Sean Cronin’s try helps Ireland A to a stunning win

A try from Castletroy’s Sean Cronin just one minute into the second half set Ireland on their way to a 49-22 victory over the England Saxons in the Churchill Cup final in Colorado.
The try from the Connacht hooker pushed Ireland’s lead to 25-12 and even the introduction of Danny Cipriani and Shane Geraghty to the Saxons’ lineout could not ignite a fightback.
The Limerick man was one of the stars of the competition, along with Munster bound full back Felix Jones, Munster back row Niall Ronan and Johnny Sexton.
Yesterday’s emphatic victory ensures a perfect end to Declan Kidney’s first season as national coach. Kidney and the senior coaching staff used the tournament in Colorado to explore Irish strength in depth and it proved a resounding success.
England made the early running and Rugby League convert Stephen Myler initially looked the part, the Northampton Saints fly-half landing two early penalties.
Sexton responded with a penalty and gradually began to dictate the tempo, showing a Ronan O’Gara cross-field kick is also part of his repertoire. Right wing Denis Hurley of Munster did well to gather but Bath fullback Nick Abendanon made a fine try-saving tackle.
From the resulting scrum, Ireland worked the phases with Cian Healy held up inches short before a clever Niall Ronan offload sent Devon Toner over for a 14th minute try. Sexton added the conversion but Myler kept the Saxons in touch with his third penalty as temperatures peaked at 117 degrees.
Ireland were playing excellent continuity rugby with Brian O’Driscoll’s understudy at Leinster, McFadden, making a clean line break, Sean Cronin rumbled a few extra yards before Isaac Boss crashed over. Sexton made it 17-9 and despite dominating the set pieces, the Saxons only points were coming off the boot of Myler after Tony Buckley was penalised for not holding his bind against David Flatman.
Some excellent fielding by Munster bound fullback Felix Jones laid the platform for another try, but the attack ended with Saxons prop Dan Cole sin-binned for not rolling away. Irish number eight Chris Henry joined him when Australian referee Matt Goddard harshly yellow carded him for retaliation.
Unperturbed, Sexton slipped into the pocket to nail a drop goal before needless hands in the ruck saw him binned a minute before half-time. Myler missed the resulting penalty.
Starting the second-half with 13 men to the Saxons 14, Ireland got the perfect start with Cronin brushing off Stuart Hooper and Tom Varndell for a try that put Ireland out of sight.
England responded immediately with Ben Woods repeating his Heineken Cup final trick to fend off Niall Ronan and club mate Johne Ronan for a try in the corner. Any chance of a revival ended, however, when Felix Jones raced over on 55 minutes. An attacking scrum came off a kick by Myler going dead down the other end.
Jones split through the defence again moments later, after another nice piece of fielding, he offloaded to McFadden who did likewise to put Murphy over for a fifth try.
Danny Cipriani and Shane Geraghty were introduced by the Saxons, but despite such lofty reputations neither player could make an impact as Connacht captain John Muldoon bull-dozed over late on. A Tom Vardell try in injury time made no impact.

Ireland A: F Jones; D Hurley, F McFadden, K Matthews, J Murphy; J Sexton, I Boss; C Healy, S Cronin, T Buckley; D Ryan, D Toner; N Best (capt), N Ronan, C Henry. Replacements: J Muldoon for C Henry (42 mins), D Fogarty for S Cronin (60 mins).

England Saxons: N Abendanon; N Cato, D Waldouck, B Barritt, T Varndell; S Myler, M Young; D Flatman, R Webber, D Cole; S Hooper, N Kennedy; P Dowson (capt), B Woods, L Narraway.
Referee: M Goddard (Australia).

JEROME O’CONNELL

O’Connell partners Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones against the Sharks

LIONS captain Paul O’Connell will play with his third different second-row partner of the British & Irish Lions tour when Ian McGeechan’s side face the Sharks in Durban tomorrow evening (6.10pm).
Twenty-nine-year-old lock O’Connell will pack down in the engine room alongside Welsh international Alun Wyn Jones while Munster out-half Ronan O’Gara and flanker David Wallace will be hoping to impress against the Sharks in order to boost their chances of gaining inclusion in the Test side for Saturday week’s clash with the Springboks.


Skipper O’Connell is one of four survivors from the Lions side which secured a nail-biting 26-24 victory over the Free State Cheetahs on Saturday.
The other players to gain back-to-back starts are Irish star Luke Fitzgerald and the Welsh duo of Lee Byrne and Shane Williams.
Lions coach Ian McGeechan said: “I am delighted that as we head into the fourth match we only have one player who is unavailable for selection.
“The players and the medical staff have managed the injuries that have been sustained in a very professional manner. This is crucial as we enter matches against two of South Africa’s strongest provinces in the Sharks and Western Province in the space of four days. This is reflected by the fact that four starting players from the Cheetahs match will back up against the Sharks while five players are starting their third match of the tour. We also have new starting partnerships in the back three, the half-backs and in the front-row.”
The British & Irish Lions clash with the Sharks tomorrow evening will be televised live on Sky Sports 2.
Meanwhile two Limerick-born players have been included in the Ireland A side to face Canada in their opening match in the Churchill Cup in Colorado tomorrow night.
Sean Cronin, a replacement the full Irish side in their recent games with Canada and the USA, is named at hooker. Cronin’s Connacht team-mate Keith Matthews has been selected in the centre for the clash with Canada.
Shannon and Munster prop Tony Buckley will line out at tighthead prop while Donnacha Ryan has been selected to play in the second row for the game at Infinity Park, Glendale. The match begins at 11.30pm Irish time and will be televised live on Sky Sports 1.

British & Irish Lions v Sharks: Lee Byrne (Wales); Shane Williams (Wales), Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland), Jamie Roberts (Wales), Luke Fitzgerald (Ireland); Ronan O’Gara (Ireland), Mike Phillips (Wales); Gethin Jenkins (Wales), Lee Mears (England), Adam Jones (Wales); Alun-Wyn Jones (Wales), Paul O’Connell (Capt) (Ireland); Tom Croft (England), David Wallace (Ireland), Jamie Heaslip (Ireland). Replacements: Matthew Rees (Wales), Phil Vickery (England), Simon Shaw (England), Joe Worsley (England), Mike Blair (Scotland), Riki Flutey (England), Leigh Halfpenny (Wales).

Ireland A v Canada: Denis Hurley (Munster), Fionn Carr (Connacht), Fergus McFadden (Leinster), Keith Matthews (Connacht), Johne Murphy (Leicester Tigers); Niall O’Connor (Ulster), Isaac Boss (Ulster) (capt); Bryan Young (Ulster), Sean Cronin (Connacht), Tony Buckley (Munster); Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Devin Toner (Leinster), Neil Best (Northampton Saints), Sean O’Brien (Leinster), Chris Henry (Ulster) Replacements: Denis Fogarty (Munster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Trevor Hogan (Leinster), John Muldoon (Connacht), Frank Murphy (Connacht), Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), James Downey (Northampton Saints).

Colm Kinsella

Kidney selectrs touring party

THE Limerick duo of Sean Cronin and Keith Matthews will be hoping to win their first full international caps when Ireland face Canada and the USA in two end-of-season internationals later this month - Cronin and Matthews, both playing with Connacht, have been included in Declan Kidney’s 25-strong squad for the games with Canada in Vancouver on May 23 and the USA in California on May 31.


While several players are being rested for the tour, 12 capped players are named in the travelling party including Eoin Reddan and Munster stars Peter Stringer, Mick O’Driscoll and Denis Leamy. Munster flanker Niall Ronan and winger Ian Dowling are two other uncapped players who will be hoping to make their full international debuts during the tour. Munster props John Hayes and Marcus Horan are being rested and will not travel on the tour.
Meanwhile hooker Sean Cronin and centre Keith Matthews are just two of several players who have also been selected in the Ireland A squad for next month’s Churchill Cup in Colarado.
The tournament includes teams from Argentina, USA, Canada, Georgia and the England Saxons and will see Ireland A play pool games against Canada and Georgia as well as a final game in the tournament playoffs.
Bruff referee George Clancy has been appointed to take charge of this season’s European Challenge Cup final between Northampton Saints and Bourgoin at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday, May 22. Clancy was promoted to the IRB’s High Performance panel in November and took charge of France’s RBS Six nations Championship clash with Scotland at the Stade de France earlier this season.
Munster’s Alan Quinlan is due to appear before an independent Disciplinary Committee in Dublin tomorrow as a result of a citing arising from the Heineken Cup semi-final match against Leinster.
The citing lodged by the Citing Commissioner for the match, John Byett is for alleged contact with the eye/eye area of Leinster player Leo Cullen in contravention of Law 10.4 (k). The independent Disciplinary Committee will be chaired by Roger Morris (Wales) and also comprise Simon Thomas (Wales) and Mike Hamlin (England).
Munster rugby will come under the spotlight in the Setanta Ireland series Sports Matters tonight at 10pm.
The programme, which begins with a short film entitled Alone it Brands, will discuss how Munster rugby has developed its strong brand identity and huge fan base.

Ireland Tour Squad (25): Rory Best (Ulster) Captain, Tony Buckley (Munster), Ryan Caldwell (Ulster), Bob Casey (London Irish), Darren Cave (Ulster), Tom Court (Ulster), Sean Cronin (Connacht), Ian Dowling (Munster), Gavin Duffy (Connacht), Chris Henry (Ulster), Denis Hurley (Munster), Ian Keatley (Connacht), Denis Leamy (Munster), Keith Matthews (Connacht), John Muldoon (Connacht), Barry Murphy (Munster), Niall O’Connor (Ulster), Mick O’Driscoll (Munster), Eoin Reddan (London Wasps), Niall Ronan (Munster), Mike Ross (Harlequins), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Peter Stringer (Munster), Bryan Young (Ulster)

Ireland A Churchill Cup Squad (27): John Andress (Exeter Chiefs), Neil Best (Northampton Saints), Isaac Boss (Ulster), Tony Buckley (Munster), Fionn Carr (Connacht), Sean Cronin (Connacht), James Downey (Northampton Saints), Dennis Fogarty (Munster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Chris Henry (Ulster), Trevor Hogan (Leinster), Denis Hurley (Munster), Felix Jones (Leinster), Simon Keogh (Leinster), Keith Matthews (Connacht), Fergus McFadden (Leinster), John Muldoon (Connacht) Captain, Frank Murphy (Connacht), Johne Murphy (Leicester Tigers), Sean O’Brien (Leinster), Niall O’Connor (Ulster), Ed O’Donoghue (Ulster), Niall Ronan (Munster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Devon Toner (Leinster), Bryan Young (Ulster).

Irish Tour Schedule: Depart Sunday May 17 for Canada. Canada v Ireland, Saturday May 23, 2pm (local time), Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver. USA v Ireland, Sunday May 31, 2pm (local time), Buckshaw Stadium, Santa Clara, California.

Churchill Cup Schedule: Ireland A v Canada, Wednesday, June 10, 4.30pm (local time), Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado. Georgia v Ireland A, Sunday June 14, 3.30pm (local time) Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado. Finals Day, Sunday June 21, Dicks Sporting Goods Park, Denver, Colorado.

Colm Kinsella