England angry over ‘farcical’ red card as Ireland claim Grand Slam win

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“Roll connected the World Cup” was the connection from Ireland skipper Johnny Sexton connected Saturday aft his broadside completed a Six Nations Grand Slam successful a run that showed conscionable wherefore they are the world’s top-ranked team.

Ireland were acold from their assured and controlled champion successful the 29-16 triumph implicit England but recovered a mode arsenic they person been doing with expanding easiness successful a tally of 10 consecutive wins and 22 successful their past 24 games.

England fullback Freddie Seward was reddish carded for this collision.

England’s spirited bid to derail Ireland’s Grand Slam was hampered by a reddish paper for fullback Freddie Steward aft a collision with other fig Hugo Keenan astatine the extremity of the archetypal half, with galore pundits unhappy with the decision.

Steward tried to propulsion retired of a collision with Keenan but his elbow smashed into his head, earning a reddish paper aft a lengthy treatment betwixt the referee and TMO.

England had produced a battling archetypal half, showing a monolithic betterment from past week’s thrashing by France, leaving the expectant Lansdowne Road assemblage tense arsenic they sat connected a 10-6 lead.

Ireland, eventually, took power to assertion a 29-16 triumph to implicit a cleanable sweep.

Johnny Sexton, the Ireland captain, holds the Six Nations trophy arsenic Ireland observe their Grand Slam victory.

England skipper Owen Farrell said helium thought it was a harsh decision, but added: “They made the rules for a reason.

“There’s nary constituent dwelling connected it, we had to support successful it, support warring and immoderate of our antiaircraft sets were tremendous and we were capable to onslaught and get immoderate points connected the board.”

Coach Steve Borthwick said: “I thought the players adapted to the concern incredibly well. Eventually the abstraction and fatigue took its toll but it was a measurement forward.”

Borthwick was reluctant to sermon the reddish card, but plentifulness of erstwhile players were speedy to measurement in, with erstwhile England scrumhalf Matt Dawson saying the officials showed a deficiency of knowing of the crippled successful a “farcical decision”.

“I can’t disagree with however the interaction is simply a reddish but it is the discourse of however it went to that contact,” Dawson said. “He’s stepping and slowing and turning to get retired of the interaction area, and has been punished by being sent off. It is simply a mockery. He was doing his utmost to debar immoderate benignant of contact. It is an utter farce.”

Freddie Seward sees reddish from referee Jaco Peyper.

Ireland raised expectations up of the 2015 and 2019 World Cups with akin Six Nations occurrence lone for those bids to extremity successful disappointment. Ireland are inactive the lone apical tier broadside ne'er to spell beyond the quarter-final stage.

“I’ve conscionable been saying to Johnny that determination are bigger food to fry than this. We’re onto the World Cup. We’re a bully broadside that’s obscurity adjacent reached its potential,” Ireland manager Andy Farrell told a quality conference.

“Everyone’s going to get amended successful the summertime and we get to walk a batch much clip unneurotic truthful we expect our broadside erstwhile we get to the archetypal crippled of the World Cup to beryllium a batch amended than what we are present and that’s the world of it.”

Rob Herring of Ireland scores their side’s 4th try.

Sexton has antecedently praised Farrell’s attack of openly talking astir gathering towards the 2023 tourney successful France and said that similar past July’s archetypal bid triumph successful New Zealand, the Grand Slam is different “very special” portion of that journey.

“I conscionable said successful the dressing country that this is not the end, there’s plentifulness much near successful this team,” Sexton said. “Roll connected the World Cup, that’s what we request to absorption connected now.”

While Farrell was peculiarly pleased with however Ireland utilized much than 30 players successful an injury-hit run and seldom missed a beat, helium saved his highest praise for Sexton, Ireland’s 37-year-old talisman who plans to discontinue aft the World Cup.

“It’s unbelievably filling that successful my sentiment the champion subordinate ever to play for Ireland is capable to motion disconnected with a Grand Slam connected St. Patrick’s Day successful beforehand of his ain crowd,” Farrell said.

REUTERS