Brace of tries: Ireland's Craig Gilroy
Ireland could only warm up for their forthcoming tour of New Zealand with a 29-28 defeat at the hands of the Barbarians at Kingsholm.
The Irish, deprived of Leinster players resting after their RaboDirect PRO12 final defeat, scored four tries like their opponents but were undone by Felipe Contepomi's late penalty kick.
The Barbarians took a 10th-minute lead when home favourite Mike Tindall made a half break and from the ensuing ruck, Paul Sackey sent over former Gloucester star Iain Balshaw for a try that Contepomi converted.
But Ireland responded and from their first incursion into the Barbarians 22, Craig Gilroy finished strongly for the try which captain Ronan O'Gara converted to tie up the scores.
Benetton Treviso lock Cornelius van Zyl crossed to put the invitation side back in front but back came Ireland when Gilroy produced a stunning burst down the right flank to set up Keith Earls, O'Gara adding the extras.
Sackey caught Ireland's defence napping and raced away for the try Contepomi converted shortly before the half-hour but five minutes after the restart O'Gara was on target again after Simon Zebo touched down to edge Ireland back ahead.
Tindall crashed through the Irish defence to the delight of the Gloucester crowd, before Earls eased through at the other end to keep the game in the balance.
But with three minutes remaining, Barbarians were awarded a penalty in the Irish 22 and for the first time in the match, a kick at goal was chosen, Contepomi the match-winner.
The scorers:
For Barbarians:
Tries: Balshaw, Van Zyl, Sackey, Tindall
Cons: Contepomi 3
Pen: Contepomi
For Ireland:
Tries: Earls, Gilroy 2, Zebo
Cons: O'Gara 4
Barbarians: 15 Cedric Heymans, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Rory Lawson, 8 Raphael Lakafia, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Mamuka Gorgodze, 5 Cornelius van Zyl, 4 Mick O'Driscoll (c), 3 John Afoa, 2 Benoit August, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Pelu Taele, 19 Akapusi Qera, 20 Richie Rees, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Isa Nacewa.
Ireland: 15 Keith Earls, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ronan O'Gara (c), 9 Conor Murray, 8 Peter O'Mahony, 7 Chris Henry, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Dan Tuohy, 3 Declan Fitzpatrick, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Rory Best, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Donncha O'Callaghan, 19 James Coughlan, 20 Paul Marshall, 21 Nevin Spence, 22 Andrew Trimble.
Referee: Jérôme Garces (France)
Comments
kennyisgay says...
hoooray lametheref finally a worthy post... thank god I didn't have to buy another redbull to sit thru another of your ridiculously boooooring posts zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Posted 23:04 31st May 2012
blametheref says...
@BokAvenger
The only fairy on these boards is emerald-eyed kennyisgay
Posted 12:36 31st May 2012
blametheref says...
@Staph_glorious
When Mike Ross joined Leinster he may have taken some easing in time to get into the Leinster 1st XV which Stan Wright was far from a "journeyman" prop, he was a great prop who was well established as a keystone of the Leinster team, he played for the Cook Islands and would have made most national teams but for that. Van der Linde still gets selected for South Africa. This nonsense that Ross has "improved" since going to Leinster and especially Ireland smacks of arrogance, he was stupidly left out in the cold by Ireland until they had no choice but to consider him, end of story. I was at the Bloodgate match where Ross had an excellent game for Harlequins who were barely pipped by a very lucky Leinster. It was most likely his performance in this match that really brought him to the notice of Leinster.
Posted 07:55 31st May 2012
kennyisgay says...
May as well take your drinking hats lads and enjoy the crack in paradise cos its gonna be a miserable time on the pitch. blametheref says blah blah blah, same nonsense different day ol chap
Posted 22:29 30th May 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
The game was very positive. They've been wondering about cover in the centres and who might step in at 12. It was a strong performance... England can now turn to Tindall if needed.
Posted 20:10 30th May 2012
ste490 says...
I was completely disgusted that this was not on the TV. In this day and age for an International side to be playing an International All-Stars side with no tv coverage is a disgrace.
Posted 19:49 30th May 2012
staph_glorious says...
blametheref,
You imply that Mike Ross has had the exact same skillset for the past six years, at least. It definitely flew over the heads of reigning European champions Leinster too, as the Corkman could only make the bench during their first defense of the trophy, losing out to both journeyman Stan Wright and the perennially injured van der Linde. Since then, Ross's workload around the pitch has improved considerably, and has been subject to the scrutiny and eventual plaudits of many Irish rugby journalists, earning him that unofficial award of Ireland's MVP.
It's a poor example, but it does tie in nicely with the adage of "it's harder to be dropped from the Irish team than it is to get on to it!" Cheap caps and substandard players ought to be avoided where possible.
Posted 16:38 30th May 2012
NHsaints says...
Hmm not great from Ireland although tindall had a great game (he was at home so no less could be expected) and it was against a good ba ba's backline...the main points Ireland can take from this are that Gilroy is excellent and that Downey should be in the 12 shirt in nz otherwise Ireland are going to get shredded with Heaslip off form and Ferris injured there'll be no one to cover for D'arcy's missed tackles...
Posted 14:43 30th May 2012
BokAvenger says...
I've said it before and I'll say it again. NZ are going to massacre these emerald fairies.
Posted 13:00 30th May 2012
JamieTheProp says...
@ jamesliveinhope - won't get arrogant about this game - but will get arrogant about the spanking England gave you the last time we played (much like every Irish supporter got arrogant about the spanking you gave us in Dublin the year before.
I guess the difference between the two teams is that England do seem to be making small steps forward with a new coaching set up, new systems and most importantly, a new squad all beginning to take shape.
Whereas Ireland are not doing any of the above. Roll on the 6 Nations 2013 I say! A long awaited win in Dublin coming England's way!
Posted 12:53 30th May 2012
blametheref says...
A good example of the ineptness of the Irish International set up, and what I'm alluding to, is that Mike Ross, who is nearly a veteran at this stage, was ignored for years in getting at least his first cap against even "friendly" opposition and in the short space of his paltry 20 caps he has been the most indispensible player in the entire Irish team during the past 2 years!
It is not lost on me that when Ross played at Harlequins that some posters on these boards always sited that he looked good in England because he was playing in a so called crap league...same argument that is put forward for not considering Downey who is very reliable and as solid a tackler and contact carrier as any 12 around when that kind of game tactic is required as Ireland will require in NZ....lucky Munster is all I can say!
Posted 12:40 30th May 2012
staph_glorious says...
Yeah, who did see the game here? You wouldn't want to glean too much from this fixture, that would be embarrassing.
Posted 12:16 30th May 2012
melkdave says...
I dont understand why the irish fans are being so negative ,yes they lost a close match.But so many good young players where blooded and they held their own for the most part against a strong and experianced Barbarains team,losing to a late penalty.Alot of the negativity i feel is because we couldnt / didnt see the match and so have no way to answer those nagging questions i posted earlier ie how did the frontrow preform at scrum time -did the new lock combo work ect .The frustation from not knowing the answer to those and other questions i feel is why the posts are so negative.That and genral frustration with Kidney and his selwections for test matches,which this wasnt by the way ,it was a development /warm up game
Posted 12:14 30th May 2012
kybone says...
You can't read anything in to a result against the BaaBaa's. Its not proper rugby and the main intention of the game is to entertain, not to win at all costs. There's probably only about 6 or 7 players here that will be in the match day squad come the first test v NZ. Im not getting carried away by the England result the other day because it doesn't mean anything really. Although having said that, there's nothing like a win to bread confidence into a side, whoever its against.
Posted 11:39 30th May 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
Home advantage could have been all it took to get a win.
People should also accept that barbarian game are not test matches. Nowhere near. The national sides are never at full strength. Barbarian games are played to celebrate the running game and the national side are always the bad guys and are expected to play dazzeling rugby and win by 50points. And they're usually as much of a scratch side as the baabaas only without the big names. People need to be realistic and lower their expectations.
Posted 11:37 30th May 2012
ciaran1792 says...
well it looks like Gilroy and Zebo are going on tour. I expected a loss for us any way but there is no shame in a 1 point loss to the babas with a second string XV. I like that the young lads put their hands up. As for O'Gara captaining the side with a side that young. Nobody could have done any better, this is from a Leinster fan hopefully we will keep blooding youngsters and develop a young squad for the 6 nations 2013. If Kidney doesn't win it his head will be on the chopping block.Which might not be a bad thing it meens a change of tactics and mentality which Ireland surely need.
Posted 11:26 30th May 2012
munster30 says...
@rockman.
Grow up will you. How did having O Gara as captain weaken the team? He converted all his kicks. Has loads of experience and is a calm head amid a load of new caps and inexperienced players and combinations. He has proven time and again his quality. What would you have preferred? Johnny Sexton, who just played the Rabo final and is presumably on some rest before the NZ tour. Ian Humphries, injured. Paddy Wallace, in the centre. Paddy Jackson, after his nightmare in the Hcup final you could hardly put more pressure on him here. If you want to go on about childish anti-Munster anti-O Gara rubbish then go post on some kiddies site where you're sure to find a few peers.
Posted 10:31 30th May 2012
Snowy1985 says...
There's a lot of negativity on here, did anyone actually see the game? I know we lost but this was a brand new team, a lot of back up and young players. I'm happy that these players got a game and Kidney didn't just pick the regular players for a nothing match.
Yes we lost but there are a lot of players to come in and this was a good work out for some new combinations and youngsters. I think we'll lose all three in NZ but at least Kidney has acutally used some different players in a game. I also think we'll see some of these players playing in NZ.
Posted 10:22 30th May 2012
Greyprop says...
Call me perverse, but I am not in favour of seeing our young players, like Gilroy or Zebo joining the Ireland squad just yet. My reasoning is that Mr. Kidney has already stymied the flair of some of the best players this country has had in years, so why should we allow him to subdue the flair that some of these young guys are lighting up our grounds with at present.
Get rid of DK and get in a coach who understands individualism and flair, then watch these guys flourish.
Posted 10:17 30th May 2012
blametheref says...
Downey's bone shaking tackling would be be a great asset in NZ...Nonu started at 12 in the WC final and Sonny Boy plays at 12 too, most NZ attacks revolve around the 12 channel...help me, but I can only see D'arcy or Paddy Wallace bouncing off these two hefty All Blacks...then add O'Gara to the mix "guarding" this channel and Ireland will be living in oblivion!
Posted 09:53 30th May 2012