England Denied By Superb Ireland A

England’s first attempt this weekend, at a Grand Slam ended in misery in Donnybrook when their A side were beaten 24-21, thanks to a superb Irish effort capped by Mark McHugh’s injury time winning penalty.

This was a game that had a finish that matched what we had seen last weekend at the Millennium Stadium.

This time around, it was Ireland who clawed their way back from being 18-11 behind to edge in front when Tyrone How crossed for a superb try, seven minutes from the end of normal time, a score that Brian O’Meara converted for a 21-18 lead. Then the English came steaming back and after he’d missed an easy drop-goal, Alex King levelled the match with a penalty in injury time. But Ireland refused to be denied and when they were awarded a penalty on half way, McHugh stepped up and struck a beautiful kick right between the uprights to claim a marvellous victory.