First half tries from Sean O’Brien, Iain Henderson, man-of-the-match Jonathan Sexton and Dave Kearney set the tone for a comprehensive opening Rugby World Cup win for Ireland against Canada in Cardiff.
Under the closed Millennium Stadium roof, Joe Schmidt’s men showed glimpses of their clinical best as they cantered into a 29-0 interval lead, with the sin-binning of Canada captain Jamie Cudmore ruthlessly exploited.
Jonathan Sexton’s early penalty was added to by a 17th-minute maul try from Sean O’Brien just moments after Cudmore’s departure. Iain Henderson, who put in an excellent shift, soon crashed over – with support from his Ulster colleague Rory Best – for try number two.
Sexton added both conversions and then took an inside pass from O’Brien to go over in the left corner and make it 22-0. Ireland’s accuracy and high tempo play had Canada stretched and the bonus point was secured when Luke Fitzgerald ran hard into the 22 and passed for Dave Kearney to step inside DTH van der Merwe and finish with aplomb, six minutes before the break.
A forward pass from the lively Nathan Hirayama denied van der Merwe a try on the stroke of half-time, but Canada had some promising passages in the third quarter with Ireland captain Paul O’Connell in the bin.
Following O’Connell’s return, Ireland restarted the scoring with a 66th minute try from Sean Cronin who was part of an influential bench. Replacement half-backs Eoin Reddan and Ian Madigan, who kicked three conversions, both made an impact as Schmidt’s side found an extra gear again.
Jared Payne had a kick blocked by van der Merwe who took full advantage to run in Canada’s lone score, before a terrific breakout effort saw Keith Earls loop a pass back inside for full-back Rob Kearney to add his name to the scoresheet.
The final try of the Pool D opener was scored by the tireless Payne with five minutes remaining, the Ulster ace running a slick support line to gobble up the pass from Madigan who made the initial midfield thrust.
Along with the positives of the result and performance, the vocal Irish supporters were delighted to see prop Cian Healy come off the bench for his first outing since undergoing neck surgery in May.
Ireland were meeting Canada for the first time since their 2013 summer tour win in Toronto (40-14). They fielded a matchday squad that included ten World Cup debutants, including try scorers Henderson, Dave Kearney and Payne.
Canada out-half Hirayama showed good distribution and an eye for a gap early on, so too did Conor Murray as he made a blindside break from a scrum. His opposite number Gordon McRorie missed the first scoring opportunity, sending a monster penalty attempt wide.
A superb touchfinder from Sexton, on the back of a strong O’Brien carry, helped Ireland get into scoring range for the first time. Direct running from the forwards put Canada under pressure and Sexton’s 13th-minute penalty from close range opened the scoring.
A well-won penalty by Rob Kearney sparked a second productive spell for Ireland in their opponents’ 22. Henderson and Murray both went close before O’Connell was hauled down just short, with hands in the ruck from Cudmore earning him a yellow card.
The skipper’s absence was keenly felt by Kieran Crowley’s charges, as Ireland racked up three tries and a total of 19 points while he was off. From the resulting five-metre lineout, Peter O’Mahony took down Best’s throw to set up a well-orchestrated maul that marched forward and teed O’Brien up for a simple finish.
Sexton converted and although 14-man Canada did well to hold up O’Connell, Ireland were soon over for their second seven-pointer. Henderson was the scorer, barging through Hirayama and Nick Blevins to reach over to the left of the posts with Best driving in behind him.
The extras were added by Sexton who was next over the whitewash from a 35-metre sprint towards the left corner. A lovely interchange between him and O’Brien saw the flanker tie in a couple of defenders as his pass back inside gave Sexton an opportunity to stretch his legs and notch his ninth try for his country.
Showing their clinical edge, Ireland were now in a very good rhythm with Sexton growing in influence – as evidenced by his kick pass to Payne inside his 22. He then invited the industrious Luke Fitzgerald to charge up into the Canadian 22, with the centre sucking in Blevins and creating an overlap for Dave Kearney to cut inside the covering van der Merwe and dive over.
Sexton converted the winger’s first score since his November 2013 debut for a 29-0 scoreline. Luck was not on Canada’s side during a spirited late rally – van der Merwe had a try chalked off for a flicked pass from Hirayama that went forward.
Ireland had leaked a series of penalties late in the first half, and an offside O’Connell paid the price for those when he was binned by referee Glen Jackson barely two minutes after the restart.
Tellingly, Canada could not turn pressure into points as they went through phase after phase near the Irish line. 14-man Ireland frustrated them with aggressive work at the breakdown and in the tackle, while Henderson continually got their over the gain-line and the set piece provided regular rewards.
Ireland cut down on the penalties as they got on the front foot again approaching the hour mark. A Jamie Heaslip turnover saw them carry up close to the line with hooker Best eventually bundled into touch. Shortly afterwards, they could not take advantage of a three-on-two out wide following an untimely knock-on from Earls.
The strong Irish bench came into play in the final quarter as the game began to break up even more. Replacement hooker Cronin – part of an all-new front row with Healy and Nathan White – put an end to the scoreless period with just under 15 minutes remaining. Madigan plunged Canada back into their 22 with a penalty, a maul gained 10 to 12 metres and after Payne came from deep and was hauled down short, a quick recycle and feed from Reddan put Cronin powering in under the posts.
Those seven points were immediately cancelled out, however, as Ireland failed to make the most out of a fine run from Rob Kearney. van der Merwe read Payne’s intentions to kick near halfway, blocking and gobbling up possession to sprint clear and Hirayama converted for 36-7.
A scrappy spell was then broken up by Ireland’s sixth try of the afternoon. It was a terrific effort from deep, Rob Kearney releasing Earls into open space on the left and as three Canadians loomed, the Limerick man lofted an inch-perfect pass back inside for Kearney to go over unopposed behind the posts.
Reddan and Madigan increased the tempo with their accurate passing and willingness to put width on the ball. The latter found space in midfield, dashing through a gap and finding Payne on his shoulder for the closing seven-pointer. Canada avoided leaking a further try as TMO Ben Skeen ruled that Healy had knocked on as he wrestled his way towards the line.
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