Grand Slam

Brian O'Driscoll and Ronan O'Gara celebrate after Ireland's Grand Slam win over Wales yesterday

The Celtic Sage is not the best person to comment on Ireland’s historic victory yesterday in Rugby Footballs Six Nations Trophy. For one thing, despite enjoying many wonderful rugby weekends in Dublin, he has never gone to a rugby match! A combination of an aversion to field sports when marched off to GAA pitches when at school and then in his early teens having a friend end up as a quadriplegic after he broke his neck in a rugby match saw to that. Indeed I was a member of Railway Union Rugby and Cricket Club in Dublin but strictly a “Pavillion” member enjoying the late night social facilities and alternative banking facility it offered. I even worked with the person who became the late and legendary Irish Rugby coach Mick Doyle’s sister-in-law and could have obtained top match tickets but was not interested!



However even to a Rugger Agnostic like myself yesterday was a momentous occasion. A squad of men from north and south showed a resolution and unity of will that cannot but inspire yesterday in Cardiff, Wales. The triumph of this all-Ireland team was proof how much can be achieved if Irish people put aside petty differences and sectional squabbles and pull together. However, a new year has entered Irish sporting folklore - 2009. This is the year that Ireland proved the doubters wrong and won the Triple Crown, Six Nations Championship and the Grand Slam, a clean sweep of the Rugby Union football trophies.


An Irish supporter

Irish rugby fans are still celebrating the dramatic 17-15 win over Wales yesterday which captured a Six Nations first Grand Slam for 61 years in a victory which united the nation and revived flagging public spirits. Many people in Ireland are waking up not just with a huge hangover but a genuine feeling of shock. It has been a depressing time north and south of the border in recent weeks, and when Wales were awarded a last-minute penalty in the Six Nations decider in Cardiff, the mood was one of resignation.


Brian O'Driscoll in action

So much so that when the kick fell short, there was a moment of stunned disbelief before the euphoria broke out. The joy was then felt in bars and living rooms from Lisburn to Limerick, from Coleraine to Cork.

Thousands of people turned out today (Sunday) in Dublin to greet Ireland's rugby squad after their Six Nations win in which they clinched their first Grand Slam in 61 years. The team, which completed a clean sweep after beating Wales 17-15, were given a rapturous welcome at the Mansion House in Dublin. Captain Brian O'Driscoll, who scored Ireland's first try, said it was a "fantastic feeling. You're not as sore as you would have been if you had lost," he said.


Mansion House reception, Dublin

A little background for my overseas Blogistas on Rugby Union football and the “Six Nations” championship. Played annually, the format of the Championship is simple: each team plays every other team once, with home field advantage alternating from one year to the next. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. Unlike most other rugby union competitions the bonus point system is not used. Victory in every game results in a 'Grand Slam'. Victory by any Home Nation over the other three Home Nations is a 'Triple Crown'. The “Six Nations” taking part in the trophy are England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland (collectively referred to as the “Home nations”) France and Italy. Rugby union is a competitive outdoor contact sport, played with an oval ball, by two teams of 15 players. It is one of the two codes of rugby football, the other being rugby league.


Ireland receiving the trophy from Prince William and President Mary Mc Aleese