So disappointing to see Ireland’s Grand Slam dream destroyed

Having been walloped by Eddie Jones’ side on their last visit to Twickenham - that was a World Cup warm-up game in August - Ireland suffered their third straight defeat away to the English.

England were better in all facets of the game, they battered the Irish up front where perhaps the absence of Iain Henderson was felt slightly by the men in green and in the air the English dominated.

The first half was a horror show from the visitors and certainly looking nothing like a side capable of winning the 21st edition of the Championship.

Silly errors by captain Jonathan Sexton and winger Jacob Stockdale gifted the English two tries from chipped kicks, but the fact that the Irish were only in the English ‘22’ for 31 seconds in that front 40 tells its own story.

Trailing 17-0 at the break, Ireland finally fired a shot early in the second half when they finally got over for a try, but England rallied and in fairness the end 24-12 scoreline probably flattered the Irish.

Head coach Andy Farrell did not rush to make changes to personnel ahead of this, his first Championship tilt as head coach, and there will not be any knee jerk reaction to this loss ahead of facing the Italians in a fortnight’s time.

There is still a championship to be won with England going ahead of Ireland in second place on points difference in the standings, both four points behind unbeaten France.

However, Farrell does now have a licence to make changes and he should not be afraid to do so - even if it was in his mind despite how things transpired in Twickenham yesterday.

It has almost gone under the radar in some respects, but Ireland Under-20s are one win away from securing back to back Six Nations Championship titles and two from a double Grand Slam.

Noel McNamara’s charges play with confidence and indeed at times in a way more associated with the Southern Hemisphere game, particularly evident in the way they put six tries on England at Northampton in round three.

That secured another victory, 39-21, ended England’s hopes of a Grand Slam. For the third time in this campaign the ‘Wolf Puppies’ as they are affectionately known secured another maximum five match points.

With France losing to Wales 14-11, it now means if Ireland win against Italy in a fortnight’s time they will retain the title and then it sets up another go at the Grand Slam when they go to France.

There were so many great things about the performance, but the standout was Ulster capped winger Ethan McIlroy’s audacious behind the back offload to stablemate Hayden Hyde to score a try.

The odds are high on captain David McCann, from Banbridge, holding aloft the Six Nations trophy two weeks from now.

Meanwhile, the Ulster crowd waved farewell to Ruan Piennar once again on Saturday night - but it was not quite the tearful farewell of 2017 - although there will always be a place in Belfast for the talented South African.

Since the Guinness PRO14 fixtures were released at the start of the current season, February 22, was circled by many Ulster fans as the chance for Pienaar to return to his old stomping ground with his new club the Cheetahs.

Three years ago Ulster’s highest profile signing gave an emotional farewell interview pitchside after playing in his last game for the Province.

He was forced to move on by the IRFU after seven years with Ulster to allow Irish players to flourish in the key number nine position.

The governing body may well say ‘we told you so’ given that John Cooney arrived in Belfast as he switched from Connacht (having previously moved from Leinster) and is now number two choice to Conor Murray on the Ireland senior squad.

Cooney was not involved in Ulster’s eventual 20-10 win over Toyota Cheetahs on Saturday night at Kingspan Stadium, but ahead of the game the sounds of ‘Cooney’ in the stands was replaced by ‘Ruan’ as the home fans welcomed their former favourite back to Belfast.

He got a rousing reception as he emerged for the warm-up and captaining the side, got an ovation as he led his side out.

Admittedly, and understandably, the crowd did not know how to react when he landed a penalty to open the visitors account as they trailed 10-3 at half time, but two minutes from the end when he was replaced, Pienaar was given another rousing reception.

Pienaar had orchestrated the Cheetahs to a 63-26 win over Ulster in Bloemfontein earlier in the season, but the wet and wild conditions of Belfast were never going to allow for a fast flowing running game of rugby - but there was always the fear he could still turn in a star performance and bring an abrupt halt to Ulster’s unbeaten home.

However, Ulster were up to the occasion, the Cheetahs failed to take their chances, and Dan McFarland’s side bounced back from the disappointing loss to Ospreys last week and equalled their longest unbeaten home run in the pro-era of 21 matches.

The win was crucial for Ulster, putting 10 points between them and Cheetahs, who dropped to fourth place in Conference A of the PRO14 after Glasgow’s win at home against Dragons.