MAGAGAN LOO0KS IN
LINE TO BE SECCOND BEHIND SEXTON WITH THE KICKING BOOTS
IRELAND 28-22 SCOTLAND
Ian Madigan went up through the gears during the final
quarter of this contest as Ireland producing some cutting rugby to see off Scotland
in Dublin
After a sluggish first half, these teams combined to offer
up five second-half tries, but it was the final two from Ireland which showcased
Madigan’s attacking talents.
Just on the hour mark the Ireland out-half cut a pass that
allowed replacement Dave Kearney to hare into the Scottish 22 before the
Leinster man got back in possession and stuck a lovely inside ball to Simon
Zebo on the angle to give the hosts a 21-15 lead after the conversion
Just 10 minutes later Madigan produced the moment of the
match with an inch-perfect, cross-field kick to Luke Fitzgerald, who grabbed only
his third try for Ireland.
Madigan has been a hot topic in the Irish game for more than
three years now. One of the most naturally gifted and game-changing players
available to coach Joe Schmidt, the Dubliner has been seen by the previous
Leinster coach Matt O’Connor as a maverick playmaker who could not always be
trusted.
To me personally this tells me that they can win while
playing badly which as a important as winning when playing well maybe they can win the world cup.
ENGLAND TRIES ENOUGH
TO BEAT FRANCE
ENGLAND 19-14 FRANCE
England survived a pounding up front to beat France in their
opening World Cup warm-up game at Twickenham.
The hosts took an early 12-3 lead after two stunning Anthony
Watson tries.
But the strength of France's pack gave Morgan Parra the
chance to kick two penalties to make it 12-9 at the break.
A superb Jonny May try saw England pull clear again and
although the power of the French saw them cut the margin to five points as
Fulgence Ouedraogo drove over from a maul, the hosts held on.
NEW ZEALAND 41- 13
AUSTRILIA
MC CAW IN A DREAM
WORLD
It was a historic night for captain Richie McCaw, who broke
former Ireland centre Brian O’Driscoll’s record as the most-capped Test player
of all time, while Dan Carter had an almost perfect night from the tee to kick
16 points
McCaw was quick to pay tribute to both current and former
international team-mates after his record 142nd Test appearance.
Quade Cooper’s early penalty put Australia in front but
Carter levelled in the 18th minute and New Zealand went ahead when hooker Dane
Coles showed enough burst to get away from the chasing defenders for the
opening try.
Carter converted and added his second penalty but Cooper’s
long-range shot made it 13-6 at half-time as Carter came up short with a
penalty from 49 metres and sent a drop-goal wide.
The All Blacks stepped up a gear early in the second half
and earned a penalty try when Ben Smith’s run to the line was halted by a wild
high tackle from Cooper.
The Wallabies fly-half was sin-binned for the offence and
against 14 men Nonu came to the fore, blasting through on 51 minutes to score
New Zealand’s third try.
Another break three minutes later was stopped short of the
line by a strong tackle from David Pocock but the ball was recycled and Nonu
displayed the more subtle side of his game with a lofted pass to send fellow
centre Conrad Smith over.
Carter converted all three scores and though Australia
briefly steadied the ship, with their defence holding firm for the next 10
minutes, they were breached again with a quarter of an hour to go.
Again it was that man Nonu, taking Carter’s pass and sending
the first tackler the wrong way with a side-step before charging for the line.
Carter converted from the left touchline and New Zealand
took the opportunity
No comments:
Post a Comment