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Had to share this - from Usa
DUBLIN: Rugby Union
The first English team to visit the previously forbidden land of Croke Park was greeted with typical Irish warmth.
The Irish fans stood respectfully for the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen." The Ireland team politely allowed the English team to score the first points. Then, as Saturday afternoon turned to evening, the home team beat the living twilights out of its guest, 43-13.
In Dublin, the Irish fell behind when Jonny Wilkinson kicked a penalty in the first minute. It was not a sign of things to come. Wilkinson did not have a vintage day, nor did most of his team- mates. They were, said their coach, Brian Ashton, "beaten all over the field."
Croke Park was the scene of the "Bloody Sunday" massacre in 1920 during the Irish campaign for independence from Britain, when British forces shot at least 13 fans and players in retaliation for the assassination of British secret agents. Some Irish fans had objected to the idea of "God Save the Queen" being played at the stadium. But when the moment came, the anthem was played without incident.
Irish rugby fans can make a lot of noise, but they also do respectful silence extremely well. While Wilkinson's kicks did not receive the pin-drop quiet usual at the much smaller Lansdowne Road, the lack of noise contrasted markedly with the loud jeering that preceded the missed kicks by Stephen Jones and James Hook of Wales in Paris.
Dublin is a perfect destination for a boozy weekend away, which makes it extremely attractive to English rugby fans. As the first strains of "God Save the Queen" struck up, thousands of voices began to bellow lustily. The visitors initially outsung the Irish, many of whom struggle with the Gaelic lyrics of "The Soldier's Song." But the noise level rose for the official Irish rugby song, "Ireland's Call" and quickly went up another notch for the unofficial rugby song, "The Fields of Athenry" and then the Dublin anthem, "Molly Malone."
The game started slowly and scrappily. Eddie O'Sullivan, the Irish coach, told RTE, the Irish TV network, that it was "15 minutes of shadow boxing."
England is desperately rebuilding under Ashton after a disastrous 2006 and won its first two games, at home against Scotland and Italy. Ashton's attempts to both rebuild and create a settled side from the mess he inherited have been undermined by injuries. On Saturday, seven of his starting 15 had played eight or fewer games for England. He was not helped when his most experienced international, the always unstable Danny Grewcock, rushed offside to grab Peter Stringer, the Irish scrum half, as Ireland pressed near the English line.
Grewcock's incursion might have prevented one try. His expulsion was quickly followed by two. In the 30th minute, the Irish forwards surged at the short-handed English pack, sucking backs in. When Ireland worked the ball wide, the English midfield converged nervously on the dangerous Brian O'Driscoll. His pass left Girvan Dempsey with an unopposed run to the line. Seven minutes later, David Wallace crashed over for another try and Ireland led 23-3 at halftime.
"It was a question of momentum," O'Sullivan said. "We got crucial tries while Grewcock was in the sin bin."
David Strettle, making his debut on the wing for England, squirmed over in the corner early in the second half, but after 63 minutes Ireland killed the faint English hopes of a revival. Ronan O'Gara kicked across field and Shane Horgan leapt to catch the ball by the corner flag to score.
With the game won, O'Sullivan started to empty his bench, allowing a series of starters to trudge off to huge ovations. In the final minutes, one of the replacements, Isaac Boss, received a gift he could not politely refuse when Shaun Perry, the replacement English scrum half, passed straight to him. Boss sauntered away to score. Ireland had won by 30 points, beating its previous record victory over England, 22-0, in 1947.
"We were stuffed, it's as simple as that," Ashton said at the postmatch press conference. "It doesn't happen very often in international rugby, but it happened today."
Ireland finishes the Six Nations with away games in Edinburgh and Rome. O'Sullivan said he was relieved to end the first year of his team's tenancy at Croke Park with a victory.
"We didn't want to leave here without taking a win with us," he said. "England came here and threw the kitchen sink at us and we threw it back at them."
Was the wait worth it - Ya betta baby 
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Originally Posted by jargan83
