| Horgan heroics derail broken chariot
 By
Gareth Makim
As a finale to the 1,000th game in the history of this old championship
it could hardly have been bettered. With hopes of a Triple Crown that
could barely have been expected before the start of the championship fading
away Ireland’s feted backline finally made good on their threats
to create something out of nothing and see off the English challenge.
Deep in our own 22 with two minutes remaining a deft Ronan O’Gara
chip kick was collected by Brian O’Driscoll before the ball found
its way to Shane Horgan who strained every inch of his lanky frame to
touch down for a score that will be replayed for many years to come.
Horgan was probably the only player on the Irish side with the right combination
of height and agility to beat a despairing English tackle and no Irishman
has done more to deserve their place in Irish rugby folklore.
Horgan has been the quiet man of the Irish backline, usually having to
take a back seat while the skills of O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy
drew the rave reviews.
But while the Irish centres struggled to find top gear throughout the
championship, their Leinster counterpart stood up to be counted. Whether
Ireland were struggling against the difficult Italians, desolate at half
time in Paris or searching for a miracle in Twickenham, Horgan seemed
to grow in stature and desire when his team needed it most.
As a return on the season the Triple Crown represents a glittering prize
particularly given the doom and gloom that surrounded the team, and especially
the coach, after a dismal autumn and the less than convincing win over
Italy (which the Italians proved in subsequent games to be a reflection
of their improvement rather than Ireland’s struggles).
Eddie O’Sullivan managed to keep morale high in the Irish camp,
particularly after the first half debacle in France and his transitional
side grew in confidence to take advantage of what admittedly ended up
as a championship of fairly poor standard.
Ireland now head on a summer tour of Australia and New Zealand with a
host of positives for the future. The Irish pack is in the midst of a
radical overhaul and with the emergence of Jerry Flannery as hooker of
genuine world class O’Sullivan must think all his birthdays have
come at once. Flannery, apart from a nervous start against Italy, was
almost flawless at the lineout but it was his presence around the field,
almost as an extra back row forward, that was most impressive.
In the back row itself, the marauding tandem of Denis Leamy and David
Wallace had its finest outing to date. Leamy in particular must have been
in the hunt for man of the match honours for his relentless ball-carrying
and his quick thinking try and Wallace yet again provided the biggest
single forward run of the match.
Following a disappointing Lions tour, Paul O’Connell finally seems
ready to take on the mantle of Martin Johnson after delivering a series
of performances that oozed power, passion and pride, while the redoubtable
Peter Stringer has finally regained the fizz that marked out his early
appearances in an Irish shirt and Andrew Trimble is assured of a long
test career.
Eddie O’Sullivan has been blessed with the talent to take Ireland
to the World Cup next year in better shape than ever before and as the
A international win over England on Friday shows that there is plenty
more talent on the way. England’s Andy Robinson must be green with
envy.
|
