Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Resurgent Ireland deny England rugby grand slam

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland stunned England 13-9 in the Six Nations on Saturday to deny their old rivals a second successive grand slam and end their hopes of a world record 19th victory in a row.

Resurgent Ireland deny England rugby grand slam
(Reuters)

Joe Schmidt's Irish team secured a top seeding for the 2019 World Cup draw as a try by lock Iain Henderson after 23 minutes proved the difference between the sides.

While England improved after being completely dominated in the first half, they failed to make a serious dent in the Irish defence.

England won the tournament last week with a 61-21 thrashing of Scotland, but they collected the Six Nations trophy in a downbeat mood as the third English side in 16 years to be denied a grand slam in Dublin on the final day of the tournament.

"We didn't slam it but, hey-ho, we're still the champions," said England captain Dylan Hartley. "Full credit to Ireland. They put us under unbelievable pressure."

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

England lost in 2001 and 2011 but hammered Ireland in a grand slam decider in the old Lansdowne Road in 2003, months before they won the World Cup.

The win also denied England a tier-one record of 19 consecutive wins just four months after Ireland prevented world champions New Zealand from reaching the same milestone with a 40-29 win in November.

England, who matched the All Blacks' 18-match run with their victory over Scotland last week, have now lost seven times in their last 10 visits to Dublin.

Victory rescued a poor Six Nations championship for Ireland, who lost to Scotland and Wales after beating three southern hemisphere teams last year.

Ireland ended the tournament in second place and are guaranteed to be one of the top four seeds in the draw for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which will see them avoid heavyweights New Zealand, Australia and England in the group stage.

"It wasn’t about us stopping England. It was about us producing a performance. This is a really big lift for us,” Ireland captain Rory Best said.

"England are a fantastic team, they deserve the Championship."

(Editing by Ed Osmond)


2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world