from the previous week’s win over Italy, because they were playing on the home pitch of a Welsh team that had shown similar bravery to beat England a fortnight earlier.

In tournament terms what was different was that where Wales scrabbled their way to victory with a combination of desperation and opportunism, Ireland hardly missed a beat in spite of three blows that would have proven debilitating for most teams.

The loss of Jonny Sexton, so often a match-winner for them, looked disturbing midway through the opening half, but that was as nothing to the potentially demoralising effect of seeing Paul O’Connell, their beast of a captain, stretchered off the pitch at half-time and when Peter O’Mahony, slighter but cut out of the same Munster rock, was also carried off in the second half they might have folded.

Instead Ian Madigan, different in style but similarly sure of himself, took over from Sexton, Iain Henderson offered the latest evidence that Ireland has another exceptional lock forward in the pipeline as he took over from the captain and Chris Henry, hard man of Ulster, replaced O’Mahony.

Consequently a match that was shaping up very similarly to the previous day’s pool decider between Australia and Wales, was ultimately won by a comfortable margin as they were, as they have been throughout the tournament, roared on by vast, emerald-clad support.

Madigan had added a penalty strike to the two already registered by Sexton, to give them the half-time edge, with Scott Spedding having struck twice from long range, another try-less first half matching the 9-6 scoreline at Twickenham on Saturday.

However lengthy Irish pressure early in the second half eventually produced a try from Rob Kearney and when they got within range again Conor Murray’s alertness saw the scrum-half seize the chance to squeeze the ball onto the bottom of the post.

Either side of that second try, which he of course converted, Madigan added two more penalties to just one more from Spedding.