I would have sold a body part to be in Auckland on Saturday night. Ireland finally played the way they did against England in Six Nations. Maybe the tries were not there and Sexton missed a few kicks but Ireland beat England all the time.....as for beating the Tri-Nations champions in the southern hemisphere; well that is very rare.
Paul O'Connell had a monstrous game, he has dropped a bit of timber and this allowed the former Lions captain to prowl the pitch and maul any Wallaby that was stupid enough to get in his way. The scoreline flattered the Australians, if Sexton had got his kicks the game could have been done after an hour. Australia did not look like scoring, Genia and Cooper were given no time to influence the dangerous back line, and boy did this frustrate them. Nothing showed this better than Cooper's ridiculous pass to Tommy Bowe, the bonus point was still a possibility for Australia but Cooper could not accept that and threw a suicide pass. The game also showed that the much improved Australian scrum is still a weakness (I know Moore was missing but still) and an improving South Africa will fancy their chances in the quarter finals.
As soon as the whistle blew I sent a text to an Irish friend saying that 'the World Cup is now England's to lose' to which he replied 'cheeky bar steward'. Still, now that it will be the southern hemisphere in one side of the draw and northern hemisphere in the other (barring any more 'upsets') I feel England's chances have improved; I would fancy them to beat France and Ireland. Just to clarify that I don't think Ireland beating Australia was an upset, refer back to my first blog for proof!
Earlier in the day both SA and Argentina kicked started their campaigns with 40 point wins against Fiji and Romania respectively. SA seem to be improving and I cannot see Scotland beating Argentina.
A final congratulations to Ireland, its just what the World Cup needed! Declan Kidney summed the performance up in a typically understated way when asked how this victory ranked....
I think when you're in the middle of something, it's probably not for you to say. It's a privilege to be working with the lads. I'm sure for the lads it's a privilege to be here,"
"Historians will look back and see that we've had a few close calls in the past against Australia, but I think it's maybe for others to decide that. But it's a good reason for a party."
Agreed Declan and I'm sure the Irish had one hell of a party.
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