There have been some great ones over the years, now we want you to rank the best
We have lots of good natured arguments here at SportsJOE Towers. In just the last few days, here is a small selection; Is the winter World Cup a good idea? Is Tim Sherwood a genius or a spoofer? Could Paul O’Connell really tackle a rhino?
But when we started to try and rank the most iconic Ireland v England sporting clashes, well, things got nasty. We’re a small team and we can’t afford to lose any team members to serious injury so after the dust settled we decided the fairest thing to do was throw it open to you.
We’ve narrowed it down to these memorable clashes. All you have to do is vote for the one you think is the most iconic.
1. Steve Collins v Chris Eubank I, 1995
Hard to believe this fight is almost 20 years old. Held the day after St Patrick’s Day in 1995, this fight gripped the nation. While Collins was a well-known face here, almost all his fights had been outside Ireland at this point. In fact the sheer dislike for his English challenger drove the hype far more than the home-grown hero.
Eubank, unbeaten when he walked into Millstreet, lost a unanimous decision and while the re-match in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, six months later had a bigger crowd, and the same result, the original stands apart.
2. Ireland v England, Six Nations, 2003
The first of many rugby entries here, and this game is probably better known as the ‘Martin Johnson incident’ game. Oh how we fumed as the England captain’s refusal to line up on the assigned side of the red carpet forced President Mary McAleese onto the grass.
The move set the tone for the Grand Slam decider as we were whipped 42-6. Painful, but we’ll never forget it.
3. Ireland v England, Euro ’88
Ah, the happy days of that summer in Germany. Ireland’s first ever game at a major championship and we only went and won it, beating the old enemy for good measure. From Houghton’s header to Packie Bonner’s saves, the game still feels fresh nigh on 30 years later.
4. Ireland v England, Cricket World Cup 2011
The current side are doing their best to overshadow them but the 2011 team’s win over England in Bangalore at the last World Cup was a true collective moment as the nation united in a hitherto hidden love of cricket.
Set a target of 327, the more casual fan may have tuned out but, as Ireland began to chase down the monster target, all eyes turned to screens of one sort or another to find out how the game was going. By the time John Mooney fired off the winning runs, after Kevin O’Brien has scored the fastest century the World Cup had ever seen, the match is definitely in the top one of Irish cricketing memories.
5. London v Leitrim, Connacht Championship, 2013
There was some fuss over including this but we felt it was iconic, in perhaps a different way to the others on the list. With their ranks swelled with Irish who had to emigrate there was more than a hint of sadness mixed with the surprise about how the Exiles won a spot in a first ever Connacht final.
Beating Leitrim was some feat but watching their half-time lead (14 points) whittled down in the second half was agonising. However, they held on to win 2-11 to 1-13, a great day for the game across the water.
6. Ireland v England, Six Nations, 2007
Quite simply, the Croke Park game. The build-up and the anthems will never be repeated but the performance of the team was pretty damn special too. Ireland destroyed England 43-13 and a generation of players really came of age.
7. Ireland v England, Italia ’90
Looking back, these were two superbly talented teams who managed to play out a fairly dull, yet instantly memorable game. Gary Lineker’s eight-minute goal not only gave England the lead, it was also the first outing for George Hamilton’s phrase ‘danger here’, reason enough itself for iconic status.
Kevin Sheedy’s drilled finish meant the sides drew, probably a fair reflection of the game but the result was treated like a win here as the entire country, bar a certain pundit, had a chronic case of World Cup fever.
8. Dennis Taylor v Steve Davis, World Snooker final 1985
Okay, this game was never framed as Ireland v England but if you happened to be alive and in possession of a TV the night this game was played, everyone was on the Irishman’s side. The methodical, unbeatable Davis finally cracked to the goofily bespectacled Tyrone native in the most thrilling finish in snooker history.
We’ve never tried to pot a black ball since without thinking of this match.
9. Ireland v England, Six Nations, 2004
Beating the reigning world champions, in Twickenham, was the carrot dangled in front of Ireland and the 25-point underdogs snapped it in two. A masterclass in kicking by Ronan O’Gara was the bedrock to success and a second-half try by Girvan Dempsey did the business for us: 19-13.
England hadn’t lost at home for seven years and the fact the game made England’s Steve Thompson refer to it as “one of the worst days of my life” tells you all you need to know about how shocking the win was.
10. Mill House v Arkle, 1964 Cheltenham Gold Cup
Arguably the race that spawned the Irish love of Cheltenham. Arkle lost to Mill House in 1963 at Newbury but revenge was brewing. Arkle clinched glory for Ireland by beating the champion Mill House in the 1964 Gold Cup. Tom Dreaper’s charge would win the next two Gold Cups in frankly ridiculous fashion but the tradition of Irish raiders started with the great Arkle.
11. England v Ireland, Goodison Park, 1949
Never mind Stuttgart or Cagliari, or even the wonderful Hungarian team of the 1950s, this game really was important for both sides. Ireland became the first foreign team to beat England at home and they did so in style, thanks to a Con Martin penalty and a Peter Farrell second near the end of the game.
Later victories would bring more coverage, and joy, but this team’s place in history should be cherished more, here and in England.
