Rampant Ireland down 14-man USA in Dublin

Ireland were convincing winners over the USA Eagles today in Dublin. The home side put on a first half exhibition to comprehensively down the USA in Dublin. The rampant Irish had a one-man advantage for the majority of the second-half; Riekert Hattingh was red-carded for foul play in the 53rd minute.

Joey Carbery landed an early penalty to settle the nerves for Ireland. The USA were not interested in a simple strategy. Instead, the Eagles turn down two penalty shots to kick for the corner. The gamble fell short as Ireland held their line and won a turnover penalty.

The Eagles were still in the Irish 22. However, a clearance from Carbery was mishandled by Mika Kruse. The error gave Ireland an attacking lineout from which Robert Baloucoune turned into a try. Carbery converted to put the home side 10-0 up late in the opening quarter.

The lesson was learned. In their next visit into the Irish red zone, the Eagles kicked for goal. Luke Carty’s strike got the Eagles on the board in the 20th minute.

There was little stoppage in this match. Both teams used the width of the field. Ireland’s second try saw a solid attack being awarded with a penalty. From a lineout the forwards drove forward with Ronan Kelleher touching down in the try zone. A mirror-image followed, this time with Nick Timoney scoring.

The Irish were running rampant. A simple kick through saw Kelleher touching down for his second. With 30 minutes gone the USA were 31-3 down. The Eagles needed to tighten their defense urgently.

Ireland’s tactics did not change in the second half. Penalties were kicked to the corner for lineouts and mauls to follows. The first saw Ronan Kelleher completing his hat-trick. He was not finished yet.

Kellher’s fourth try was another Irish lineout and maul score. It came following Riekert Hattingh’s red card. The Seattle Seawolves captain was sent off for making head contact with his shoulder while attempting a tackle. Of note was that the ball-carrier received a forward pass which decreased the tackler’s reaction time. This was not considered relevant but the officials.

Stuart McCloskey, Hugo Keenan and Gavin Coombes added further second half tries for Ireland. The Eagles found their way into the try zone for the final points of the match. Michael Baska went low to touch down.

The Eagles were 64-10 down. They decided against kicking the ball out. The decision turned out to give Ireland an opportunity to score again. Ireland capitalized with Finlay Bealham scoring Ireland’s 10th try for the match.

Attention now turns to the Rugby World Cup 2023 Qualifiers. The USA face Canada home-and-away in September. Based on the July performances both teams will be studying their own and the opponents games heavily.

 

SCORING

IRELAND 71
Tries – R. Baloucoune (17′), R. Kelleher 4 (23′, 29′, 44′, 53′), N. Timoney (26′), S. McCloskey (55′), H. Keenan (61′), G. Coombes (70′), F. Bealham (80′)
Cons – J. Carbery 6/6 (18′, 24′, 27′, 30′, 45′, 54′); H. Byrne 3/4 (62′, 71′, 80′)
Pens – J. Carbery 1/1 (7′)

USA 10
Tries – M. Baska (78′)
Cons – W. Magie 1/1 (79′)
Pens – L. Carty 1/1 (19′)
RC – R. Hattingh (53′)

 

TEAMS

IRELAND
1 Dave Kilcoyne (17 Ed Byrne 54′), 2 Ronan Kelleher (16 Dave Heffernan 54′), 3 Tom O’Toole (18 Finlay Bealham 72′), Ryan Baird (19 Fineen Wycherley 57′), 5 James Ryan (capt.), 6 Caelan Doris, 7 Nick Timoney (20 Paul Boyle 53′), 8 Gavin Coombes, 9 Craig Casey (21 Caolin Blade 59′), 10 Joey Carbery (22 Harry Byrne 53′), 11 Andrew Conway (23 Will Addison HT), 12 Stuart McCloskey, 13 James Hume, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 15 Hugo Keenan

USA
1 David Ainu’u (17 Matt Harmon 68′), 2 Joe Taufete’e (16 Kapeli Pifeleti 47′), 3 Paul Mullen (18 Dino Waldren 59′), 4 Greg Peterson (19 Nate Brakeley HT), 5 Nick Civetta, 6 Hanco Germishuys (20 Psalm Wooching 65′), 7 Riekert Hattingh, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Ruben de Haas (22 Michael Baska 59′), 10 Luke Carty (21 Andrew Guerra 72′), 11 Mika Kruse, 12 Bryce Campbell (capt.), 13 Calvin Whiting, 14, Christian Dyer (23 Will Magie 70′), 15 Mike Te’o

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones (Wales) & Ben Blain (Scotland)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)