The fixture that marked the formal celebration of the 150th anniversary of Ireland’s first men’s fixture which took place during the 1874/’75 season.

This afternoon’s game saw Cian Healy set a new Ireland record as he won his 134th international cap.

Australia take early lead

A nervous Ireland found themselves on the back foot during the early stages of Saturday’s game.

A high tackle from Joe McCarthy, which was viewed by officials who decided only to award a penalty – and not go for a yellow card – saw Noah Lolesio kick an easy penalty from directly in front of the posts to put his side into the lead in the 10th minute.

Joe Schmidt’s visitors extended their advantage when Max Jorgensen scored the game’s opening try after 18 minutes.

As the Aussies became stronger, Ireland were stretched badly and under defensive pressure. Winger Kellaway looked to be heading in for a try only for a brilliant trip tackle from Sam Prendergast preventing the winger from scoring.

The visitors immediately spread the ball to the opposite side of the field and Max Jorgensen found himself in space. The Balmain Wolves’ player breached the try-scoring line for the opening five-pointer of the test match.

With Lolesio adding the extras, the Wallabies were in a 10-0 lead.

Van der Flier try

The concession of a penalty by the Wallabies led to Ireland’s first score of the game. With Australia on the back foot from the ensuing Ireland line-out, within three phases Gibson-Park broke for the line before passing to Van der Flier for his 13th international try.

Sam Prendergast missed the conversion opportunity, meaning it was double scores: Ireland 5 Australia 10.

A second successful Lolesio penalty kick extended the visitors’ lead to 13-5 –  the final score of the opening 40 minutes.

Half-time: Ireland 5  Australia 13

Ireland took their early second-half opportunity to reduce the deficit. Aussie prop James Slipper was penalised, giving Sam Prendergast a kick from the 10m line, directly in front of the posts. The Leinster kicker comfortably had both the direction and the distance to reduce his side’s deficit to 8-13.

Captain’s try 

With Ireland having the momentum, Andy Farrell’s side claimed their second try of the game shortly afterwards. Australia were penalised, and Prendergast kicked for the line. Winning their own throw-in, the home side, with a baying crowd behind them, made headway for the line, with captain, and eventual player of the match Caelin Doris, touching down to put the sides level for the first time in the game. The easy conversion kick, from directly in front of the posts, was slotted over by Prendergast, and Ireland took a 15-13 lead.

As Ireland made changes, one of them, Tom O’Toole was only on the field when conceding a penalty. The easy kick for Lolesio pushed his side back into a marginal 16-15 lead.

Another penalty kick from Lolesio, this time from 47 metres out, but directly in front of the posts, pushed his side into a 15-19 advantage, as the game entered the final quarter.

McCarthy try for Ireland

Replacement Gus McCarthy claimed his second international try after 73 minutes, before another Ireland replacement Jack Crowley successfully converted for a 22-19 lead for the home side – the final score of Ireland’s fourth Autumn Series international.

Today’s international test was the 38th meeting of Ireland and Australia, with the hosts having now 15 successes since the sides first met at Lansdowne Road on 12 November 1927. The Australians have 22 wins to their name and there has been one draw in games between the two countries.

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In their 756th test match, and the 20th meeting between Ireland and Argentina since caps were first awarded on 27 October 1990, Ireland held out at the death in a titanic final tussle.

Both sides had two men each sin binned on a night Cian Healy won his 133rd cap to join Brian O’Driscoll at the top of the list.

Two early Irish tries

In a much improved opening 40 minute performance from last week, Ireland opened the scoring on four minutes.

Jack Crowley, who had earlier been on the receiving end of a dangerous high tackle from Matias Moroni, which saw the centre sin binned for 10 minutes, opened the Irish try-scoring.

With Argentina down a man, Ireland aimed to exploit the wide space in front of them. A break from the home side was dominated by centre Garry Ringrose cutting through the Argentinian side. Tadhg Beirne received the ball yards from the line, but the Munster player unselfishly passed inside to Mack Hansen. The Connacht man had the easy task of touching down for his 10th international try in 23 test matches. On this occasion, Crowley’s conversion attempt was short and fell under the crossbar. This gave Farrell’s side a 12-0 advantage.

Albornoz opens Argentinian scoring

Ireland were penalised for being offside and this gave the Pumas an opportunity to claim their first score of the test match on 12 minutes. Benetton’s Tomás Albornoz dissected the posts to narrow the margin between the sides to 12-3.

Tadhg Beirne thought he had added to the Irish score minutes later when he stretched to touchdown, despite two Argentinian players tackling him. The referee, Paul Williams of New Zealand, called a try as the on field decision, but on review with the TMO, the ball was knocked on as Beirne attempted to ground the ball.

Bealham gets yellow card

Finlay Bealham was found guilty of a crock roll towards the end of the opening quarter of the game. Paul Williams reviewed the incident on the big screen where the Irish front row was clearly seen committing the foul. The Corinthians man was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes.

The penalty which followed was successfully kicked by Albornoz, his second of the night, leaving Ireland in a 12-6 lead.

Crowley kicked a fantastic drop goal from centre field on the stroke of 21 minutes to extend the home side’s advantage to 15-6.

With two Irish players blown for crossing, the visitors were handed another three-point opportunity which Albornoz took with aplomb; the score was Ireland 15 Argentina 9 by this stage, with the clock showing 26 minutes played.

McCarthy claims third Irish try

The men in green soon extended their advantage when Joe McCarthy claimed the side’s third try of the night. Coming from an Irish line out near the Argentinian try line, James Lowe at first looked as though he would be successful. Though he ended up being short of the try-scoring line, McCarthy was in support for the five-point score. Another good kick from Crowley meant the score board read 22-9 in Ireland’s favour at the break.

Half-time:  Ireland 22  Argentina 9

Mallía try for Argentina 

Individual brilliance from Argentinian fullback Juan Cruz Mallía created the space for him to claim his team’s first try of the game, after 45 minutes. The Toulouse player, with a 7s background, broke through an ailing Irish defence and easily took the five-pointer.

A straightforward kick from Tomás Albornoz brought his side to within six points of Ireland, with 46 minutes on the stadium clock.

Joe McCarthy became the second Irish player, and third of the game, to be shown a yellow card. The earlier try scorer was guilty of deliberately going offside according to match referee Williams.

Albornoz kicked his second three-pointer of the second half and brought the Pumas to within three points of Andy Farrell’s team.

Shoulder to head contact from Franciso Gómez Kodela on Caelan Dorris saw the Argentinian spend the final five minutes of the game in the sin bin, the fourth player of the night to spend time in the bin.

Both previously uncapped players Tom Clarkson and Sam Prendergast made their senior international debuts on Friday night, while Cian Healy claimed his 133rd test cap, joining Brian O’Driscoll as Ireland’s most-capped player ever.

Ireland now have 14 wins in games between the sides with Argentina having 6 victories.

Final Score: Ireland 22 Argentina 19

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Robbie Henshaw will make his 75th international appearance this evening and is the only change in the starting line-up from last Friday.

The Leinster duo Thomas Clarkson and Sam Prendergast are the two uncapped players Farrell has chosen on the replacements bench for the game as Ireland hope to get back to winning ways following last their defeat to New Zealand.

Healy in line for cap 133

Cian Healy will win his 133rd Test match cap if coming off the replacements’ bench this evening. His will match the record Test cap haul of former Leinster and Ireland great Brian O’Driscoll.

Ireland’s back three is unchanged from last weekend’s opening Autumn Nations Series test, with Hugo Keenan, James Lowe and Mack Hansen again chosen.

Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose will start in midfield tonight, with Jamison Gibson-Park and Jack Crowley again getting the nod as the half-back pairing.

The entire pack remains unchanged, with Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher and Finlay Bealham in the front row, with Joe McCarthy and James Ryan in support in the second row.

Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, who scored a try against New Zealand, and captain Caelan Doris complete Farrell’s starting team.

Alongside Cian Healy on the replacements’ bench are Rob Herring, uncapped Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Peter O’Mahony, Craig Casey, uncapped Sam Prendergast and Jamie Osborne.

Speaking ahead of the Argentina clash, Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell, said:

“There has been a sharp focus in training this week and the squad are determined to get back to winning ways in front of a vocal home crowd. Friday will be a special night at Aviva Stadium for more reasons than one.”

Tonight’s game, which kicks off at 8.10pm, will be live on Virgin Media One, and there will be radio coverage on RTÉ Radio 1.

Ireland Team

15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Mack Hansen, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Robbie Henshaw, 11. James Lowe, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park.

1. Andrew Porter, 2. Rónan Kelleher, 3. Finlay Bealham, 4. Joe McCarthy, 5. James Ryan, 6. Tadhg Beirne, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Caelan Doris (captain).

Replacements:

16. Rob Herring, 17. Cian Healy, 18. Thomas Clarkson, 19. Ryan Baird, 20. Peter O’Mahony, 21. Craig Casey, 22. Sam Prendergast, 23. Jamie Osborne.

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In a tightly-fought game, the All Blacks were full value for their first Dublin win since 2016, with the number of penalties conceded by Ireland having a bearing on the final score.

Opening Half

The opening half of a physical game saw the sides exchange penalty kicks, with New Zealand successfully kicking three to Ireland’s two.

First blood on the scoreboard went to the home side, however. The All Blacks were penalised for blocking in front of the receiver following an Irish Garryowen. With Ireland well positioned to the centre of the posts, Jack Crowley slotted his first kicking attempt at goal over the bar for a 3-0 lead.

New Zealand were quickly awarded their first shot at the posts when referee Nic Berry penalised Finlay Bealham for failing to roll away. Chiefs’ Damian McKenzie comfortably claimed the three-pointer to level the scores after 10 minutes.

All Blacks turned down opportunities to kick for points

Though New Zealand spent a substantial period of the first 40 minutes in the Irish half of the field, the All Blacks turned down a number of goal-kicking opportunities during that time.

With the sides still tied at 3-3 despite the All Blacks’ domination of possession, Damian McKenzie decided to kick his side’s next opportunity, awarded for an illegal tackle from Ireland. This gave the southern hemisphere team a 6-3 advantage on 29 minutes, as the visitors went into the lead for the first time in the test match.

During the final minutes of the first half, McKenzie brought his scoring to nine points when successful with an easy kick, giving New Zealand a 9-3 lead.

Just when it looked as though the main action of the half was complete, the Hurricanes’ Jordi Barrett was penalised for a high tackle. He was shown a yellow card by referee Nic Berry, following consultation with the TMO.

Munster’s Jack Crowley took the ensuing penalty to reduce the deficit on the conclusion of the half, leaving Ireland trailing the All Blacks 6-9 at the break.

Half-time: Ireland 6  New Zealand 9.

Though the Barrett yellow card was reviewed early in the second half, it was not upgraded to red, meaning the All Blacks’ centre spent 10 minutes in the sin bin, instead of 20 minutes which is now the new law.

Ireland try

With the All Blacks down a man, Ireland went in search of an early second half score. The home side powered towards the New Zealand line, moving from left to right. Josh van der Flier eventually stretched and powered his way over for the opening try of the game.

Jack Crowley kicked from right of the posts near the right side line as the Cork Constitution man gave Andy Farrell’s men a 13-9 advantage, with what was arguably his most difficult kick of the night.

Damian McKenzie was soon back on the scoreboard, as his effort from just inside the Irish half of the field, dissected the posts, leaving the bare minimum between the two teams, Ireland leading 13-12 with 49 minutes showing on the match clock.

All Blacks back in front

Finlay Bealham, who had earlier been replaced, came back on the field following an HIA for his replacement, Tom O’Toole. The prop was soon penalised for driving across in the scrum, rather than driving straight.

McKenzie, whose previous penalty attempt has come off the upright, made no mistake on this occasion, and put his side into a two-point lead, 15-13 with the clock passing the 60 minute mark.

Iain Henderson, one of Ireland’s replacements, was penalised at the breakdown minutes later, giving the visitors an opportunity to increase their second-half lead.

McKenzie added to his tally for the night as he successfully kicked the penalty, pushing his team 18-13 ahead in what had been a tight game until that stage.

New Zealand becoming more dominant

New Zealand became more dominant in the game against an unsteady Ireland. The All Blacks split the Irish side on their way to scoring their only five-pointer of the test match, having gone try-less for 68 minutes.

Moving the Irish team from one side of the pitch to the other, the Caelan Dorris-led side were stretched badly, giving New Zealand full-back Will Jordan of the Crusaders the easy task of running into the corner to touch down.

McKenzie failed on this occasion to add the extra point, leaving his side with a 10-point advantage, 23-13, as the game faced into the final 10 minutes.

New Zealand maintained the gap to the death, however, to claim their 32nd success in clashes between the sides.

For Ireland they failed to extend their current run of 19 successive wins at the Aviva Stadium.

Ireland have now won 40 of their last 43 home games at the Aviva Stadium, dating back to 2016.

Final score: Ireland 13  New Zealand 23

Ireland team:

15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Mack Hansen, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. James Lowe, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park.
16. Andrew Porter, 2. Ronan Kelleher, 3. Finlay Bealham, 4. Joe McCarthy, 5. James Ryan,
    6. Tadhg Beirne, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Caelan Doris (captain).

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Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell named his side earlier this week to face the All Blacks under lights in front of a sell-out crowd tonight.

Caelan Doris, who captained Ireland against Italy in the Six Nations last February, will again captain the side from the back row.

The Ireland back three will consist of Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen and James Lowe.

Bundee Aki partners Garry Ringrose in midfield, and Jamison Gibson-Park will return to scrum-half to partner Jack Crowley at out-half.

The front row will consist of Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher and Finlay Bealham, while Joe McCarthy and James Ryan will comprise the second row.

Tadhg Beirne will operate at blindside flanker with Josh van de Flier on the openside, and captain Caelan Doris playing at number eight will complete the back row.

Looking ahead to tonight’s game, Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell said:

“It’s a hugely exciting four weeks ahead in Aviva Stadium and we know we’ll need to perform at a high level to beat a top-class New Zealand side. The challenge doesn’t come much bigger or better than New Zealand at a packed Aviva Stadium on a Friday night, under lights, with a home crowd roaring us on.”

On the replacements bench Farrell can call on numerous experienced international players. Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson and Peter O’Mahony are the forwards replacements, while Conor Murray, Ciaran Frawley and Jamie Osborne will provide backup in the backline.

Tonight’s game is live on Virgin Media One and there will be live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.

Ireland (v New Zealand):

Player/Club/Province/Caps

15. Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster)(39)
14. Mack Hansen (Corinthians/Connacht)(21)
13. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)(60)
12. Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht)(57)
11. James Lowe (Leinster)(33)
10. Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster)(16)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(35)

1. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)(66)
2. Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster)(33)
3. Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht)(42)
4. Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster)(12)
5. James Ryan (UCD/Leinster)(64)
6. Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster)(52)
7. Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster)(64)
8. Caelan Doris (St Mary’s College/Leinster)(43)(captain)

Replacements:

16. Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(40)
17. Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)(131)
18. Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(13)
19. Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster)(81)
20. Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)(107)
21. Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)(118)
22. Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster)(6)
23. Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster)(2).

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The Ireland Women become the first side from the Ireland Sevens Programme to win a World Series title, as Eve Higgins pounced for a decisive 13th-minute try in an epic 19-14 Cup final victory over Australia, the current table toppers.

Having lost to the Australians in their only previous Cup final appearance in Seville two years ago, Allan Temple-Jones’ Irish side gained revenge with stalwarts Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and Lucy Mulhall both touching down during the first half.

Earlier Mulhall had starred with two tries during an impressive 31-7 semi-final defeat of Britain, despite Ireland previously having a poor semi-final record of just one win from seven at that stage of competition.

In Sunday’s final, captain Mulhall capitalised on Charlotte Caslick’s sin-binning in the final to squeeze in under the posts just before half-time.

Ireland lead 14-7 at half-time

Ireland’s 14-7 interval lead was erased when Teagan Levi evaded a diving tackle from Higgins for a breakaway ninth-minute effort, yet Mulhall, the HSBC player of the final, and her team-mates brilliantly held their nerve in a tense end-game.

They got back on the front foot, with Béibhinn Parsons accelerating through into the opposition 22, before replacement Aoibheann Reilly fed Higgins on the left wing and she stepped inside Isabella Nasser, shrugging off her attempted tackle to score.

Mulhall pushed her conversion narrowly wide, but it was not needed in the end as Australia knocked on from the restart. Reilly got the ball out of the scrum swiftly, allowing her skipper to kick the ball dead and crown a superb team performance.

“This is massive for Irish women’s rugby”

Ireland coach Alan Temple-Jones was almost speechless:

“Playing Australia is an unbelievable opportunity for the girls. We’re extremely chuffed … lost for words. We’ve had a good focus these last two weeks. We had a lot to improve on after Dubai and Cape Town … unreal.”

The Irish captain Amy Mulhall said the victory had been “a long time coming,” before adding, “It means a lot and we’ve been on a long journey. This is massive for Irish women’s rugby; we’ll be sure to celebrate.”

Ireland now move up to fourth position in the overall SVNS standings, with Australia still clear at the top.

Men win 3rd place play-off

As well as the Ireland Women adding to the silver (Seville) and bronze (Langford) they won during the 2021/’22 season, the previous match had seen the Ireland Men overcome Fiji 24-7 in brilliant fashion to win the 3rd place play-off.

After bowing out of the Cup competition to SVNS Series leaders Argentina, they took on the Fijians without injured captain Harry McNulty, and fell behind to a Josese Batirerega try.

The talismanic Terry Kennedy hit back with two touchdowns either side of half-time, and it was Ireland who produced the stronger finish with their bench becoming a crucial factor.

Lively replacement Gavin Mullin ran in a brace of tries in the 11th and 14th minutes to seal the result and delight the vocal Irish support in Western Australia’s capital city.

It is the fourth SVNS Series medal that the Ireland Men have won – they have picked up three since becoming a core team. Their first one was secured back in London in 2018 when they were bronze medallists as an invitational outfit.

Like their female counterparts, the most recent SVNS Series podium finishes for James Topping’s side were in 2022 when they earned silver in Toulouse, and did likewise in Dubai during the second leg of the 2022/’23 season.

The two Ireland squads have certainly hit the ground running at the start of 2024, giving themselves a timely boost as the countdown continues to the Women’s Olympic debut in Paris, where the Men will compete for the second time after their maiden qualification in Tokyo.

The 2024 SVNS Series continues in February and March with a double-header in Vancouver and Los Angeles.

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1995 was when Rugby went global. The tournament was always going to be played out with the spotlight of the International media on it due to President Nelson Mandela bringing the apartheid era to an end and along with it South Africa’s sporting isolation. The Springboks had been banned from the 1987 and 1991 tournaments. Now that the apartheid era was over they would participate for the first time.

The tournament surpassed all expectations, Jonah Lomu burst onto the stage and became Rugby’s first superstar. Spoiler Alert – The home side went on to beat the All-Blacks in the final. Nelson Mandela presenting Francois Pienaar with the Webb Ellis trophy became the defining image of the tournament. So what was Ireland’s part in all of this? 

Pool stage

For the first time, Ireland were in a group that they were not guaranteed to progress from. They were drawn in Pool C alongside New Zealand, Ireland, Wales and Japan. First up were the mighty All-Blacks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. 

Ireland New Zealand

It was a World Cup debut for 20-year-old Jonah Lomu, who at 6ft 5in and weighing in at 18 stone was unheard of for a winger at the time. But Ireland were about to get an up-close glimpse of his pace and power. 

The game started well for the Irish. Former hammer thrower, Gary Halpin, crashed over for the game’s first try as Ireland took an early lead. But that would be as good as it got for Gerry Murphy’s side as New Zealand clicked into gear. Two  Andrew Mehrtens’ penalties got them back to within a point of the Irish, before a brief reprieve when New Zealand had a try disallowed due to Andrew Little having a foot in touch. Then Lomu showed his immense power bursting through three Irish tacklers to score his first of seven tries at the tournament. 

The second All-Black try arrived shortly after when Brendan Mullen saw an attempted kick on the edge of his own 22 charged down by Frank Bunce who gathered to score. Denis McBride gave Ireland a glimmer of hope with a try just before half-time after a great break from Simon Geoghegan. At the break, Ireland trailed by 20-12. 

A second Lomu try after he was put into space by Kronfeld spelled the end of the Irish challenge. Lomu was denied his hat-trick after making a dazzling break from his own 22 and bursting past four would-be Irish tacklers. Simon Geoghegan made a try-saving tackle 5 yards out only for Lomu to pop the ball up to the onrushing Kronfeld who scored.

David Corkery grabbed, what was by that stage, a consolation try for Ireland before a late try from Glen Osborne added a gloss to the scoreline that highly flattered the All-Blacks after a brave Irish performance. 

Ireland 50 Japan 28

Next up for the Irish, four days later in Bloemfontein, was a 50-28 win over pool minnows Japan. Tries from David Corkery, Neil Francis, Simon Geoghegan, Eddie Halvey and Niall Hogan as well as two penalty tries saw the Irish outscore the Japanese by seven tries to four. Paul Burke took over from Eric Elwood at out-half for this game and nailed 6 out of 7 conversions as well as a penalty.

Ireland 24 Wales 23

Ireland were back in action in at Ellis Park, Johannesburg just four days later for a Pool C decider against Wales. The Irish were quietly confident having won the corresponding Five Nations clash in Cardiff the previous March 12-16 with Brendan Mullin scoring the only try of the game.

Wales had also enjoyed an easy win over Japan, before being beaten by New Zealand 34-9 in their second pool encounter. A 6th minute Nick Popplewell try off a lineout maul, converted by Eric Elwood, gave the Irish a great start. They stretched their lead when Denis McBride race under the posts after some dubious Welsh defending. Elwoods conversion saw Ireland lead 14-0 before the half hour mark. A Neil Jenkins penalty got Wales off the mark and an Adrian Davies drop  goal just before the break left the scoreline Ireland 14 Wales 6. 

After the interval a Jenkins  penalty brought the arrears to just 5 points. But just as Irish fans started to sweat, Eddie Halvey crashed over after good work from Paddy Johns to make it a two score game once again. A Jonathan Humphries try for Wales on 73 minutes, which Jenkins converted, meant a nervous last few minutes for Irish fans. Elwood’s penalty on 78 made the game safe, before a Welsh try with the last play of the game made the final score of Ireland 24 Wales 23 look tighter than it really was.

Quarter Final

Ireland’s reward for escaping their pool was a quarter-final meeting with a French side that had  topped Pool D with three wins from three. Tonga (38-10), Ivory Coast (54-18) and Scotland (22-19) were all beaten to set up a second meeting of that year against an Irish side they had convincingly beaten in Dublin by 7-25 the Five Nations back in March.

The quarter-final took place in Kings Park, Durban and had a lunchtime kick-off at 1:10pm local time. An Elwood penalty after 2 minutes of the game gave Ireland an early lead. France answered with a kick of their own from the boot of Thierry Lacroix after 6 minutes. This patter was to be  repeated again three in the next thirty five minutes of play with three more penalties apiece for the kickers. So the scoreboard read 12-12 at the interval, but Elwood’s fourth penalty on 38 minutes  was to be the last time as Gerry Murphy’s side trouble the scoreboard as they never really got going after the break. 

Four more penalties from Lacroix as well as two tries in the last ten minutes of the game from Phillipe Sanit-Andre  and a last minute intercept try from Emile Ntamack gave the French a comfortable win in the end. Once again there was an anti-climatic feel to an Irish World Cup campaign, this time they didn’t even have the comfort of a heroic defeat to cling to.

After Ireland’s exit….

It was to be Ireland’s final game of the amateur era as within two months the game went professional. After the tournament the IRFU replaced Gerry Murphy with their first Head coach, New Zealander Murray Kidd.  

On the field South Africa completed the fairytale for the new rainbow nation. Nelson Mandella presenting the William Webb Ellis trophy to Springboks captain Francois Peinnar became an iconic image. It represented the hope of a new era for the recently unified nation

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The 2003 edition of the tournament was originally planned as another joint venture between Antipodean neighbours Australia and New Zealand. However, political squabbling prior to the of the tournament saw hosting rights withdrawn from New Zealand. As a result 2003 became the first time the Rugby World Cup was hosted by a single country. 

Ireland’s Six Nations campaign that year started well. Comfortable wins away to both Scotland (6-36) and Italy (13-37), as well as a hard fought 15-12 win over France at Lansdowne Road set up a final day Grand Slam decider at home to England. 

That encounter was memorable for the pre-match ‘Carpet-gate’ incident. English Captain Martin Johnson breached etiquette and refused to move his team to the correct position for the pre-match presentation to then President Mary McAleese. This meant that a Brain O’Driscoll led Irish side took up their position off the carpet and on the grass. Unfortunately, the performance on the day from a nervous looking Irish side was poor as a dominant English side comprehensively beat Ireland 6-42.

In the build up to the tournament the loss through injury of Geordan Murphy and Rob Henderson came as a blow to Eddie O’Sullivan’s squad. 

Pool A

Ireland were drawn in Pool A alongside familiar foes – hosts Australia, Argentina and Romania. Ireland had faced all of those nations in the 1999 World Cup, while Namibia were the fifth team in the pool.

11th October 2003: Ireland 45 Romania 17

Ireland enjoyed a comfortable opening round win over the Romanians in Gosford. Tries from Shane Horgan, Keith Wood, Victor Costello and  a brace from Denis Hickie as well as four conversions (Humphreys 3, O’Gara 1) and four penalties from the boot of David Humphreys ensured Ireland picked up a bonus point win. The bonus point system was a new addition for the Pool stages in 2003.

19th October 2003: Ireland 64 Namibia 7

A comprehensive 57 point win for O’Sullivan’s side against tier 2 Namibia in a rain soaked Sydney set a new Irish record score at a World Cup. Alan Quinlan set the tone with the first of ten Irish tries after just 2 minutes, breaking off the back of a maul to score his first of two tries in the game. Eric Miller also grabbed a brace, while Girvan Dempsey, Denis Hickey, Marcus Horan, Guy Easterby, Shane Horgan and John Kelly all got in on the act. Ronan O’Gara added seven conversions. Indeed, but for the slipper conditions caused by the deluge the margin of Ireland’s victory would have been far greater.

The hapless Namibian’s would go on to create some unwanted World Cup history in their final pool game as they fell to Australia by a record margin of 142-0. Surpassing the previous record set in South Africa in 1995 when New Zealand beat Japan 145-17.

26th October 2003: Ireland 16 Argentina 15

Ireland gained a measure of revenge for their 1999 defeat to Los Pumas in Lens with a narrow win over the Argentines in Adelaide. Alan Quinlan’s try midway through the first-half, which came against the run of play, was to be the games decisive score. Keith Wood set up the try after stealing a lose line-out ball and bursting up the field, before off loading to Quinlan who raced over. For the unfortunate Tippearay man it also signalled the end of his tournament. He injured his shoulder in the act of scoring that try. Despite that score Ireland only held a single point lead at the break !0-9. Argentina had two Gonzalo Quesada penalties and a Ignacio Corleto drop goal to show for their first-half efforts. For Ireland David Humphreys had converted the try and also kicked a penalty.

Just before the hour mark a second drop-goal put the Argentines ahead, but two penalties from substitute out-half Ronan O’Gara, who was introduced in the 56th minute, put the Irish back in control.  A third Quesada penalty with five minutes to go brought the margin back to a single point. Plenty of nail-biting ensued, but the Irish held out til the final whistle.

The win for O’Sullivan’s side ensured progress from Pool A, while the result also meant an early return home for an Argentine side who had already lost to Australia by 24-8 in their opening match.  

1st November 2003: Australia 17  Ireland 16

The pool decider was played in front of a partisan home crowd in the Docklands stadium in Melbourne. Eddie O’Sullivan opted to start O’Gara ahead of Humphreys due to the formers impressive substitute cameo in the previous game. Ireland found themselves 8-0 behind after the opening 12 minutes. An early drop-goal from Australia’s diminutive scrum-half George Greegan was followed shortly after by the games first try from flanker George Smith. But Ireland responded positively and battled their way back into contention. Two O’Gara penalties narrowed the gap, a Elton Flatley penalty left the half-time score reading Australia 11 Ireland 6.

Another Flatley three pointer push out the lead again to eight, before a moment of magic from Brian O’Driscoll saw him somehow defy gravity and squeeze over in the corner despite the attention of two Wallaby defenders. O’Gara’s magnificent touchline conversion brought it back to a one point game. Australia responded quickly and added another Flatley penalty, but in the last thirty minutes it was all Ireland. An O’Driscoll drop-goal on 67 minutes reduced the gap to the minimum again (1:25.00 in the video). Shane Horgan almost scored from an O’Gara cross field kick (1:16.00), while O’Gara himself curled a long range drop goal effort just wide of the posts. Humphreys entered the fray for the final quarter of an hour and hit an even later effort just wide to the right of the Aussie posts. But the match winning score never came and a crucial George Smith turn-over at the death allowed Greegan to boot the ball to touch. Top spot in the pool gave the Aussies a quarter-final meeting with Scotland, while for Ireland it meant a meeting with old foes France.

9th November 2003: France 43 Ireland 21

Ireland returned to the Docklands in Melbourne fully of optimism after that strong second-half showing against the hosts. Eddie O’Sullivan’s side had a good track record against the French and had won three of their previous four meetings. However, the French had been impressive in the pool stages and romped to victory in all their Pool B games. Fiji were beaten 61-18 in their pool opener, Japan were dispatched 51-29 by a second string side, they then hammered Scotland 51-9 before their midweek side accounted for the USA by 41-14. 

Ireland were aware of how costly their slow start had been in their last game against Australia. O’Sullivan wanted them to try and set the tempo early on. However, the previous clash had taken a heavy toll on the Irish team and their play lacked the aggression and tempo of a week previous. The French pack got on top and Frederic Michalak  directed the play from an armchair seat. 

Once Oliver Mange crossed for the games first try it was clear there was only going to be one winner in this mismatch. By half-time the game was as good as over, France lead 27-0 by the break and it was clear that the second half would merely be a damage limitation excercise. 

Second Half

Shortly after the restart twenty one year-old Michalak, who was metronomic in his kicking all day, sent over a 42nd minute penalty to increase the French lead to 30 points. It was a sign of how bad Ireland were  when 35 year old prop Jean-Jacques Crenca ran in the fourth French try and at 37-0 after just 48minutes it was in danger of becoming Ireland’s worst World Cup performance ever.

O’Sullivan replaced Ronan O’Gara with David Humphreys after this score. O’Gara later said it was the only game he was ever glad to be taken off in. The change of out-half help Ireland lift their tempo and a great break trough the midfield from Kevin Maggs off a lineout move saw Ireland get their first score of the game on 52 minutes. With renewed impetus after the try Ireland had a sustained period of pressure and this led to a Raphael Ibanez yellow card and another Irish try off the resulting 5 yard scrum. Victor Costello broke off the back and crashed the ball up, Peter Stringer then whipped a quick ball out to Humphreys, who then dinked a little kick behind the French line. Brain O’Driscoll reacted quickest and using all of his speed and dexterity touched the ball down inches before the dead-ball line (1:20:30 in full highlights). With the final play of the game O’Driscoll crashed over for his second and Ireland’s third try after a quick tap and go penalty from Guy Easterby was recycled just short of the line by Humphreys to the on-rushing O’Driscoll who barrelled over to score.

The Irish performance over the last half-hour of the game when they outscored the French by 21-6 only added to the sense of frustration after the game. It was to prove an inauspicious end to the decorated career of Irish Captain Keith Wood who retired after the game. France went on to lose their semi-final to England, who then beat Australia in the final thanks to a Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal in the last minute of extra-time. 

Irish World Cup Squad 2003

Forwards (17)

Simon Best (Ulster/Belfast Harlequins), Shane Byrne (Leinster/Blackrock College), Reggie Corrigan(Leinster/ Greystones), Victor Costello (Leinster/St. Mary’s College), Simon Easterby (Llanelli), Anthony Foley(Munster/Shannon), Keith Gleeson(Leinster/St.Mary’s College), John Hayes (Munster/Shannon), Marcus Horan (Munster/Shannon), Gary Longwell(Ulster/Ballymena), Eric Miller (Leinster/Terenure College), Donncha O’Callaghan(Munster/Cork Constitution), Paul O’Connell (Munster/Young Munster), Malcolm O’Kelly (Leinster/St. Mary’s College), Frank Sheahan (Munster/Cork Constitution), Alan Quinlan (Munster/Shannon), Keith Wood (Munster/Garryowen).

Backs (13)

Jonathon Bell(Ulster/Dungannon), Girvan Dempsey (Leinster/Terenure College), Neil Doak (Ulster/Belfast Harlequins), Guy Easterby (Rotherham), Denis Hickie (Leinster/St. Mary’s College), Anthony Horgan (Munster/Cork Constitution), Shane Horgan (Leinster/Lansdowne), David Humphreys (Ulster/Dungannon), John Kelly (Munster/Cork Constitution), Kevin Maggs (Bath), Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster/Blackrock College), Ronan O’Gara (Munster/Cork Constitution), Peter Stringer (Munster/Shannon).

Geordan Murphy and Rob Henderson were original part of the squad, but were injured in the build-up to the tournament.

Origins of the Rugby World Cup

1987 Rugby World Cup

1991 Rugby World Cup

1995 Rugby World Cup

1999 Rugby World Cup

2003 Rugby World Cup

The post A History of Heartbreak – Rugby World Cup 2003 appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The 1991 tournament was originally supposed to be hosted solely by France. This soon changed due to political wrangling and horse-trading between the Five Nations sides. Political and financial wheeling and dealing led to Marcel Martin of the FFR (Fédération Française de Rugby) declaring that the French were incapable of hosting the tournament on their own. As a result, the games were shared out between the five home countries. Each of the unions got a share of the pie. 

From an Irish perspective, this was positive news, both financially for the IRFU, and also for the national team. They would now play two of their pool games at their home venue. Landsdowne Road was also nominated to host a quarter-final and semi-final for the tournament, while Ravenhill would host the pool match.  

Pool Two

Ciarán Fitzgerald’s side were drawn in Pool 2 alongside Scotland, Japan and Zimbabwe. Ireland easily dispatched Zimbabwe in their pool opener by 55-11. In a one sided match they were 33-0 ahead at the break before taking their foot off the gas somewhat in the second half. They ran in eight tries to Zimbabwe’s two. Tries from David Curtis, Simon Geoghegan, a brace from Nick Popplewell and four tries from no.8 Brian Robinson as well as four conversions and five penalties from Ralph Keyes gave Ireland a 44 point win. (A Try was still worth 4 points at the 1991 World Cup, the change to five points didn’t happen until an IRFU board meeting in April 1992).

Three days later Ireland were back in action against Japan. Two tries from Connacht back row Noel Mannion and one apiece from fellow back rower Pat O’Hara and full back Jim Staples along with two conversions and four penalties from Keyes saw Ireland win by 32-16. 

The Scots had home advantage at Murrayfield for the pool decider between the two sides. Scotland had also enjoyed one sided wins in their other matches, running in a combined fifteen tries in their 47-9 win over Japan and 51-12 victory against Zimbabwe. 

It was Ireland’s third game in nine days, but there was no shortage of motivation, as the winners of this game would clinch pool 2 and secure an easier route to the semi-final. Thanks to Western Samoa’s shock 16-13 win over Wales at the Cardiff Arms park earlier in the tournament the little Pacific nation had already sealed the second qualifying spot form Pool 3 and would face the winner of the Pool 2 clash between Scotland and Ireland, while Australia who topped Pool 3 awaited the second place side from our pool.

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The first half went well for Fitzgerald’s men and three penalties and a sweetly struck drop goal from Ralph Keyes off his left foot saw Ireland lead 12-9 at the break. Scotland’s first half points came from two Gavin Hastings penalties and a Craig Chalmers drop goal. Keyes extended that advantage to six points with another penalty after the resumption. However, that was to be the last score for Ireland as the Scots dominated the remainder of the game. Tries from Gary Armstrong and Graham Shiel saw the home-side win by 24-15.

Another crack at the Aussies in a quarter

Thanks to the way the schedule fell Ireland had eight days to recover from that Murrayfield defeat before hosting the hotly fancied Aussies at Lansdowne Road. The southern hemisphere nation were considered to be fitter, faster, stronger and better drilled and were expected to advance easily to the semi-finals. They had a team full of household names such as Tim Horan, Phil Kerins, John Eales, Nick Farr-Jones, Michael Lynagh & David Campese. Incidentally on the Australian bench that day was Ireland’s current high performance director David Nucifora.

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The match started along expected lines as David Campese waltzed in for an early Aussie try after 16minutes which duly converted by Michael Lynagh and Ireland were 0-6 behind. However, Australia failed to build on their early lead and in a repeat of their 1987 meeting scrum-half and captain Nick Farr-Jones had to be replaced inside the first twenty minutes after picking up a recurrence of a knee ligament injury. 

A Ralph Keyes penalty halved the deficit for the Irish on 24 minutes and then another strike from Keyes levelled up the game at 6 apiece before the break. 

A penalty from Lynagh edged Australia back in front early in the second half,  but the Aussie’s couldn’t pull away from a tenacious Irish side, who’s ferocious tackling and superb work rate constantly disrupted the flow of the Australian side. A Ralph Keyes drop goal, this time off his right foot, levelled up the game at 9-9 after 50 minutes. 

A second David Campese try after a nice loop move by Jason Little off the back of a scrum gave the Australian’s the lead once again and after Lynagh converted they were ahead by 6 points, Ireland then had their best spell of the game as Jim Clarke was twice denied in the corner by last ditch Campese tackles. Another Keyes penalty ate into the Australian lead and Lansdowne erupted on 74 minutes, when Ireland took the lead for the first time in the match after Ballymena flanker Gordon Hamilton burst onto a pop pass from Jim Clarke to race home from 40 meters out. 

After Keyes converted Ireland had a scarcely believable 18-15 lead against their highly rated opponents as the clock ticked into the last five minutes. But just as the Lansdowne Road faithful started to believe that their side were on the brink of history, a last minute Michael Lynagh try broke Irish hearts.

After Ireland’s exit…..

So for the second tournament in succession, albeit in very different circumstances to their previous hammering in Ballymore in ‘87, Ireland had lost out to the mighty Australians at the quarter-final stage. The Australian team were relieved to survive such a close shave and they would subsequently go on to lift the trophy after a 12-6 win over England in the final at Twickenham. 

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Despite the origins of the game dating back over 164 years and the governing body the  IRB being formed in Dublin in 1886, we had to wait until 1987 for the first formally organised Rugby World Cup to take place. 

There are many political and sporting reasons why the event took one hundred and one years to organise. 

The Origins

Allegedly, the origins of the sport began in the town of Rugby in the English Midlands in 1823, when a certain young gentleman by the name of William Webb Ellis decided to pick up the ball and run with it. The rest, as they say, is history. The trophy that the twenty best teams in the world will compete for in France over the next two months bears his moniker as a testament to his legacy.

Before 1885 the laws of the game were still somewhat up for dispute. After a contentious try in a game between England and Scotland, the English claimed that as they founded the game they should be the final arbitrator of any disputes. Unsurprisingly this was not acceptable to the home unions of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The trio met in Dublin in 1886 to formalise the rules and set up the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB), the English RFU eventually relented and joined in 1890.

The Split

During the next decade, the game underwent a form of civil war as the ruling bodies of the game wished to remain amateur, while a large portion of the players in working-class regions wished to be compensated for loss of earnings due to matches clashing with their normal working hours. This led to a split within the game which became known as ‘the great schism and led to the creation of two separate codes, Rugby League and Rugby Union. 

Global Spread

The spread of the game internationally was due largely to the British Army and British Navy. Teams were established in British colonial outposts. The spread to other countries by ex-pats was somewhat slower. In the commonwealth countries of Australia, South Africa and particularly New Zealand the game spread quickly, while in tropical areas such as India and the West Indies, the slower tempo of Cricket was more suited to the climate.

Rugby at the Olympics

In 1900 Rugby was introduced at the second running of the modern Olympics. This was thanks in no small part to the lobbying by the father of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin. It helped that the Baron was a huge rugby fan. De Coubertain himself refereed the first-ever game in the domestic French Club Championships in 1892. Only three countries sent teams to the games held in Paris. 

France, Germany and Great Britain contested the games and the French went home with the Gold medal. 

Rugby wasn’t part of the 1904 games in St.Louis, but returned for the 1908 games in London. There were also only two teams this time around Australia and Great Britain. The Wallabies lifted the title. It was 1920 before Rugby was included again and an American side made up of players from Stanford, Berkeley and Santa Clara Universities lifted the crown in Antwerp, Belguim. The 1924 Olympics games was, to date, the last time rugby was included as a 15 a-side game. The US defeated the hosts France in the final in front of 21,00 in Colombes and the disgruntled locals invaded the pitch on the final whistle. 

 In 1925 Baron Pierre de Coubertin stepped down as head of the Olympic movement, the IRB had never encouraged their members to participate in the games and the lack of support led to the end of the sports involvement with the Olympics until the sevens version of the game was reintroduced in Brazil in 2016. 

The ‘Originals’

Around the same time as the Olympic Games was being revived, rugby-playing countries began to send representative sides on ‘tours’ to other rugby nations. The most famous of these sides was the 1905 ‘Original All-Blacks’ led by Donegal man Dave Gallaher. Born in Ramelton, as David  Gallagher he moved to New Zealand with his parents while still a child. In 1895 he joined Ponsonby Rugby club and went on to play in New Zealand’s first-ever test match, against Australia in Sydney in 1903. 

The ‘Originals’ played 35 games in the British Isles, France and the USA during a span of six months from September 1905 to January 1906. They lost only one of these (0-3 against Wales at Cardiff Arms Park) and scored 976 points while conceding only 59. Their 15-0 win over England at Crystal Palace drew a then record crowd estimated to be 100,000. It was during this tour that they picked up the All-Blacks tag. 

Disputed governance globally

The logistics of long-distance travel in the early part of the century were slow and costly. Touring teams went from one hemisphere to another for long spells. They needed to play multiple games to justify the travel. The success of both the Olympics and FIFA’s football World Cups had shown that the public interest was there for major sporting events. However, the politics of the governing bodies and the fact that Rugby was played at different times of the year in the two different hemispheres delayed the development of a Rugby equivalent.

The ‘Home Unions’ of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales had been slow to include other countries in the governance of the game. They felt that they were the guardians of the amateur principles upon which the game was founded. 

Despite the success of various southern hemisphere touring sides, it wasn’t until 1948 that the Australian Rugby Union, New Zealand Rugby Football Union and South Africa Rugby Board joined the IRFB. The French Federation joined in 1978 and it wasn’t until after they had already held the first World Cup in 1987  that Italy, Argentina, Canada and Japan were invited to join in 1991. 

Plans for a World Cup

Harold Tolhurst, a former Australian winger and a test match referee, was among the first to formally propose a  Rugby World Cup. In the early 1960’s he suggested that Australia host a month long tournament to find a world champion between the four sides from Great Britain, France, South Africa, New Zealand and the hosts. But in 1968 the IRFB stated that they forbade their member countries from participating in any such tournament. As recently as 1983 the IRB (International Rugby Board) stated that ‘the concept found no support’. Among the principal objections was the fact that the IRB did not want such a tournament to be run by commercial operators as they feared this would encroach on their ‘amateur ethos’.

But as Bob Dylan might have said, the times they were a-changin’. The 1981 Springboks tour to New Zealand saw riots outside the grounds as the Apartheid regime came under the spotlight. Isolation from the rest of the rugby world led the South African board (SARB) to propose a professional game. Meanwhile, there was a dispute in Australia as nine members of their squad to play New Zealand refused to travel. They argued that the daily allowance offered was too small. In 1983 David Lord, an Australian entrepreneur, proposed a professional league along the same lines as Kerry Packer’s successful Cricket league.

The increasing commercialisation and popularity of other sports in traditional rugby areas as well as the advent of sports television and the associated earning potential led the power brokers of the game into a rethink. At a meeting in 1984 it was agreed to conduct a feasibility study into holding a Rugby World Cup. The feedback this time was positive and at a meeting held in Paris in 1985 a vote was taken. The ‘Home Nations’ were still initially opposed, with the southern hemisphere powers and France in favour of a global tournament.  After an initial tied vote, John Kendall-Carpenter of England was won over and changed his vote as did his Welsh counterpart on hearing of the change, so it was now a 10-6 vote in favour of a World Cup. The tournament was to be held jointly by Australia and New Zealand from 22 May – 20 June 1987.

In part two of the story I’ll take a look at Ireland’s record in the first World Cup in Australia in 1987.

For further reading on the history of the Rugby World Cup and the origins of the game take look at the following links:

https://web.archive.org/web/20060414193531/http://www.worldcupweb.com/WCrugby/history.asp

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/1987-rugby-world-cup/the-world-cup-is-born

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gallaher-s-great-legacy-brought-home-at-last-1.547030

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup

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