Ireland tour captain Rory Best was presented with the Setanta Challenge Cup trophy after Declan Kidney’s tourists scored a hard-earned 27-10 victory over the USA in Sunday’s Test match at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
2009 SUMMER TOUR: Saturday, May 31
USA 10 IRELAND 27, Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara, California
Scorers: USA: Try: Roland Suniula; Con: Ata Malifa; Drop: Ata Malifa
Ireland: Tries: Bob Casey, Ian Whitten, Penalty try, Rory Best; Cons: Ian Keatley 2; Pen: Ian Keatley
Match Highlights – Courtesy of Setanta Sports
Nine years after his last string of senior caps, Bob Casey scored his first Test try for Ireland as Declan Kidney’s largely inexperienced touring side overcame a stiff challenge from a spirited USA outfit in Santa Clara.
Tries from Casey, new centre Ian Whitten and tour captain Rory Best, allied to a second half penalty try, steered the Irish to their second tour win and some silverware for the journey home in the form of the Setanta Challenge Cup.
Casey, who put immense pressure on the USA lineout along with Mick O’Driscoll, barged over off a 13th minute lineout maul to hand Ireland an early lead.
They boosted their advantage to 13-0, in first half injury-time, when the 21-year-old Whitten finished off a breakaway attack created by out-half Ian Keatley.
But the US, who included six debutants in their starting line-up, were very keen to impress new coach Eddie O’Sullivan and they proved sticky opponents for an Ireland team that failed to fire on all cylinders.
A lot of the Americans’ good work was undone by a uncharacteristically poor place-kicking display from their number 10 Mike Hercus, who missed four kickable penalties.
Referee Chris White awarded the tourists a penalty try, 13 minutes into the second half, to almost put the game beyond the Americans’ reach.
But, inspired by replacement out-half Ata Malifa, they launched a spirited fightback. Malifa dropped a goal and then set up centre Roland Suniula for a converted try.
With the gap down to 20-10 and both sides tiring, Ireland needed a final score to seal their second tour win and they got it when replacement scrum half Eoin Reddan freed up Best for a galloping burst to the line.
A total of 10,075 spectators packed into the Buck Shaw Stadium to watch the Eagles takes on Ireland for the first time since they met at Lansdowne Road in 2004 when current Lion Tommy Bowe marked his debut with a try in a 55-6 home win.
Eddie O’Sullivan, who was in charge of Ireland back then, is beginning afresh as Eagles coach now and he said he was ‘honoured’ to take on his native country and his successor as Ireland coach, Declan Kidney, in his first match at the helm.
Kidney’s new-look squad had taken their time to see off Canada (25-6) eight days ago and it was thought that with the extra week’s training and the team largely unchanged – Mike Ross came in for Tom Court in the front row as the sole switch – they would muster a much better display.
The early signs were positive with Best marshalling an impressive lineout and Casey and O’Driscoll pressuring the American set piece into errors, but Ireland were never able to build on that.
Dropped passes and some aggressive American defence left the Ireland backs struggling to create space and referee Chris White’s rapid-fire referee did little for the game’s overall flow.
Keatley missed an early penalty chance before O’Driscoll picked up a loose ball at an American ruck and almost put his Munster colleague Ian Dowling over for a try in the corner.
Off a subsequent penalty, Ireland engineered a lineout maul which the Eagles could not cope with and Casey emerged from under a pile of bodies after being shunted over the line.
Keatley missed the conversion but was able to fire a left-sided penalty through the posts on 24 minutes, as Ireland looked to build through the phases.
As with any O’Sullivan-coached side, the US were a well-drilled outfit with scrum half and captain Mike Petri overseeing some strong ruck play.
They frustrated Ireland time and again and centres Junior Sifa and Suniula looked dangerous in possession as they tried to break down the Whitten-Darren Cave combination.
The Ulster midfield pairing were rock-solid in defence, for the most part, but their attacking flair was rarely seen as the US smothered the middle of the pitch.
Ireland were lacking accuracy and gave away a series of penalties around the half-hour mark which Hercus, had he had his kicking boots on, would have split the posts with.
The former Sale Shark missed penalty efforts after 30, 34 and 35 minutes to let Ireland off the hook.
The home side paid the price for a poor touch-finder from Hercus, late in the half, when Keatley spotted a mismatch in midfield, ghosted through the gap and the supporting Barry Murphy and Best linked before Whitten took it on to dive over for his second try in as many games.
Keatley’s missed conversion left it at 13-0 at half-time but the try gave the Irish some much-needed encouragement for the second period.
Still, it was the US who took the initiative on the restart. But that good work was undone when Hercus missed his fourth penalty chance and another powerful lineout maul, with Casey and Tony Buckley to the fore, handed Ireland a penalty try which Keatley converted.
The Irish management then sent on their first replacements, with Eoin Reddan and debutant Denis Hurley entering the fray, but O’Sullivan’s side were beginning to show their potential.
A turnover and quick break through the middle from Suniula should have led to a try. Malifa settled for a drop goal, amid groans from the vocal home crowd.
They were on their feet though when Malifa ran past replacement Tom Court in midfield and looped a pass out for the supporting Suniula to skip past Cave’s last-ditch tackle and crash over the line for a well-executed try.
The conversion made it 20-10, yet Ireland, although playing nowhere near their potential, were able to close out the win in business-like fashion.
The Leinster-bound Reddan hit Malifa with a strong tackle inside the American 22, the Irish pack duly supplied turnover ball and the scrum half spun a quick pass out for Best to burrow his way over from close range.
Keatley added the extras for a 17-point buffer and the game petered out after that, with many of Ireland’s players no doubt looking forward already to the upcoming Churchill Cup in Colorado, which they will be involved in for Ireland ‘A’.
TIME LINE: 8 minutes – Ireland penalty: missed by Ian Keatley – 0-0; 13 mins – Ireland try: Bob Casey – 0-5; conversion: missed by Ian Keatley – 0-5; 24 mins – Ireland penalty: Ian Keatley – 0-8; 30 mins – USA penalty: missed by Mike Hercus – 0-8; 34 mins – USA penalty: missed by Mike Hercus – 0-8; 35 mins – USA penalty: missed by Mike Hercus – 0-8; 40+2 mins – Ireland try: Ian Whitten – 0-13; conversion: missed by Ian Keatley – 0-13; Half-time – USA 0 Ireland 13; 50 mins – USA penalty: missed by Mike Hercus – 0-13; 53 mins – Ireland try: Penalty try – 0-18; conversion: Ian Keatley – 0-20; 63 mins – USA drop goal: Ata Malifa – 3-20; 65 mins – USA try: Roland Suniula – 8-20; conversion: Ata Malifa – 10-20; 70 mins – Ireland try: Rory Best – 10-25; conversion: Ian Keatley – 10-27; Full-time – USA 10 Ireland 27
USA: Chris Wyles; Kevin Swiryn, Junior Sifa, Roland Suniula, Justin Boyd; Mike Hercus, Mike Petri (capt); Mike MacDonald, Chris Biller, Will Johnson, John Van Der Giessen, Hayden Smith, Louis Stanfill, Peter Dahl, Nic Johnson.
Replacements used: Joe Welch for Biller (44 mins), Ata Malifa for Hercus, Matekitonga Moeakiola for MacDonald (both 59), Alipate Tuilevuka for Sifa (61), JJ Gagiano for Stanfill (68), Courtney Mackay for Van Der Giessen, Tim Usasz for Petri (both 73).
IRELAND: Gavin Duffy; Barry Murphy, Darren Cave, Ian Whitten, Ian Dowling; Ian Keatley, Peter Stringer; Tony Buckley, Rory Best (capt), Mike Ross, Bob Casey, Mick O’Driscoll, John Muldoon, Niall Ronan, Denis Leamy.
Replacements used: Denis Hurley for Cave (22-31 mins, blood sub), Tom Court for Ross (50), Donnacha Ryan for Muldoon, Eoin Reddan for Stringer (both 60), Ryan Caldwell for Casey (64), Denis Hurley for Cave (68). Not used: Sean Cronin, Niall O’Connor.
Referee: Chris White (England)
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