McCarthy sees 4 minutes as Ireland make hard work of Macedonia

Ireland drew level at the top of Group B with Slovakia and Russia with a 2-1 win against Macedonia at Lansdowne Road. In a frantic opening, it took a minute 22, seconds for Aidan McGeady get Ireland off to the perfect start. Kevin Doyle nodded the ball down to himself after a high ball and laid the ball off to McGeady to the left of the D. The Spartak winger flicked the ball inside and fired the ball into the corner past the helpless Edin Nuredinoski, who got a hand to it but could not keep it out.

On six minutes after Ireland were in a familiar position again, this time on the right side with Damien Duff cutting inside and firing at Nuredinoski, who gathered the ball at the second attempt. It would be a similar story throughout the half as the Macedonian number 1 failed to gather a number of shots at the first attempt. And to Ireland's credit, they didn't sit back on and continued with an attacking mentality. Ten minutes in Nuredinoski was called into action again. This time McGeady played the ball wide to Kevin Kilbane who whipped in a cross for Doyle, whose header had the keeper scrambling to push the ball behind as Robbie Keane rushed in at the back post.

If there was a negative for Trappatoni it came when when Doyle went down and signaled straight away . The Wolves attacker seemed to and was replaced by .

Macedonia were limited to two long rang efforts from Ivan Trichkovski. The first was gathered comfortably by Irish keeper Keiren Westwood, but the second left the Coventry keeper stuck to his line as he missed the far post with a bending effort.

Nuredinoski gifted Ireland a second on 20 minutes when he failed to hold a Darren Gibson free kick and Keane rushed in to poke the ball home for 2-0. And Ireland didn't let up for the rest of the half. Five minutes later, Ireland went the length of the field in a lightning break. Richard Dunne found Duff 25 metres from his own goal and the Fulham winger chested the played down before finding full back Kevin Foley whose sublime first time pass found Keane inside the Macedonian half. Keane's delightful first time ball found Long on the run and the Reading striker took on the centre half before cutting inside and putting the ball just wide of the keeper's far post. But for the remaining 20 minutes Ireland offered little

As the half wore on, the entensity which saw Ireland cruise to a 2-0 lead dropped, but Ireland were still a threat. A Westwood free kick for offside was flicked on by Long in the air to Keane, but the West Ham striker failed to connect properly with the ball and it went high and wide. And Ireland were made to pay for a slip in concentration just before the half when Trichkovski was third time lucky after Goran Pandev played the midfielder in. He stepped inside Richard Dunne and slid the ball net past Westwood.

Five minutes into the game Boban Grncharov caught Long in the side of the face with a high foot, but the Hungarian official deemed a yellow card sufficient punishment but Ireland continued to draw the Macedonian team onto them as they gave the ball away in the final third. On 57 minutes the Irish fans responded after some McGeady magic down the left wing and a delightful chip into the box found Duff at the back post, who cut inside before shooting wide of the far post.

When Duff broke down the right on 63 minutes, he found Keane on the edge of the box, but his attempt to play in a free Long coming in from the left, with the ball ricocheting off the inside of the defenders right leg and Nuredinoski gathered. At the other end Macedonia were wasteful with a number of chances with the lively Trichkovski and Pandev causing the defense problems. As the game approached the final quarter hour, Ireland got deeper and deeper and when Trichkovski brilliantly controlled a Muhamed Demri ball over the top of the Irish defense, it took a great save from Westwood to retain Ireland's lead.

The game was crying out for some creativity to inject some spark into the Irish game, but Keith Fahey was given the nod by Trapattoni with James McCarthy having to look on from the sideline. Fahey wasted wasted free kick on the edge of the Macedonian box before the Irish crowd rose to acclaim the arrival on the international scene of McCarthy. Four minutes of normal time remaining was hardly enough for the young Wigan player, but on a night where Ireland clawed their way back to the top of Group B, it may be a fitting start for the youngster. Ireland are now level with Slovakia and Russia, heading into Tuesday's friendly with Uruguay where Ireland may see how good McCarthy may be.

Ireland Class leaves England's Grand Slam in Ruins as 24-8 defeat flatters Johnson

Ireland left England's Grand Slam hopes in tatters when Martin Johnson's side were on the wrong side of a 24-8 hiding at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. For Declan Kidney, it is the prefect end to a somewhat disappointing Six Nations Championship and now looks to August when they take on Scotland, England and France twice before they begin their World Cup campaign against Eddie O' Sullivan and the United States in September.

English Indiscipline six minutes in set Ireland on their way with a Jonathan Sexton penalty. The referee adjudging the England to be offside and Sexton made no mistake to give Ireland a 3-0 lead. There was no sign of the shaky kicking that saw Sexton miss a penalty late in the game against Wales last week and Sexton added a second penalty 10 metres inside the left hand touchline, just outside the English 22 to edge Ireland to a 6-0 margin after 13 minutes.

On 20 minutes it looked as if Brian O'Driscol had crossed over and in doing so become the tournaments all time highest try scorer, with 25 tries but the touch judge said the pass that sent him clear was forward. The referee called play back however for an English infringement and Sexton made it 3/3 to send Ireland into a 9-0 lead.

And Ireland grew from there. Following a fluffed effort from Toby Flood in front of the posts Ireland burst clear. First Paul O' Connell, and then Donncha O' Callaghan kicked on to the English five metre line before England cleared. The clearance only found Jaime Heaslip who ran at the English defense. When Ireland recycled the referee blew for offside giving Sexton the free kick on the English 22. A quick tap from Sexton followed and the Leinster outhalf found Tommy Bowe who stepped inside the English defense to touch down left of the posts. Sexton's conversion shaved the wrong side of the left post, but Ireland were well deserving of their 14-0 lead on 27 minutes.

Flood made up for his earlier miss on the half hour when he split the posts from 45 metres and after England's scrum half Ben Young was sin binned for throwing the ball into the crowd, Sexton kicked the penalty to stretch Ireland's lead to 17-3.

Ireland were cruising at this stage and could have been further in front after a Trimble break from the restart resulted in an Ireland scrum 30 metres from the English line. Heaslip took the ball off the back of the scrum and passed outside to O'Connell who in turn found Wallace on his shoulder who raced for the line. As the Irish support debated whether or not he had touched down or not, it was the referee again who called play back for another forward pass, this time from O' Connell to Wallace. A relieved England kicked the ball into touch from the resulting scrum to bring an electric first half to an end.

Ireland began the second half as they finished the first, laying siege to the England line, and it was only a matter of time before theta crossed the English line again. They didn't have to wait long as on 45 minutes crossed the whitewash for the second time. Eoin Reddan found Brian O' Driscoll off the back of the ruck and the Irish captain popped the ball back for Sexton who fed O'Callaghan and when his pass failed to go to hand, the opportunity seemed lost.

But O'Driscoll isn't one of the world's most talented players for nothing and the centre gathered and dived for the corner to become all time leading try scorer with 25 tournament tries. Sexton added the conversion from the touchline to put Ireland into a 24-3 lead England would not come close to.

But to England's credit, they found themselves back in the game when Reddan's pass following an Irish lineout found Steve Thompson, and the substitute prop raced clear to touch down with fellow substitute Johnny Wilkinson missing the conversion to close to the gap to 24-8 with 54 minutes played. Ireland never really regained the composure and fluidity that saw them dominate England in the opening 50 minutes after that with both sides failing to get into any real rhythm.

As Ireland seemed happy to keep England at bay with stout defending, Irish coach Declan Kidney had the luxury of withdrawing Sexton for Ronan O'Gara, whose kicking to the corners pinned England back inside their own 22 when they looked to have broken the Irish

With the game inching closer and England's Grand Slam ambitions in tatters, Ireland came closest to scoring. Keith Earls received the ball on his own ten metre line and although it seemed he had the legs on the English defenders he opted to take the ball into contact rather than kick on and the attack fizzled out. In the end Ireland kicked to touch to the rapturous applause of the Irish faithful. An incredible performance by Ireland, and one they will hope will spur on their World Cup hopes at the end of the year.

Heaslip still holds faith in Irish system

An unimpressed Jamie Heaslip cut a dejected figure after France went toe-to-toe with France yesterday. He gave a candid response to the agaonising defeat which ended Ireland's championship hopes before it built up speed. "They won. They are still on course to win a Grand Slam. We can't. But I think if anyone is looking at that video we have exposed a lot. You guys have them all hyped up thinking that they are the dog's b*****ks. Well I don't think they are. We have exposed a lot of holes and I think England can definitely cause them a lot of problems."

While Ireland were clinical in breaching the French defense, they conceded nine penalties, seven of which where within kicking distance for Morgan Parra and later Dimitri Yachvili when he was introduced. "Penalties, turn overs," commented Heaslip, "two tries ahead and their still in the game. They get a try and they're ahead. We get a try and they're still ahead. You We played some very good rugby and there are lot of positives. We created chances and caused problems with the ball. A lot of positives, but the negatives are that when you score three tries to one you usually win the game."

Ireland will hope to have Tommy Bowe and Stephen Ferris fully fit for the trip to Scotland and with Rob Kearney also to return in the coming months, Heaslip believes they will bounce back.

"You have got loads of lads still injured and they are just biting at the bit trying to get back - just like myself. It was a novelty feeling a bit of pain this weekend. I have been sitting around watching games which I am not good at and it was good to get out there and I am sure from talking to Fez (Stephen Ferris), Tommy (Bowe) and some of the other guys, everyone just wants to get out and play.

"Nobody likes sitting on the couch watching games. It is not the easiest thing to get back in the squad. There is a lot of competition there and lads pushing for places and that is what we want, in the year that we have to rely on a squad. The way rugby is you have to rely on the squad. Going forward we have a very strong squad."

While defeat to a French team whose performance was rated 4/10 by their coach Marc Lièvremont could draw some disenchanement, Heaslip has no fears for Ireland going forward. "My own personal belief in the team is that there is no lack of belief, no lack of confidence. We have an exceptionally good group of players here in Ireland. One of the main reasons of me staying around is I think we are on the verge of doing something great.

"We're playing some unbelievable rugby. At times, we give teams easy opportunities to take scores and that can be frustrating and we have to marshal ourselves. Our defense and attack take care of themselves."

It may have been a fine performance in outscoring the French by three tries to one, but despite the what ifs, France still won while playing very poorly. Ireland played some brilliant rugby, but failed. If only Gordan D'Arcy hadn't allowed Aurelien Rougerie steamroll him following the French scrum in the run up to Maxime Medard's try? If only Sean Cronin hadn't knocked on with minutes remaining? If only Jonathan Sexton had kicked the second conversion to stretch Ireland's lead before half time?

Declan Kidney mentioned France's Top 14 professional teams, compared to Ireland's four, in the run up to the defeat. It may be a question about how far this team can go. There is no doubting their ability in the Autumn internationals against the Tri Nations sides (New Zealand and South Africa) and France, but the fact remains. Ireland still lost. Heaslip and Kidney both rejected any thought of casting the type of rugby that they are playing aside. That is good for the entertainment value of Irish games - everyone wants to see running rugby. However, they have to learn to win ugly against big teams, if that is what is called for.

Heaslip still believes in the type of rugby Kidney has brought to the team.

Heaslip thinks Ireland will come good. "We have a very good team. I think we are on the cusp of playing our best rugby that I have been involved in. They just show how clinical they can be. You make a mistake, they have got some brilliant kickers, they'll take the three points and keep ticking that scoreboard over. Or they make one line break and score a try. You can't deny a team being that clinical. They didn't let many penalties away so I can't take it away from them."


We are still scoring tries. Its nicer to attack then to defend, but I have faith in our defensive system. I think we have a very good defensive system. We can take a lot of pressure from teams. Around the ruck area we can cause a lot of problems. Around the tackle I think we are very strong. On the flipside, in attack we can be very good. We can play a very expansive game where you saw when we got closer to the 22 and we had to tighten it up that we were still able to create quick ball and when we did we were able to score a try. I think we are fairly comfortable on both sides of the coin."

Having showed some signs of playing well against France in their tournament opener, Scotland face Ireland on the back of a second defeat to Wales at the weekend. It will be a ferocious battle of two teams with two different aims. Ireland want to build for a proper shot at the world cup in mind. Scotland under Andy Robinson want to restore some pride in the jersey. The stage is set for a showdown in Murrayfield.

Gallant Ireland fall to defiant French

France secured their second win of the RBS Six Nations championship with a 22-25 victory as Lansdowne Road saw a pulsating return to Six Nations rugby. While the victory keeps Marc Lièvremont's Grand Slam ambitions alive, Ireland now look towards the Triple Crown with trips to Edinburgh and Cardiff to come.

Despite an incredible start from Ireland which saw them camped inside the French 22 for most of the opening 10 minutes, From the very first contact, Ireland were in control as French lock, Julian Pierre was pushed into touch after he gathered the kick off.

Ireland inched closer to the French line, first stretching the ball wide right and when it came back wide left Gordan D'Arcy passed to Luke Fitzgerald who touched down in the corner, but the touch judge deemed the pass forward.

But Ireland were not to be denied and on five minutes Fergus McFadden profited from a Clement Poitrenaud knock on inside the French 22. The Leinster man made a dash for the line but was held up short. After Paul O'Connell and David Wallace took the ball and drove towards the line, McFadden picked the ball up and got the try. Jonathan Sexton added the conversion to give Ireland a 7-0 lead.

When Wallace was penalised in the ruck Morgan Parra struck France back into the game. Sexton then stretched Ireland's lead to seven with a penalty of his own. Then Parra showed a masterclass in kicking as the French scrum half punished Ireland on three further occasions in the first half to give France a 10-12 lead.

But Ireland bounced back with a tremendous try from Tomás O'Leary three minutes before the break. A move that began with a Fitzgerald kick that gave Ireland a lineout inside the French 22, ended with Donncha O'Callghan taking in the lineout and feeding O' Leary on the run. When the ball is recycled Ireland had a man over but it seemed Ireland let the opportunity slip, when Jonathan Sexton turned inside and was held up short of the line.

But in a move reminiscent of McFadden's try, O'Leary took the ball from the back of the ruck and dived over. This time the TMO confirmed the try awarded the try but Sexton's conversion went wide of the right hand upright to give Ireland a 15-12 lead at the interval.

Two minuted after the restart the French backline came into their own and only a Cian Healy block prevented a François Trinh-Duc drop goal attempt from tying the game. Ireland cleared when French indiscipline gave away a penalty.

On 49 minutes Parra brought the French level, 15-15 when Ireland who conceded a total of nine penalties were again penalised by referee Dave Pearson. The introduction of Dimitri Yachvili for Parra on 53 minutes coincided with the French backline finding their stride.

Aurélien Rougerie was fed the ball from the French scrum and the centre ran straight through D'Arcy before offloading in the tackle to Maxime Medard who raced clear to score. Yachvili added the conversion and then added a penalty to stretch France's lead to 15-25 as Ireland introduced Ronan O'Gara.

When France kicked possession back to Ireland on 64 minutes, O'Gara found the French corner with a monstrous kick into the French 22. Ireland won the ball on the French line out and Sean O'Brien, Wallace and Tom Court - who had earlier been introduced for Healy - went for the French line.

When the ball came back to O'Gara, his grubber was blocked by a French leg, but Wallace retrieved and fed Jamie Heaslip who dived over in the corner. Again the referee went to the TMO who gave the try. O'Gara's conversion needed the assistance of the left hand upright before bouncing over.

Despite a late rally from Ireland France held Ireland at bay, as they wound the clock down to the resounding chorus of boos which echoed around the stadium. In the end the 17 errors that Ireland made was the decisive blow.

France now head to Twickenham for a top of the table clash with England which should go some way in deciding the outcome of this years Six Nations championship.

For Ireland and Declan Kidney a trip to Murrayfield now beckons in a fortnight, with Scotland starring at a possible third successive defeat in this years championship after back-to-back defeats to France and Wales.