No heroics but brave Billy plays part as England win in Dublin
BILLY Twelvetrees helped England raise the sniff of a Grand Slam tilt as Stuart Lancaster's men won a brutal battle against Ireland in Dublin.
The Gloucester centre provided vital midfield solidity alongside Brad Barritt, before making way for Leicester's wrecking-ball Manu Tuilagi in the second half.
The sodden Aviva Stadium left running rugby at a premium, so on his second cap Twelvetrees had little chance to shine on the front foot.
One tap pass set Chris Ashton into space, but aside from that it was through tidy solidity and shape where the 24-year-old impressed.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Friday, May 31 2013
England's 12-6 victory leaves them the only unbeaten side in the Six Nations.
Owen Farrell slotted the four crucial penalties, trumping replacement Irish fly-half Ronan O'Gara's two.
Ireland dominated territory and possession.
But England were resolute and regimented without the ball.
In the first half Stuart Lancaster's men had the edge at the scrum and were battling hard at the savage contact area.
Cian Healy got his act together after the break to put pressure on England.
And then James Haskell was sin-binned for playing the ball offside on the ground at a ruck.
Ireland's loosehead prop Healy was lucky to have avoided a yellow card, first for stamping needlessly and then for throwing two equally pointless punches.
Replacement centre Tuilagi almost scored a try when impressive Ben Youngs chipped over the top.
The Leicester monster reached his club-mate's dink first in the in-goal area but could not collect.
Farrell and O'Gara traded missed penalties, but England were able to hold out.
With home games against France and Italy to come, before a final-weekend trip to Wales, Lancaster's men will be buoyed by passing this Dublin test.
Meanwhile, Gloucester captain Jim Hamilton played his part in Scotland's 34-10 record Six Nations victory over Italy at Murrayfield.
The Scots ran in four tries in a comprehensive triumph.
Gloucestershire wing Alex Cuthbert was part of Wales' grinding 16-6 win in France – their first victory in nine matches.
11 Comments
View all
by H_Sparks
Monday, February 11 2013, 7:49PM
“Rupert Harden... First choice, the best and top rated tight head at Gloucester Rugby. It must stick in the gut of the troll glawsteruk1, aka akadau, every time the knowledgeable Nigel Davies selects our man Rupert Harden to start.”
by walker1105
Monday, February 11 2013, 7:39PM
“Rupert Harden is the undisputed first choice tight head at Gloucester Rugby, unless you are some know-it-all troll like glawsteruk1/jonno2010/peh45/wannabe3604/jonno2010/akadau/Kap721/etc. who claims to know better than the coaches at Gloucester Rugby. That's the coaches who work with the players week in, week out.”
by mattw74
Monday, February 11 2013, 7:30PM
“Rupert Harden = the top rated tight head at Gloucester bar none!”
by seanbulling
Monday, February 11 2013, 7:23PM
“Rupert Harden is the number 1 and the best tight head at Gloucester Rugby. That is why Nigel Davies selects him for the crucial games.”
by starturn
Monday, February 11 2013, 7:20PM
“Nigel Davies picks the team. He has a choice of tight heads, yet, when it comes to the key games, he always goes for Harden.”
by RoccoAgain
Monday, February 11 2013, 7:17PM
“Harden has been having a storming season. It is no wonder he has been selected to start the most games of all the front row forwards. And not just any old games. It has been the key games where you need your best players.”
by RoryGlaws
Monday, February 11 2013, 7:14PM
“Rupert Harden is an utterly brilliant tight head and Nigel Davies knows it, hence 10 out of 14 Premiership starts.”
by Hinchcliffe33
Monday, February 11 2013, 7:08PM
“Spot the difference.... Mullered in the scrum against Tigers at Welford Road, home defeat against the lowly London Irish at Kingsholm in the Premiership, scrum ineffective throughout whilst Harden was out injured. Saints away at Franklin's Garden's and Gloucester once again dominant in the scrum with Harden doing a FULL 80 minutes and Gloucester winning the game. Obviously the Gloucester rugby hating multi-troll won't be able to see the obvious, because he is so clueless.”
by GlawsSurfer
Monday, February 11 2013, 7:02PM
“Harden had a fantastic performance on Saturday, just as he has had for the season so far.”
by Steve_George
Monday, February 11 2013, 6:53PM
“Well done to Rupert Harden. Another excellent display which put even more egg on the face of the Gloucester and Harden hating multi-troll, glawsteruk1. Glwsteruk1 is so clueless when it comes to the game of rugby.”