The Irish Wolfhounds have fallen in their third and final fixture of the 2010 4 Nations Championships after conceding eight tries against the England Lionhearts.
The Wolfhounds started brightly and almost went in for the first score of the afternoon on 6 minutes. In a movement that started with great control from Rob Stapleton, Brian Flanagan found himself with plenty of room and was almost over for the try but he knocked on short of the line and the opportunity was lost.
It didn’t take long for the Lionhearts to respond from the early pressure from the Irish and they themselves created a great try scoring chance in a move that started with some great ball through the hands from Dan Gregory to Barry Walker who rather impressively passed it out wide for Jimmy Baldwin who was forced out into touch by the Irish defence.
The pressure kept coming from the visitors and they were awarded for their patience 2 minutes later, once again Dan Gregory was proving decisive running most of the pitch on his own before offloading to Alex Rigby securing the first try of the evening which was converted by Gregory.
The English were then piling on the pressure and credit to the Irish they were making all the big hits they needed to keep the Lionhearts at bay. The Irish were also forcing some errors and were creating some good chances themselves, but it was the final touch that was letting them down, and it seemed every time there was a scoring chance the ball was knocked on.
Twenty minutes into the game the Lionhearts had registered their second try of the day, Ireland’s defence let up on the halfway line and Barry Walker ran almost unopposed for the line, a great try which was converted again by Gregory.
From there the English really switched it on and their experience proved. Only two minutes later The Lionhearts had yet another try, Rob Massam went over after a fine dummy pass from Jimmy Baldwin, this time Gregory did not convert.
Just on the approach to half time Ireland were in with a shout of securing their first try, Wayne Kelly almost went over after some great movements from the Irish but he was forced out into touch and another fine Irish opportunity was gone.
Right before the break England registered another try, Ollie O’Mara ran a good ten yards before finally offloading to Jack Claydon who went over for the try, and Gregory once again converted. Ireland’s Wolfhounds were showing complacency at times and the inexperience was showing, an inspiring half time talk from the new coach was needed as England went into the break leading 22-0
The Wolfhounds came out in the second half showing more signs of determination to score and were almost straight away in for a try, Stuart Lee and Richie Jones doing very well to get the Irish into a good position. However, the English turned over that Irish chance and right from the counter attack ran in another try. Barry Walker running totally unopposed and another fine try from the well experienced English.
The best move of the evening came right after that from the Irish. Some great phases and ball through the hands but once again that in experience was showing as they couldn’t finish their chances, the English turned the ball over and Alex Rigby ran in for what looked like a definite try but the referee Neil Aspey ruled that the ball had been lost forward and Wayne Kelly was straight in to gather the ball and The Wolfhounds were straight back on the counter attack. Kelly did very well to get out of the danger zone and managed to get the ball away to Brian Flanagan who ran in a fantastic try, great effort which was converted by Stuart Lee and it was good to see Ireland finally had points on the board.
A heroic comeback looked on moments later, Flanagan from the half way line offloaded to Andy Todd who ran straight over for the try. Another fine movement and attack from the Irish and it was again converted by Lee.
Perhaps from there The Wolfhounds got too over confident after scoring two tries in quick succession, they let their defence slip midway through the second half and England were in for yet another try, Dan Gregory was having a fantastic game and he was awarded for that with a try of his own which he then converted.
The Lionhearts scored two more tries late on to kill off the game, if it wasn’t already dead beforehand. The first of which coming from Andy Gray, no not the sky sports reporter, but the try was not converted by Gregory. The second and last try came from Dan Stubbs after a great few phases of play converted by Gregory and that’s where the game came to an end.
A very brave performance from the Irish considering some of the in experience in the team and also the new coach but the English experience really proved and deserved every try they got.
The Final score 44-12.
Ireland Wolfhounds: Andy McGrory, Philip Morrison, Johnny Browne, Wayne Kelly, David Delahunt, Stuart Lee, Brian Flanagan, Brendan Guilfoyle, Richie Jones, John Purdy, Tommy Ratahi, Kyle Graydon, Rob Stapleton Interchange: Andy Todd, Mark O’Neill, Eoin King, Simon Deevey, Adam Hughes
England Lionhearts: Jack Claydon, Barry Walker, Drew Harper, Rob Massam, Alex Rigby, Dan Gregory, Andy Gray, Dan Stubbs, Jimmy Baldwin, Matt Evans, Matty Smith, Dan Reeds, Luke Watson Interchange: Nathan Walmsley, Tim Stevens, Don Payne, Andy Lake, Ollie O’Mara
Referee: Neil Aspey
Touch Judges: Paul Baxter, Conor Kelly
